Meet the Interviewers
Our 2026 Hosts & Interviewers
From left to right, starting with the top row:
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- Carl Cincinnato
- Elizabeth DeStefano
- Kellie Pokrikfa
- Lisa Kotara Horwitz
- Paula K. Dumas
- LaQuinda McCoy
- Wendy Neri
- Kate May
- Nancy Wood
Carl Cincinnato
Founder, Executive Producer & Co-Host
Carl stopped taking his health for granted at an early age due to migraine. He has had migraine for 30 years. Over this time health has become central throughout his life and work. This includes working with some of the biggest health companies in the world.
Today, he works with several charities, foundations, and organizations, including Migraine & Headache Australia, the Brain Foundation, the Coalition of Headache and Migraine Patients, and the Global Patient Advocacy Coalition. He is a member of the International Headache Society and co-host for the Migraine World Summit. Carl is a public and passionate patient advocate for migraine who has spoken nationally and internationally about migraine.
Elizabeth DeStefano
Executive Producer & Co-Host
Elizabeth has lived with migraine since childhood. After decades of trying to better understand and manage the disease, she jumped into migraine advocacy and editorial work. Outside of migraine, she has worked in clinical roles in organ donation, nonprofit leadership, and professional education following an early role with a pharmaceutical company. She holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from George Washington University and Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees from Washington & Lee University.
Kellie Pokrifka
Social Media Team Lead & Interviewer
Kellie Pokrifka has lived with chronic migraine since a traumatic brain injury in 2013. She has not experienced even one minute free from a migraine attack since this date, and has thus dedicated her life to helping others find the knowledge needed to better manage and cope with life with migraine. Kellie works with the nonprofit initiative Migraine at Work to educate workplaces on education and accommodations for employees living with migraine. Through the Migraine World Summit, she has interviewed world-leading experts to create patient and practitioner education to reduce the global burden of migraine. She directs the Migraine World Summit social media team to make patient education more accessible to all. Kellie also serves on the Brain Injury Association of America’s advisory board, helping others learn how to live well with brain injury.
Lisa Kotara Horwitz
Community Support Ambassador & Interviewer
Lisa Kotara Horwitz is no stranger to migraine, having experienced her first attacks at just 8 years old. She has lived with migraine for the majority of her life and after a severely debilitating period, turned her energy toward migraine education.
Lisa began volunteering with Migraine World Summit to give back to the community that helped her improve her quality of life. In addition to being a migraine advocate, Lisa cohosts The Pete McMurray Radio Show which airs in Chicago on WLS-890AM and in numerous other cities around the country. She is also a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus performing multiple works a year with this world-renowned organization. In her spare time, she loves to read, practice yoga, and spend time with her family.
Lisa’s current migraine mission is to remove the stigma from migraine and inform patients, family, and coworkers about this debilitating disease. She wants everyone to know that migraine is not your fault and you are not alone.
Paula K. Dumas
Executive Producer, Health Advocate & Interviewer
Paula K. Dumas, founder of MigraineAgain.com, is a lifelong migraine warrior who shifted her focus to health advocacy after a successful corporate career at CNN, Apple, and Disney. Once living with chronic migraine attacks 25 days a month, she reduced her frequency to less than one day a month and now helps others do the same.
Paula has served on the board of the American Migraine Foundation and is active in global advocacy with the Coalition for Headache and Migraine Patients (CHAMP) and the International Headache Society. She and her husband lobby on Capitol Hill through the Headache on the Hill event, advocating for legislative support for those with migraine.
She has spoken at major forums such as the International Headache Academy and the Migraine World Summit. Paula co-authored the Chronic Migraine Epidemiology and Outcomes (CaMEO) and My Migraine Voice studies, which examine how migraine affects people’s lives globally. She has also produced more than 200 videos, interviews, and podcasts; authored more than 300 articles; co-founded the World Health Education Foundation; and organized one of the largest in-person events ever for migraine, the Migraine World Summit Onstage.
LaQuinda McCoy
Patient Leader & Interviewer
LaQuinda’s journey with Migraine disease began in junior high school, marking the start of a lifelong battle that shaped both her personal and professional path. In 2017, her condition progressed from chronic to intractable migraine, forcing her to make the heartbreaking decision to step away from her decade-long career as a liver transplant nurse. That transition brought not only physical but also emotional challenges, including depression and disappointment from a lack of adequate medical support.
Determined to take control of her health, LaQuinda immersed herself in self-education about migraine management and advocacy. What began as a personal mission soon evolved into a passion for helping others by navigating similar struggles. After attending Retreat Migraine, she found a community that fueled her purpose and by 2019, she began sharing her story to raise awareness and push for more inclusive workplace policies for people living with migraine disease. She later returned as a featured speaker in 2021, continuing to inspire others with her resilience and authenticity.
LaQuinda’s advocacy work has earned her national recognition. She has been featured in The Invisible Project: Migraine & Headache, 4th Edition and My Chronic Brain Magazine, 2nd Edition. She served on the U.S. Pain Foundation’s Disparities Solutions Advisory Council and has contributed to the Disparities in Headache Advisory Council. Her commitment to health equity extends to her involvement with the NIH Health Equity in Pain Management Workshop and as an advocate for Headache on the Hill.
Guided by her mission to empower, educate, and elevate awareness, especially within BIPOC communities, LaQuinda continues to transform her pain into purpose. Alongside her advocacy, she works as a freelance health content writer and part-time hospice triage nurse, channeling empathy and understanding into every facet of her work.
Achievements & Engagements
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- Featured Speaker, Retreat Migraine
- Guest Speaker, Miles for Migraine
- Panelist, Addressing Health Care Disparities in Migraine & Headache Care, U.S. Pain Foundation
- Social Health Network Advocacy Trailblazer Nominee
- Disparities in Healthcare with Fox news
Affiliations & Advocacy
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- NIH Health Equity in Pain Management Workshop Participant
- Headache on the Hill Advocate
- Certified Health Patient Leader
- Lundbeck “Living with chronic pain” campaign
Articles
Wendy Neri
Content Editor & Interviewer
Wendy Neri has lived with migraine almost her entire life, with her first attacks beginning around 8 years old. An important part of her migraine journey was an extended bout of medication overuse headache that likely led to a life-threatening situation she detailed for the Me vs. Migraine webinar series developed by the World Health Education Foundation. Following a four-year healing journey during which she sought to educate herself on migraine beyond what the medical community had so far offered her, she found her way to the Migraine World Summit, where she has been a content editor since 2019. She is also an associate editor for Migraine Again, and regularly participates in other migraine advocacy events.
Kate May
Patient Leader & Interviewer
Kate was diagnosed with chronic migraine two years ago, after a long history of complex chronic illness and pain. Access to care, the right diagnosis, and investing in her own understanding and management tools have given back so much of what migraine once took away. Kate is a passionate health communications professional who works across diverse projects in health promotion, public health, and women’s health in Australia. She values embedding lived experience in health systems and building connections with others who are figuring it out together.
Nancy Wood
MWS Article Writer & Interviewer
Nancy has lived with migraine since early childhood, and has many memories of “missing” out. Over the years she has had times of improvement and times of setbacks. Before retirement, in her professional life in corporate communications, she went out of her way to remain private about her own experience with migraine, but in recent years, in all areas of life she has become more vocal about migraine. At this stage of life she advocates for herself and others. She chases down new approaches with her doctors, often hearing about them through the Migraine World Summit before her physicians. She is delighted to be dedicating time to this dynamic and supportive organization, a place where she has learned more about migraine through the annual Summits, than from any other source, ever.
