Katherine Price Snedaker, LCSW

Summary

Katherine Price Snedaker, LCSW, is the CEO and Founder of PINK Concussions, non-profit, focused on brain injury in women from sport, domestic violence, accidents or military service.

Katherine is an international speaker, published researcher and a licensed therapist in Connecticut, Virginia, and California. Katherine has experienced brain injury personally as well as in her family.

Since 2014, Katherine has presented on sex differences in brain injury in the across US, and in Canada, Ireland, England, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. Katherine has present for organizations such as the US Department of Veterans Affairs, US Army, Boston Children's Hospital, Ohio State University, and the International Brain Injury Association. She earned her Masters in Social Work from Fordham University.

Katherine has produced eleven International Summits on female brain injury hosted by organization such as Georgetown University Medical Center, Palo Alto VA Healthcare System, International Brain Injury Association, the International Conference on Paediatric Acquired Brain Injury and with Mount Sinai (CTE in Women Summit).

Katherine has been the co-author of eight articles and one letter to the editor in peer reviewed journals and been the guest editor of Brain Injury Professional magazine on Women and Brain Injury. Along with moderating online support groups for over 8,000 people, she has been the host and producer of a YouTube podcast on Brain Injury, Causal Conversations with Brain Injury Professionals with over 60 hours of interviews.

With over a decade of experience on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, Katherine creates social media content on brain injury in women as well as promotes new research and articles on this topic. With her combined accounts of over 40,000 followers, Katherine has been able to create international awareness of brain injury in women.

Her work with PINK Concussions has been covered by media across the globe and has been featured in the New York Times, WebMD, Scientific American, Marie Claire, US News and World Report, The Washington Post, HEALTH, STAT, AP the Big Story, and Neurology Advisor. She has been interviewed on Good Morning America, BBC, BBC Scotland, NBC News, Fox News, ESPN's Outside the lines, and Aljazeera.

Awards

·       Brain Injury Alliance of Connecticut’s Education and Awareness Award - 2019

·       Darien/Norwalk YWCA’s Woman of Distinction Award – 2019

·       Kappa Kappa Gamma’s 150 Women in 150 Years - 2020

·       Safe Living Space’s Women Making History Award - 2022

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Founding PINK

In 2012, Katherine founded PINK Concussions as a website to summarize the existing research on female concussions, and in 2015, she launched PINK Concussion as a 501c3 non-profit (NGO). The mission was to improve the care and recovery of women and girls by educating the public, patients and medical professionals on sex and gender differences in brain injury.

Including domestic violence in the title of the PINK Concussions along with sports and military service was unheard of at the time as awareness of TBI in DV was not well known. But Katherine strongly believed that beyond sports, there was a far greater number of repetitive brain injuries are still hidden and endured by the invisible women who suffer violence inflicted by partners in every social economic group of society.

In 2016, with a founding grant of $20,000 from the NCAA, Katherine brought together the top experts in the field in produced the first International Summit of Female Concussion and TBI at Georgetown University School of Medicine/Medical Center/MedStar. With the success of the first event, Katherine produced a two day Summit on Female Brain Injury in the Military at the Palo Alto VA Healthcare System/Stanford University. See the list below for the eleven conferences that have taken place in the US, Rome, Ireland and other cities.

Katherine has always advocated for Information on women who suffer brain injuries from violence in their homes or communities to be included in all community brain injury education, medical trainings, and any research plans. In January 2019, Katherine launched the PINK Concussions Partner-Inflicted Brain Injury Task Force to bring together brain injury experts with domestic violence/intimate partner violence professionals. This international task force lead by six experts in the field seeks to improve the lives of those impacted by violence by creating an open space for learning, inspiration, and collaboration among those working in brain injury and gender-based violence. Past presentations are on the PINK Concussions YouTube Channel.

For a complete timeline of PINK, click here.

For a complete list of press, click here.

For a complete list of papers, click here.

Press on Domestic Violence

 Some Katherine’s Keynotes/Presentations on Brain Injury in Women

2022

  • University of Kansas Medical Center Concussion Conference, Kansas City

  • American Association for Justice’s Traumatic Brain Injury - Essential Skills and Advanced Techniques, Atlanta

  • Brain Injury Australia 2022 Conference

  • The Joint Brain Injury Conference, NYC

  • 35th Annual Conference on Legal and Medical Issues in Brain Injury, NYC

    2021

  • Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) Caucus – Domestic Violence Training

  • West Virginia Brain Injury Conference

  • National Injury Prevention Foundation’s “ThinkFirst” Conference on Injury Prevention

  • Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology & Critical Care (SNACC) 

  • 11th Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference – Washington DC

  • SOAR Conference - Domestic Violence and TBI – Canada

  • Columbia University Synapse 2021 Conference - Moderator

    2020                                

  • King’s Daughters Health System Sports Concussion Conference

  • Fordham University School of Social Work – Lpresentation to graduate students

  • 33rd Annual Conference on Legal and Medical Issues in Brain Injury

  • North America Brain Injury Society 2020 NABIS Conference – 3 presentations

  • Fordham University School of Social Service, Lecture for MSW Students

  • Toronto - Domestic Violence/TBI Training - University of Toronto

  • Pennsylvania’s BrainSTEPS: Concussion Return to Learn

  • CA Dept of Vet Affairs - Brain Injury in Women in the Military-Active Duty and Veterans

  • Women’s Brain Project Annual Conference - International

  • Columbia Univ. Synapse/Pink Concussions conference 2020 - “Domestic Violence during the COVID Pandemic: Women, IPV and Brain Injury”

2010-2019

  • Harvard Medical School Co-hosting PINK Concussions with the Boston Children’s Hospital Conference, Invited keynote speaker, Boston, 2019

  • Ohio State University’s 4th Brain Health Summit, Invited keynote speaker, 2019

  • West Virginia TBI Conference, Invited keynote speaker, 2019

  • PINK Concussions PINK 7 with IBIA World Brain Injury Congress, Host, moderator and presenter, 2019

  • NY Harbor VA’s Post Concussion Dysautonomia Conference, Invited keynote speaker, 2019

  • Stanford U Sports Concussion Summit Invited presenter, 2019

  • PINK Concussions Summit PINK 6 with the Tampa VA – Host, moderator and presenter, Tampa, 2018

  • Santa Clarita Valley Concussion Conference Invited keynote speaker, Los Angeles, 2018

  • US Army Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Invited keynote speaker on Military Female Brain, Germany, 2018

  • PINK Concussions Summit PINK 5 at NABIS, Host, moderator and presenter, Houston, 2018

  • The Canadian Concussion Symposium Invited keynote speaker for two events, Toronto, 2018

  • CTE in Female Brains with the Tampa VA Host, moderator and presenter, NYC, 2018

  • 4th Federal TBI Conference Presenter on Domestic Violence and Female Brain Injury, DC, 2018

  • VA’s Women Veterans, PTSD, and Post-Military Health Invited presenter on Domestic Violence, Boston, 2018

  • ELEVATE Tech Fest HEALTH Invited presenter on Female Athletes in Sport, Toronto, 2018

  • Utah State Brain Alliance Conference Invited presenter, Salt Lake, 2018

  • The Milken Institute: Future of Health Summit Invited presenter, “Importance of Women in Brain Banks,” DC, 2018

  • VA Brain Trust Invited Speaker on PINK Concussions’ Collaborations with the VA, Boston, 2017

  • International Brain Injury Associations’ World Brain Injury Congress Invited Speaker on Female Brain Injury & Poster Presenter on Youth Sports Concussion Program, New Orleans, 2017

  • Defense & Veterans Brain Injury Center’s (DVBIC) Webinar Presenter on Female Brain Injury to 470 DoD clinicians signed on to listen to the hour-long webinar and Q&A, 2016

  • Brain Injury Association of American’s (BIAA) Webinar Invited Presenter on Female Brain Injury to 340 TBI clinicians, 2016

  • World Brain Injury Congress presented Female Athletes’ Experience of Concussion, The Hague, 2016

  • Canadian Brain Injury Conference, Presenter, Female Brain Injury and Concussion, Toronto, 2016

  • PINK Concussions Summit PINK 2 Presenter, Female Athletes & Concussion, Palo Alto VA Medical Center, 2016

  • PINK Concussions Summit PINK 1 Presenter, Female Athletes & Concussion, Georgetown U Medical, 2016

  • UMass Concussion Conference Presenter, Female Concussion, Lowell, 2016

  • American Society of Neuroradiology Conference Poster presenter Female Athletes’ Experience of Concussion, ‘15

  • Santa Clara Valley Brain Injury Conference Presenter, Female Athletes’ Experience of Concussion, 2015

  • American Academy of Neurology Sports Concussion Conference Poster presenter, 2014, 2015

Before PINK Concussions, she founded SportsCAPP.com which focused on free resources for youth sports teams for concussion education and policy; and also produced four state conferences for CT school nurses/staff in best practices to help students “Return to Learn/School” after concussion while lowering risk of liability. She has presented on concussion across the US, Canada and Europe.

Katherine’s Presentations on Youth Sports Concussion and Return to Learn

  • Harvard Medical School Co-hosting PINK Concussions with the Boston Children’s Hospital Conference, Invited keynote speaker, Boston, 2019

  • Brown University Concussion Education Conference, Invited presenter, Concussion Education Programs, 2018

  • Santa Clarita Valley Concussion Seminar, Invited keynote speaker, Youth Sport Prevention, Los Angeles, 2018

  • International Olympic Committee’s World Conference on the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, One hour workshop presenter, Youth Sport Concussion, Monaco, 2017

  • IBIA World Brain Injury Congress, Poster presenter, Youth Sports Concussion Program, New Orleans, 2017

  • International Olympic Committee’s World Conference on the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, One hour workshop presenter, Youth Sport Concussion, Monaco, 2017

  • The State of Connecticut Commission on Women, Children and Seniors (CWCS), Invited presenter, Hartford, 2016

  • University of Connecticut, Stamford, 2014 and 2015, and Storrs Campus, 2016, Presenter

  • Sports Concussion & Technology National Council on Youth Sports Safety Tour, 2015-2016, Presenter, Sports Concussion and Technology in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and DC

  • Sacred Heart University, Athletic Trainers of East Coast Conference, Invited presenter, NCAA DII, CT 2014

  • Quinnipiac University School of Medicine, The Concussion Conference, Host and presenter, CT 2014

  • Sacred Heart University, Invited presenter, College Concussions and Return To Learn, 2013

  • The Institute of Medicine, Youth Sport Concussions Effect on Families, Invited presenter, DC, 2013

  • Professional Training for School Nurses: Norwalk, Darien, Trumbull, Cheshire, Norwalk Public Schools, New Canaan Country School, 2010-2017

  • Parent Concussion Education: Fairfield Prep 2015, Darien Oxridge 2015, Cold Spring Harbor 2014, and KING, 2010-2018

  • Concussion Education Trainings: Norwalk Junior Soccer Association, Rowayton Community Soccer, Weston Youth Lacrosse for example

Why PINK Concussions?

I founded PINK Concussions to improve the research, medical care and community support for females with brain Injury including concussion #pinkTBI. I believe females with brain injuries ARE the invisible patients within "the invisible injury." 

It is my belief that every female with a concussion deserves a doctor who practices with gender-specific consideration for her symptoms, her acute care and her recovery plan. Her journey back to health can be helped by the correct diagnosis, gender-specific care, education, and the proper support systems at home, school or work.

I have suffered concussions since I was sixteen and learned quickly just not mention the weeks of headaches to doctors who had no understanding of my experience. But in 2008, when my son suffered a series of concussion which forced him to close to a year of school, I sought out concussion experts, emailed researchers and attended scores of medical professional conferences to find an alternative to the isolating prescription of "rest until symptoms cleared."

I quickly became "the concussion mom" to call for answers and found myself educating more and more families each month. There seemed to be a deep gap between local doctors' diagnosis of a concussion and the family's knowledge and coping skills on how to help their child heal from a concussion. The schools also seemed to lack an understanding of how best to integrate a child still healing back into the classroom. My quest to help my own child had now expanded to wider and wider circles of need.

With my background of social work and new knowledge of concussions, I went on to found several concussion education websites, support groups and organizations to educate sports, schools and community groups on larger scale. I also co-founded and worked in concussion clinics and began to speak across the country at government, civic and sports events. As medical social worker by profession and a mother of a child who had PSC, I had the unique prospective of being a patient, caregiver and professional challenged by concussion.

Working in the clinics and talking to families, I began to notice young girls who they weren’t healing as fast as their families, friends and teachers felt they should. In support groups, the girls shared their experience and frustrations with doctors, teachers and their peers. I founded a unique support group for teens with PCS which ended up being ALL females. Over several months we met twice a week to explore types of exercise and support to see what would best benefit girls with PCS. I learned more from these girls than I could ever read in a book or a classroom. The isolation of staying at home combined unsupportive attitudes of teachers, peers and medical providers was clear when these teens shared their what turned out to be a common experience.

While I had great plans to run further support groups, in quick succession, Hurricane Sandy partial-destroyed my house and I was diagnosed breast cancer. With time off from the concussion clinic due to cancer treatment, I founded PINKconcussions.

Katherine with Jim Nantz and his wife at the NFL-GE Announcement, 2013

Katherine with Jim Nantz and his wife at the NFL-GE Announcement, 2013

What was the PINK Spark?

In January 2013, I was undergoing treatment for breast cancer but wanted to still contribute to my field. My thought was to have a website with information about female concussion originated from a misquote by Jim Nantz to Roger Goodell on The 2013 Super Bowl Pre-Game Show.  Nantz remarked, “women soccer players are 2 1/2 times more likely to suffer a concussion than college football players." 

Instead, he should have compared "women soccer players" to "male soccer players," not to football players. His misquote caused great controversy that morning as press, football and soccer fans alike scrambled to google the correct statistic. From my research experience, I knew that statistics about female concussions were buried in short sub-paragraphs on gender in larger research studies. I realized there needed to be a central hub for information about female concussions and launched the first site on the internet to focus purely on female head injuries and began tweeting under @PinkConcussions,.

I confirmed the site’s value when I presented in DC, on Feb. 25, 2013, to the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council Committee on Sports-Related Concussion. As I was waiting to present, I noticed that almost every presentation had some small section about differences in female concussion including those from the US Army and ATC of West Point. 

Meeting Dr.Bennett Omalu before I presented No Guts No Glory

Meeting Dr.Bennett Omalu before I presented No Guts No Glory

What is PINK Research?

Partnered with two Clemson University professors, I conducted a study of female and male athletes' experience of concussion which has now been published in a peer review journal. I have presented our findings at:

  • NCAA II Athletic Trainer Conference, 2014

  • American Society of Neuroradiology Annual Conference, 2015

  • Santa Clara Valley Brain Injury Conference, 2015

  • American Academy of Neurology's Sports Concussion Conference, 2014 and 2015

  • The World Brain Injury Congress, 2016

Why RTL Conferences?

In 2014, I produced four state conferences where I along with a faculty of medical professionals trained over 650 Connecticut school nurses/staff in best practices to help students recover from concussions and lower the risk of liability for the schools. I also chair the Technology Work Group at National Council on Youth Sports Safety, Inc. and continue to speak around the country on the topic of concussions. 

Why did I focus on Youth Sports in 2009?

I launched SportsCapp.com to deal with the loopholes in the 2009 Connecticut Concussion Law. Sports CAPP.com was designed to help recreational teams, town leagues and private schools build concussion awareness into their programs for players, coaches and parents.  I designed this website around my concern with middle school aged athletes who are not covered by CT Concussion Law since they play in private or town leagues rather than in public middle schools where they would be protect by the law.  I had been working with CT and NY lacrosse leagues for several years and hopes to bring concussion awareness to teams from other sports across the state.  In 2010, I first founded of Team Concussion, a social media/web based support group for teenagers who were isolated at home with concussions.

Katherine Price Snedaker, LCSW

  • Katherine@PINKconcussions.org

I try to answer emails within 48 hours. If you don’t hear back from me in 48 hours, please feel free to email me again.

In any case of any medical emergency, please call 911.

Also see SportsCAPP.com  Concussion Awareness and Prevention Program - our sister youth sport site

Archive of Katherine in the Press for PINK Concussions or SportsCAPP - click logo or photo below, click here

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2012 Blogs which have published SportsCAPP articles

2012-2013 Radio Click show title or station logo to hear MP3