HER: Health Empowerment Revolution – Phoenix at Mayo Clinic Integrated Education & Research Building (IERB), Room 216 – Phoenix, AZ

**$10 registration deposit is required to reserve your lunch & attendance. This expense will be refunded to you, in cash, upon check-in the day of the event.**

Welcome to the HER: Health Empowerment Revolution a Miles for Migraine & Miles for Women’s Health event! Join us in-person for a few hours of powerful, community-based learning, connection, and empowerment. This event is designed to equip you with knowledge, tools, and support to better understand & manage migraine along side other chronic conditions.

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.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, connect, and take charge of your health. Register today!

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.

NOTE: We do charge a $10 registration fee to reserve your lunch & attendance. This will be refunded to you, in cash, at check in the day of the event.

Speaker Bios:

Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, MBA, MACP. FAAP, FAHA, FAMWA, FTOS, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics who practices and teaches at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)/ Harvard Medical School (HMS) as one of the first fellowship-trained obesity medicine physicians worldwide. She is among the most highly cited obesity medicine physician-scientists, with over 275 peer-reviewed publications. Stanford has conducted 1200 media interviews, including with the New York Times, USA Today, Time, U.S. News & World Report, Glamour, and NPR. In 2023, Stanford appeared on 60 Minutes with Lesley Stahl, stating that obesity is a chronic disease and that there is physician bias against those with excess weight. In an interview with Deborah Roberts on addressing weight stigma, Dr. Stanford advocates eliminating bias towards those with higher weights. Oprah Winfrey interviewed Dr. Stanford as an obesity expert for her “The Life You Want Class: The State of the Weight” on Oprah Daily. In this interview, she teaches about the science of obesity as a chronic disease. In an interview with Sanjay Gupta for his CNN Chasing Life podcast, she coined the term “street corner medicine” to refer to the assumption that people judge people based on their size– they assume that heavier people are unhealthy and leaner people are healthy without investigating whether this is factual by evaluating metabolic health parameters such as blood pressure, cholesterol, liver function tests, blood sugar, etc. 

Dr. Stanford received her BS and MPH from Emory University as an MLK Scholar, her MD from the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine as a Stoney Scholar, her MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as a Zuckerman Fellow in the Harvard Center for Public Leadership and her executive MBA as a merit-based scholarship recipient from the Quantic School of Business and Technology. She completed her Obesity Medicine & Nutrition Fellowship at MGH/HMS after completing her internal medicine and pediatrics residency at the University of South Carolina. She has served as a health communications fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as a behavioral sciences intern at the American Cancer Society. Upon completing her MPH, she received the Gold Congressional Award, the highest honor Congress bestows upon America’s youth. 

Dr. Stanford has completed a medicine and media internship at the Discovery Channel. An American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Leadership Award recipient in 2005 and an AMA Paul Ambrose Award for national leadership among resident physicians in 2009, she was selected for the AMA Inspirational Physician Award in 2015. The American College of Physicians (ACP) selected her as the 2013 Joseph E. Johnson Leadership Award recipient, and the Massachusetts ACP selected her for the Young Leadership Award in 2015. She is the 2017 recipient of the HMS Amos Diversity Award and the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) Award for Women’s Health. In 2019, she was selected as the Suffolk District Community Clinician of the Year for the Reducing Health Disparities Award for MMS. She was chosen for The Obesity Society Clinician of the Year in 2020. In 2021, she was awarded the MMS Grant Rodkey Award for her dedication to medical students and the AMA Dr. Edmond and Rima Cabbabe Dedication to the Profession Award, which recognizes a physician who demonstrates active and productive improvement to the profession of medicine through community service, advocacy, leadership, teaching, or philanthropy. She is the 2021 Recipient of the Emory Rollins School of Public Health Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2022, the National Academy of Medicine selected her as a Scholar in Diagnostic Excellence. She was named to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA).

Dr. Paru S David, MD, MSCP, FACP, joined Mayo Clinic Arizona Women’s Health Internal Medicine in 1999, where she is the current vice-chair. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and a Fellow in the American College of Physicians.

A board-certified internal medicine physician, Dr. David completed her M.D. degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. She completed an internal medicine residency at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. She is currently a Menopause Society Certified Menopause Practitioner.

Dr. David provides consultative care in women’s health issues including menopause, sexual health, contraception, as well as hormones and headaches. She is involved in education and is the Director of FRAMES (Foundations of Reasoning and Application in Medicine and Science) at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine Arizona Campus. She is also the Chair of Student Engagement for IGNITEMed, a non-profit organization supporting women medical students.

Dr. Ellen C. Meltzer, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. She is Medical Director of Mayo Clinic Experience in Arizona and Chair of the Mayo Clinic Enterprise Ethics Committee. She is an Internist, practicing Integrative Medicine, and her current research focuses on leveraging technology and artificial intelligence to improve patient, visitor, and staff experience.

She graduated from Bowdoin College, received her Medical Degree from Jefferson Medical College, and completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Boston University Medical Center (BUMC), where she received the R. Knight Steele Award for Geriatric Medicine. She completed a fellowship in General Internal Medicine and a residency in Preventive Medicine, also at BUMC, as well as a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine.

Dr. Talia Sobel, MD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Women’s Health Internal Medicine division at Mayo Clinic Arizona. She attended medical school at Georgetown University School of Medicine and internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. She then completed a women’s health fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Sobel is passionate about women’s health and has dedicated her career to caring for women. She is a nationally certified menopause practitioner, and her interests include menopause management, diagnosing and treating sexual health issues, survivorship, and disease prevention with the goal of helping women live their healthiest lives.

Dr. Rashmi Halker Singh, MD, FAHS, FAAN is a neurologist and headache specialist who cares for people living with migraine and other chronic neurological conditions. She is a Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic, where she treats patients, teaches future physicians, and works to improve how migraine care is delivered.

Dr. Halker Singh sees firsthand how migraine affects women across their lives – from hormonal transitions to mental health challenges and overlapping pain conditions. She is committed to translating complex medical science into clear, practical guidance so patients can better understand their symptoms and feel confident navigating treatment decisions.

She serves in national leadership roles within the American Headache Society and the American Academy of Neurology and is Deputy Editor of Headache, a leading journal dedicated to advancing migraine research and treatment.

Her work has been recognized with multiple national awards for service, education, and leadership. Beyond research and publications, what drives Dr. Halker Singh most is empowering patients with knowledge, practical strategies, and hope.

At the heart of her work is a simple belief: migraine is a complex, real, and often invisible disease – and people living with it deserve to be heard, supported, and offered thoughtful, evidence-based care that addresses the whole person.

Dr. Amaal J. Starling, MD, FAHS, FAAN, is an Associate Professor of Neurology in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. She joined Mayo in 2012 and is currently a board-certified Consultant within the Department of Neurology. She is presently the Program Director for the Headache Medicine Fellowship and is Program Director for the Transitional Year Residency Program in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science – Arizona Campus.

Dr. Starling received her M.D. degree from Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. She completed a Transitional Year Residency, a Neurology Residency, and a Headache Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was also the External Chief Resident for the Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Arizona.

She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Headache Society (AHS). She is active in both organizations. In addition, she has served as the Co-Chair of the American Headache and Migraine Association, Chair of the New Investigator and Trainee Special Interest Section of the AHS. She has been an invited speaker to many international, national, and regional meetings and has been a perennial speaker at the AHS Scottsdale Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her many honors include the AHS Above and Beyond Award for Service, Manfred D. Muenter Award for Excellence in Clinical Neurology, the AAN Annual Meeting Residency Scholarship, the 2012 Spirit of Mayo Clinic Award, and the Mayo Brothers Distinguished Fellowship Award. Dr. Starling’s most recent accolades include the Women Leading in Neurology recognition from the AAN, Super Supporter Award from Miles for Migraine, and the Outstanding Emerging Educator from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.

Dr. Starling has over 80 peer-reviewed publications and abstracts related to her fields of interest which include migraine, concussion, posttraumatic headache, telemedicine, and graduate medical education. She is an active participant and member of many educational and departmental committees within Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Juliana VanderPluym, MD, is an Associate Professor and Consultant in the Department of Neurology within the Division of Headache at the Mayo Clinic Arizona. She received her Doctor of Medicine with Special training in Research and her residency training in Neurology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Her research interests include health equity, headache education, novel migraine treatments and non-headache phases of migraine.

Dr. Cynthia Townsend, PhD, ABPP, is a licensed clinical health psychologist, clinical director for the Mayo Clinic Arizona Pain Rehabilitation Center in the Department of Anesthesiology Division of Pain Medicine and consultant in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology Division of Clinical Health Psychology.  After receiving her doctorate at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Townsend achieved board certification in Clinical Health Psychology.  She completed fellowship training in Medical Psychology specializing in chronic pain rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota where she then served as staff pain psychologist and clinical director of the Pain Rehabilitation Center. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic faculty in Phoenix in 2016, Dr. Townsend founded and served as clinical director of the Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program for the Veteran Affairs Health Care System in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Her program achieved CARF accreditation for Interdisciplinary Pain Rehabilitation within six months of program establishment with successful demonstration of 1,200+ standards.  As Project Leader, she and her team, were awarded the VA Midwest Health Care Network Director’s Recognition Program Network Star Award (2014).

Dr. Townsend has authored/co-authored over 35 manuscripts and book chapters – the majority focused on chronic pain interdisciplinary rehabilitation utilizing cognitive-behavioral approaches.  She served as a consultant for the AZ DHS Pain and Addiction statewide medical school curriculum development.  The American Pain Society, Pain Rehabilitation Special Interest Group (2014) awarded her a ‘Meritorious Award for Contributions to the Field’, an acknowledgement by her pain peers for “Outstanding contributions to the field of pain rehabilitation and to the interdisciplinary development of colleagues.”  Dr. Townsend’s career highlights include her work as a co-investigator on a National Institute of Health grant held jointly with the Lake Superior Fond du Lac Ojibwe and Mayo Clinic to develop a pain rehabilitation program for Native Americans with chronic pain.  

During over 25 years in her field of expertise, Dr. Townsend is also engaged in teaching non-interventional/non-pharmacological pain management and comprehensive wellness strategies to medical school, resident, and fellowship trainees across numerous medical disciplines at Mayo Clinic and professional conferences. Dr. Townsend is passionate about normalizing and expanding wellness strategies emphasizing emotional awareness, emotional literacy and well-being into personal and professional conversations.  Dr. Townsend’s personal highlights include being inspired by her 4 children, beloved by her tribe of sister-cousins, learning how to play the steel tongue drum, and gardening in the desert.

Dr. Aimen Vanood, MD obtained her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Arizona State University. She then completed medical school at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Royal Oak, Michigan. She returned to Arizona for her neurology residency, which she completed at Mayo Clinic – Arizona. She is currently a headache fellow at Mayo Clinic and will complete her fellowship in behavioral neurology during the 2026-2027 academic year. She enjoys caring for elderly patients with migraine and is interested in exploring the cognitive and behavioral symptoms experienced in both headache and neurodegenerative disorders, and how these may intersect. Medical education has been a passion of hers throughout her career as well.

Dr. Medha Tandon, MBBS is a headache medicine fellow at the Mayo Clinic, Arizona with a focused interest in healthcare equity, global health and expanding access to evidence-based headache care. She received her medical degree from the Army College of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India after which she completed a neurology residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. After her fellowship, she will be joining the University of Arizona in Tucson as a headache neurologist where she plans to build programs that extend specialty headache care to underserved communities in the United States and globally.

Dr. Sara Shihab, MD.MSCP FACP, is a Woman’s Health Internist who specializes in menopause, sexual health, and complex hormonal management. She graduated with her MD with honors from Al-Nahrain University School of Medicine Baghdad, Iraq. She completed Internal Medicine residency at Yale New Haven Hospital, Yale School of Medicine.

Dr Shihab is the Mayo Clinic, AZ Women’s Health Internal Medicine Division Associate Chair of research with research interests in menopause and implications of social and medical factors on various health processes in women.

She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and is a faculty at the Women’s Health Fellowship program at Mayo Clinic, AZ.

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.