Matthew (of Minneapolis, Minnesota) 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.
 

Sam Maddox (of Los Angeles, California) is former Knowledge Manager and spinal cord injury research writer for the Reeve Foundation. He is the author of several books related to chronic health and paralysis, including four editions of the Paralysis Resource Guide, published by the Reeve Foundation. In 1992 Maddox wrote the first comprehensive history of spinal cord injury research, The Quest for Cure: Restoring Function After Spinal Cord Injury. He wrote and published the widely acclaimed resource book Spinal Network, and is founder of New Mobility magazine. Maddox was a panel member on The Consortium for Spinal Cord Medicine, which develops and disseminates evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to professionals and consumers. He is currently writing and producing books as a resource for the newly injured: SCI: First 90 Days. He has been a reporter for many magazines, including Time, Money and People. Maddox is a graduate of the University of Colorado, where he taught in the School of Journalism.
 

Jake Beckstrom is from Watertown, Minnesota. At the age of 16, Jake had a diving accident in a backyard pool and sustained a C4-6 spinal cord injury. A lifelong love of hunting, fishing, and the outdoors led him to pursue a path of environmental sustainability. He received a B.S. in Environmental Science at Southwest Minnesota State University, and in 2015, he received a law degree and master's degree in Environmental Law and Policy at Vermont Law School. Jake has been working for Unite 2 Fight Paralysis since 2018 as the Cure Advocacy Network Manager. Since 2022, Jake has been a delegate on the Executive Council of the North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium and board member of the Canadian/American Spinal Research Organization. Jake loves using his experience in public policy and advocacy to work with the Cure Advocacy Network to lobby for smarter spinal cord injury research funding and find a cure for 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.

Lucia Webb (of Minneapolis, Minnesota), graduated from Carleton College in 2016 with a degree in Dance and American Studies. Since graduation, she has pursued a variety of professional and artistic endeavors. Most recently, she worked as Events Coordinator at First Universalist Church. Lucia is passionate about social justice and believes that a new, more equitable world is possible. Originally from Portland, Oregon, she loves swimming in lakes, backpacking, reading, and birdwatching. Lucia is excited to join the U2FP team, and is honored to work for such an important cause.

Quinn Brett grew up in New Hope, Minnesota. After graduating with a degree in Psychology and Leadership from the University of Minnesota she bee-lined to Estes Park, Colorado where she had visited as a youth and found her first outdoor industry job at the YMCA of the Rockies. Athletics and movement have always been a big part of Quinn's life, from running the Twin Cities Marathon, triathlons, ultra-runs and rock climbing. In 2008, Quinn returned to school to obtain a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology as well as a social studies secondary teaching certificate. Traveling and the mountain lifestyle led her away from teaching in a classroom setting, and instead she acquired her Emergency Medicine training and Search and Rescue Training. She got hired as a climbing ranger in RMNP in the summer months, educating visitors on Public Land use and rescuing visitors with everything from twisted ankles to life-threatening injuries in precarious places. In the winter months she taught Wilderness EMT courses and traveled on various climbing expeditions. Quinn has established new routes and speed records on mountains across the globe, as well as all over the American West. In 2017, Quinn took a large climbing fall on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, sustaining a T11 ASIA A Spinal Cord Injury. Her love to move through outdoor wilderness space continues as does her passion for educating others on spinal cord injury and research.

Ryan (of Minneapolis, Minnesota) has worked in managerial and administrative roles at mission driven organizations for the last 15 years. He has a strong background in communications, customer service, and project management. Impressed by U2FP’s vision to end paralysis rather than simply accommodate it, Ryan is honored to lend his efforts in the comprehensive fight for a cure.

Kathy Christopherson (of Minneapolis, Minnesota) was born and raised in New England. She enlisted in the US Navy as a medic after high school and moved to the Minneapolis area with her husband after being discharged from the service. Kathy attended the University of Minnesota and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. She has worked in accounting management for the last 30 years - half of that time with non-profits serving disabled and refugee clients. Kathy believes that there is nothing more satisfying lending your efforts to a mission-driven organization, even in a small way. She is honored to be part of the Unite 2 Fight Paralysis family and our mission to find cures!

Jordan Bolton (of Apple Valley, Minnesota) was paralyzed from the neck down while a student at Lake Region State College in North Dakota. He suffered a C-4 and C-5 Spinal cord injury one night during a party with his basketball teammates and was given only a 5% chance of any recovery. After being airlifted to Minnesota, Jordan got to work, committing to an intense daily training schedule while also getting his Associate of Arts degree in the process. Prior to his injury in February 2018, he was a full time collegiate basketball player, working on getting a degree in law. Jordan served in student senate, honors society, and diversity club. Since his injury, Jordan tries to motivate people who follow his recovery journey on social media. Jordan is excited to use his social media influence to help U2FP grow the movement for cures!

Julie Censullo is an audio producer, editor, storyteller, and the producer for the U2FP CureCast. The majority of her career has been focused on creating and managing community-oriented media – joining the U2FP CureCast, with its explicit focus on providing information to the SCI community, felt like a natural extension of her work. In addition to working on the U2FP CureCast, she is also a freelance producer. She edits the Minnesota arts, history, and culture program MinneCulture for KFAI and produces the Moth StorySLAM for the Twin Cities, amongst other projects. Prior to going freelance, Julie worked as a production manager and producer for Twin Cities PBS. Her audio piece "Life Begins in the Stillness," a reflection on stillness, movement, life, and spinal cord injury, aired on the BBC 4 program Short Cuts in June 2023.