Mighty Member since May 2017
Katie had her first migraine attack at age five. Right before her 30th birthday, she had an attack that hasn’t stopped, she is always dealing with some level of pain. Unable to work in her beloved career, she found purpose in writing about her struggles and triumphs in her ongoing migraine journey. Her personal mission is to “Live a Fulfilled Life with Chronic Migraine and Pain.” Katie is passionate about education, breaking the stigma and raising awareness of the effects that migraine disease has on the person as well as those who love them. In 2013, she joined the writing team at Migraine.com, the largest online migraine community, which reaches 500,000 people weekly through all social media outlets. In 2017, Katie began her own blog, Golden Graine. She has also written for Pain Pathways Magazine, The INvisible Project, US Pain Foundation, The Mighty, The National Pain Report, Medium.com, and XOJane. Katie is a member of the American Headache and Migraine Alliance (AHMA), National Headache Foundation and a proud Ambassador and Advocate for the US Pain Foundation. She’s been on several patient panels about “Patient Centered Clinical Trials” and met with pharmaceutical companies who want to understand the patient perspective. Katie supports the efforts of Miles for Migraine (including running her first 5K last year) and has created an opportunity for advocates to commune together during the annual Headache on the Hill event. A native of West Virginia, Katie moved in 2016 from Washington, DC to Santa Monica, CA. She credits her amazing support system with giving her the drive and energy to tackle the issues of migraine head on.