Austin, Texas - United States
Industryhealth advocacy
Bio
Dr Anne Forrest has been recognized as one of the nation's leading patient advocates for people with concussion/traumatic brain injury. She lives with persistent symptoms from a concussion/mild traumatic brain injury that she received in a 1997 car accident by the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC and she continues to recover with appropriate treatment. She currently lives in Austin, Texas with her family after living in Arlington, Virginia for 9 years. She volunteers directly with the Brain Injury Association of America and has given over 60 speeches to health professionals, university students, government officials and digital creatives and accessibility gurus (at SXSW-Interactive and John Slatin University/Access U), as well as community leaders. Anne spoke at ONEMIND Summit 2016 in Washington DC on a panel with MDs and other PhDs on "The Case for Standardized Concussion Screening in the ED in the US. She spoke at the 2011 Brain Injury Awareness Day Congressional Briefing sponsored by the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force and got a standing ovation. The panel included military leaders as well as health agency leaders and Patty Horan, the wife of Wounded Warrior Patrick Horan. She is the Chair of the Brain Injury Association of America's Brain Injury Advisory Council, a collaborative effort between BIAA and people with brain injury. Anne's inspiring story of recovery has been well-documented in the Media. She has worked hard to make her story useful to help others recovering from brain injury. The article "I want my Brain Back':..One woman's story of perseverance reveals some of the mysteries of the brain" published in The Washingtonian Magazine is still one of the few articles on living with brain injury and Anne hears from people around the world about how the article has helped them have hope and get resources even though it was published in 2007. The Global Neuroscience Foundation Brain Blogger recommends the article saying "This is a wonderful article about a woman's recovery from brain injury. It's more than just a human interest story, its helpful." Articles about Anne on WETA/Brainline and Austin.com help mom's with brain injury be the best mom's they can be. Other media from WSJ, ABC News, and other sources can be found on www.aplasticbrain.com/media. The Tx State Office of Acquired Brain Injury video on Navigating Concussion had just been completed with Dr Kenneth Podell and Anne Forrest as well as another inspiring person with a brain injury. Anne speaks at brain injury conferences and to university classes and rehabilitation hospitals. She also talks about better UX design for people with cognitive disabilities like herself and consults on improved website design.
I am good at
I am a connector between people with brain injury/concussion who need hope and resources, and people who have experienced hope and recovery or people who can help including a broad range of health professionals, nonprofits (principally BIAA, ACRM, TX BI Alliance), government officials and others with brain injury.
Skills and Expertise
communication grant writing skills pre-injury research skills post-injury deep-dive into the difficulty of getting appropriate care after concussion