Start Here (Episode 106)
Guests: Matthew Rodreick & Jason Stoffer
Today’s episode is a brief primer on how this podcast got started and the kind of conversations you can expect here. You’ll learn about our hosts - Matthew Rodreick and Jason Stoffer – their relationship to SCI, why they do this work, what they hope this podcast can achieve and how this work is an extension of the broader mission of U2FP.
Yes, it’s a great place to start for new listeners. But regular listeners may learn something new, particularly about our hosts, Matthew and Jason, and what compels them to keep doing this difficult but necessary work.
As always, please share your thoughts with us via email at curecast@u2fp.org. Thanks for listening!
Listen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Soundcloud
Bumper music: Dig a Hole by Freaque
Guest Bios
Matthew Rodreick entered the SCI community after his son Gabe sustained a C5 injury while body surfing in Costa Rica. After leaving his position as Emergency Department Operations Supervisor for the Fairview Health System, he and Gabe traveled the world in search of the best therapeutic options, only to end up back in Minnesota advocating for cure research. Matthew led a coalition of Minnesota SCI community advocates and researchers to leverage the state legislature in pursuit of public funding for SCI research. In 2012 he made a short documentary film featuring then Minnesota Viking punter and Twitter celebrity Chris Kluwe, spending a day in a wheelchair. The screening of “Chris Kluwe Rolls A Mile In Someone Else’s Wheels” kicked off their 2013 legislative campaign. The bill was passed in 2015 as the MN SCI/TBI Research Grant Program, helping to inspire and launch U2FP's Cure Advocacy Network (CAN). U2FP's CAN has passed similar legislation in Washington, Pennsylvania, and Ohio and is now working with advocates and scientists in Wisconsin to pass a $3M SCI Research Grant Bill. Matthew credits U2FP and their Annual Symposium with providing the knowledge, focus and energy to see the real possibility of an end to the debilitating effects of paralysis.
Jason Stoffer lives in the Rockies of Northwest Montana with his wife and three children. He has a B.S. degree in Natural Sciences/Biology from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Jason's love of outdoor adventure led him to work and play there as a mountaineer, long distance hiker, wild-land firefighter, search and rescue technician, EMT, and Law Enforcement Officer. A single vehicle rollover on his commute to work one morning resulted in an L1 Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and paraplegia. He has now turned his energies toward SCI cure advocacy and participates as a manager for the Cure Advocacy Network as well as continuing to host the CureCast podcast with Matthew.
Related CureCast Episodes
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Our 100th episode which featured an updated interview with Kate Willette, author of Don't Call It A Miracle: The Movement to Cure Spinal Cord Injury
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Listen back to Jason's inaugural interview as Kate Willette passed him the co-host baton.
Further Reading
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A comprehensive introduction to the world of spinal cord injury research. It provides the basic information advocates need to push effectively for faster cures.
