Symposium Update (Episode 138)

Hosts: Matthew Rodreick & Jason Stoffer

This conversation explores U2FP's upcoming 20th Annual Science and Advocacy Symposium, reflecting on the past, present, and future of spinal cord injury research and advocacy. Jason and Matthew discuss the significance of this event, the importance of community engagement, and the need for legislative action to restore funding for spinal cord injury research. They describe some of the key speakers, sessions, and the unique opportunity for attendees to participate in advocacy efforts, starting with our Roll On The Capital happening on the last day of the conference.
 

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Bumper music: Dig a Hole by Freaque

Host Bios

Matthew Rodreick entered the SCI community after his son Gabriel 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 Gabriel 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.

Connect with Matthew Rodreick here:

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.

Connect with Jason Stoffer here:

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