This Is an In-Person and Virtual Event in Philadephia
Welcome to the Her Wellness Revolution a Miles for Migraine & Miles for Women's Health event! Join us in-person for a few hours of a powerful, community-based day of learning, connection, and empowerment. This event is designed to equip you with knowledge, tools, and support to better understand & manage migraine alongside other chronic conditions.
**For In-Person attendees: $10 registration deposit to reserve your lunch & attendance. This will be refunded to you, in cash, at check-in in the day of the event.**
Research shows that migraine frequently coexists with a range of chronic diseases, including asthma, other pain conditions, depression, anxiety, autoimmune conditions, sleep disorders, and more. This overlapping burden means women are managing not only the debilitating symptoms of migraine, but also multiple other health challenges that impact their quality of life. This becomes even more confusing because all women will experience perimenopause and menopause, and the complication of hormones and migraine is overwhelming.
Despite this complexity, most women do not receive coordinated or comprehensive care. These conditions are often treated in isolation, each one addressed by a different specialist or clinic, with little to no integration. Primary care providers, though well-intentioned, are often too overwhelmed by patient volume and administrative demands to provide the coordination and continuity women need across their health conditions.
To make matters worse, women are typically caregivers in their families and often work full-time. Many of the women in our community report having three or more chronic conditions—and still being expected to manage work, caregiving, and household responsibilities. They simply do not have the time or energy to navigate a fragmented and confusing healthcare system on their own.
Health Empowerment Revolution Philadelphia
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and take charge of your health. The event will include presentations and Q&A with our panelists.
You will leave this event with:
Validation: Migraine often comes with other whole-body/systemic conditions — you’re not imagining it.
Awareness: Understanding common overlapping conditions and red flags.
Tools: Practical questions and strategies to bring to future medical appointments.
Confidence: You have the ability to connect the dots when the medical system won’t.
Location
The Mütter Museum at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
19 South 22nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Watch Recorded Sessions from the HER: Health Empowerment Revolution Philadelphia
Get access to all 4 video recordings from the November 8th event by completing the brief form below. After clicking on the green "Sign Up and Get Access" button, the first video will appear on your screen.
Agenda
- 9AM - Check In / Visit with Sponsors (In person)
- 9:30AM - Welcome - Shirley Kessel
- 9:40AM - Why We Are Here Today - Dr. Joanna Kempner
- 9:50AM - Panel 1: The Whole-Body/Systemic Nature of Migraine - Dr. Lauren Natbony & Dr. Stephanie Nahas
- 10:30AM - Break
- 10:45AM - Panel 2: Hormones & Migraine - Dr. Claire Ceriani, Dr. Brittany Mays, Dr. Jessica Shepherd
- 11:50AM - Break/Lunch
- 12:10PM - Panel 3: Behavioral Health & Migraine - Dr. Dawn Buse, Dr. Madeline Chadehumbe, Dr. Stephanie Callan, Leigh Braden
- 1:00PM - Conclusion/Wrap Up - Shirley Kessel
Speakers
Dr. Joanna Kempner
Dr. Joanna Kempner is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University where she studies science, medicine, and inequality. Her work on health and justice, stigma in medicine, and the political suppression of science attempts to give a voice to those we rarely hear from. Her writing addresses the lack of effective treatments for pain, gender, race and stigma, and the extraordinary lengths that people will go to in order to find relief. She is the author of the award-winning book, Not Tonight: Migraine and the Politics of Gender and Health (Chicago), and is currently writing about cluster headache patient-led efforts to bring psychedelics back to medicine. Her research can also be read in a wide-range of academic and popular publications, including Science, PLoS Medicine, Social Science & Medicine, and Migraine.com.
Dr. Stephanie Nahas
Stephanie J. Nahas, MD, MSEd, FAHS, FAAN, Professor of Neurology - Dr. Nahas is a graduate of Harvard College (biology, AB ’95), USC (instructional technology, MSEd ‘98), and Rush Medical College (MD ’01). She is Professor of Neurology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She is a board-certified headache specialist and co-directs the fellowship training program at the Jefferson Headache Center. She has been practicing headache medicine full time since 2007 and has been very active in education and advocacy in addition to clinical care and research. She’s given over 150 lectures on headache (not including dozens of internal lectures), has authored nearly 50 papers and over 50 abstracts, has engaged in numerous media appearances and activities, and has been heavily involved with the American Academy of Neurology, American Headache Society, Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy, and The Headache Alliance.
Dr. Lauren Natbony
Lauren R. Natbony, MD, FAHS is a board-certified neurologist and fellowship-trained headache specialist, nationally recognized for her expertise in the overlap of migraine, autonomic dysfunction, and hypermobility spectrum disorders. As the founder and Medical Director of Integrative Headache Medicine of New York PLLC in New York City, she offers a precision medicine approach that integrates pharmacologic strategies with evidence-based complementary therapies to treat the full spectrum of migraine and related disorders.
Dr. Natbony serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she previously directed the Headache Medicine Fellowship. She is actively involved in national leadership through the American Headache Society, where she chairs the Autonomic Disorders and Complementary & Integrative Medicine Special Interest Groups.
A sought-after speaker and educator, Dr. Natbony is passionate about bridging the gap between headache medicine and dysautonomia care. Her work focuses on empowering both clinicians and patients to better recognize and manage the complex interplay between the brain, body, and autonomic nervous system in chronic headache disorders.
Dr. Madeline Chadehumbe
Madeline Chadehumbe, MD - is the current Chief Medical Officer at Neurabilities Healthcare. As a neurologist and behavioral health specialist, she is dedicated to advancing care for individuals affected by neurodevelopmental conditions and headache disorders. Dr. Chadehumbe’s clinical practice serves children and adults, with a focus on those navigating complex diagnoses and seeking second opinions—particularly women who have been labeled with "functional disorders" and underserved by traditional care models. Her work spotlights the immense burden and stigma that women with migraine endure, highlighting how this population experiences significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety as a direct result of persistent symptoms, delayed diagnosis, and social misunderstanding.
Dr. Jessica Shepherd
Dr. Jessica Shepherd is a board certified gynecologist and women's health expert that specializes in menopausal health and is also the Chief Medical Officer for Hers. Her holistic practice Sanctum Med + Wellness in Dallas, has created a place for patients to explore their holistic journey in optimizing health and has been featured in Self Magazine and Women’s Health Magazine. The release of her book "Generation M" this year has also created more buzz in the menopause world.
Dr. Shepherd is an engaging and well known media personality that is seen regularly as an expert on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN, MSNBC and CBS News. She is on the Advisory Board for Women's Health Magazine, Women's Health.org. and the Society for Women's Research.
As a healthcare expert, Dr. Shepherd strives to educate people how to address their physical, sexual, and emotional health. Her passion for holistic health to optimize aging and longevity is from her years of seeing women and creating an environment founded in prevention, wellness, and scientific advancement.
Dr. Claire Ceriani
Dr. Claire Ceriani is board-certified in Neurology. Dr. Ceriani completed her medical schooling, residency, and fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University. She completed her undergraduate studies at Bryn Mawr College. For the past two years, Dr. Ceriani has been the program director of the Headache Fellowship at Thomas Jefferson.
Dr. Dawn Buse
Dawn C. Buse PhD a Clinical Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a member of the Board of Directors of the Headache Cooperative of the Pacific and a licensed psychologist. She has worked with people with migraine and other chronic painful conditions for more than two decades providing biofeedback, cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation training as well as conducting research and being an active patient advocate. She has around 250 scientific publications and has won 15 US and international research and professional awards for her work in the field of migraine and headache diseases.
Dr. Brittany Mays
Dr. Brittany Mays received her Medical Doctorate at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She then completed her residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Miami. She went on to complete a United Council for Neurologic Subspecialities (UCNS) Headache Medicine Fellowship at the Mass General Brigham/Harvard, where she was the first physiatry-trained headache medicine fellow in program history. Dr. Mays is now one of four PM&R trained board certified headache medicine specialists in the US. She currently works as an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania under the Division of Headache and Facial Pain. In her role, she also serves as the Clinical Site Lead of the Corporal Michael J Crescenz Philadelphia VA Medical Center Headache Center of excellence. Dr. Mays remains actively involved in the American Headache Society (AHS) and the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AAPM&R). With her patients, she enjoys utilizing a multidisciplinary approach to headache medicine, with a special interest in utilizing integrative modalities. Her clinical interests namely include post-traumatic headache and cervicogenic headache, but she also serves as a member of the Penn Headache Division OB Fast Track Program which provides pre-conception counseling and recommendations for headache during pregnancy and fertility treatments.
Dr. Stephanie Callan
Dr. Stephanie Callan earned her doctorate degree in Clinical Health Psychology from the University of Colorado Denver and completed her clinical internship at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven in 2023. She continued her work with Veterans at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VAMC in Philadelphia, completing a post-doctoral fellowship in integrated care teams. In her training, she accumulated experiences in several specialty health clinics including chronic pain and women’s health primary care. She is now a Mental and Behavioral Health Integration Psychologist embedded in several Neurology clinics including the Headache Center of Excellence. Her research interests include daily health behaviors and coping with illness in couples. She looks forward to applying this experience to those coping with headache. Clinically, she employs a variety of evidence-informed approaches with her patients including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Headache and Insomnia, Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Andrea Boffice
Andrea Boffice (She/Her) earned both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the School of International Development, Community, and Environment at Clark University. She is an Instructional Designer and Curriculum Developer with extensive experience in creating transformative learning experiences for the behavioral health workforce, with a particular focus on youth and young adult peer support.
Since joining the Institute in 2019, Andrea has authored a number of high-impact curricula, including a 6-hour course on Suicide Prevention for the Juvenile Justice System through the City of Philadelphia; “QE,” a 16-hour course on the LGBTQ+ community in peer work developed in collaboration with the University of Connecticut; and “Supporting Youth and Young Adults,” a 16-hour course certified by the Pennsylvania Certification Board. She has also developed a comprehensive series of trainings for organizations employing Certified Peer Specialists (CPSs), including “Esteeming Peer Support,” “Preventing Vicarious Trauma,” “Support for Employees in Recovery,” and “Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Success.”
Andrea is currently leading the development of a nationwide curriculum through an investment with Teva Pharmaceuticals, aimed at reducing stigma and increasing awareness for individuals living with schizophrenia and tardive dyskinesia.
Prior to joining the Institute, Andrea worked in youth advocacy across Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and remains active in systems advocacy and community education in Philadelphia. Her ongoing mission is to advance mental health education, expand access to high-quality peer support services, and empower individuals and communities in their recovery and well-being.
Stephanie Stahl
Stephanie Stahl, CBS Philadelphia's Emmy-Award-winning health reporter, is featured daily on newscasts and her weekend Health Watch show on our streaming platform.
As one of the television industry's most respected medical reporters, Stahl has been recognized by community and health organizations alike for her hard-hitting yet compassionate approach to her beat, an approach that has changed lives and influenced medical practices.
Stahl's reporting has earned her high honors in both the television industry and medical field. In addition to 13 Mid-Atlantic Emmy awards, she's a member of the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.
Stahl received the prestigious Diamond Award from Temple University Hospital's Auxiliary for her "dedication to excellence, her professional and personal integrity, and her deep sense of compassion for others." The Pennsylvania Public Health Association honored her with its 2000 Media Award; the local chapter of the American Liver Foundation named Stahl its Media Professional of the Year and the Cardiovascular Institute presented her with its Leadership Award for "positively impacting the health of the Delaware Valley."
She is also involved with community and station efforts, including Susan G. Komen Philadelphia Race for the Cure, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and Ronald McDonald House Charities. She serves on the board of the Children's Crisis Treatment Center and is a mentor with Women of Tomorrow at Carver High School.
Stahl and her husband, Jim, reside in Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia. They have a son, Matthew, who works in professional sports management.
Follow her on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Shirley Kessel
Shirley Kessel is the Executive Director of Miles for Migraine and the mom of three daughters, two of whom live with migraine. When her youngest daughter Sydney became diagnosed at an early age, they both decided that it was time to take action to bring awareness and raise money for migraine research. They contacted Eileen Jones, who founded the Miles for Migraine race in San Francisco, and brought the race to the Philadelphia community in 2013. She became the Executive Director in 2017 when it became apparent that Miles for Migraine should take the race series around the USA.
Shirley has worked in healthcare since 1983 and has served on various non-profit boards since 1991. She won’t retire until a cure is found for this disabling disease.