Meet the Interviewers
Our 2025 Hosts & Interviewers
From left to right:
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- Carl Cincinnato
- Elizabeth DeStefano
- Kellie Pokrikfa
- Kajal Jhaveri
- Lisa Kotara Horwitz
- LaQuinda McCoy
- Wendy Neri
- Joe Stone
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 intractable migraine for the last decade after sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury. Her advocacy work includes content management for Migraine at Work and the World Health Education Foundation; conducting interviews and social media management for the Migraine World Summit; and advisory council roles for the Brain Injury Association of America. Kellie’s primary goals are patient education and enabling those living with chronic illness to easily access digestible information on treatment options and coping mechanisms.
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.
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, and 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.
Kajal Jhaveri
Email Marketer & Interviewer
Kajal has lived with migraine for three-quarters of her life. As a teenager, she experienced severe migraine attacks and sought treatment from a neurologist. She has built a 25-year career in PR and corporate communications working for Fortune 500 companies and is grateful to be leveraging her background for migraine advocacy. A lifelong learner, she wants to understand and learn as much as she can about migraine disease to make a difference and help others.
LaQuinda McCoy
Patient Leader & Interviewer
LaQuinda has been battling migraine attacks since junior high school. In 2017, her condition escalated from chronic to intractable migraines. The necessity to leave her decade-long position as a liver transplant nurse in 2018 plunged her into depression. Disheartened by her neurologist’s lack of support, LaQuinda decided to educate herself to manage her condition better and assist others.
Career Highlights
Advocacy became her refuge after attending Retreat Migraine. In 2019, she started sharing her story with local businesses to enhance workplace conditions for individuals with Migraine disease. She returned to Retreat Migraine in 2021 as a guest speaker, recounting her journey with Migraine disease.
LaQuinda has been featured in the Invisible Project: Migraine & Headache 4th Edition and the 2nd Edition of My Chronic Brain Magazine. She serves on the U.S. Pain Foundation Disparities Solutions Advisory Council and served on the Disparities in Headache Advisory Council.
LaQuinda’s mission is to empower, educate, and raise awareness about Migraine disease and the disparities affecting the BIPOC community. She works as a freelance content writer, a part-time hospice triage nurse, and a contributor/moderator for Migraine.com.
Links to articles and speaking engagements
Disparities in Healthcare Interview FOX Houston (youtube.com)
A Black Woman Shares Her Experience as a Migraine Warrior – Migraine Again
Living with Chronic Intractable Migraine: A Personal Perspective How Retreat Migraine Changed My Life – MHAM (migraineheadacheawarenessmonth.org)
Joe Stone
Patient Leader & Interviewer
Joe Stone holds a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and a Master of Divinity from the Iliff School of Theology. He trained as a chaplain in hospital and trauma settings and has served in the Unitarian Universalist ministry. For the past 14 years, Joe has been the director of information technology at a national nonprofit organization. He has lived with episodic cluster headaches for 42 years and serves on the board of directors for Clusterbusters, advocating for greater awareness and support for those affected by the condition. Joe resides in Westminster, Colorado.
