Access to care, education, and support for all patients remains an enduring priority for the Pheo Para Alliance. To ensure that the organization is meeting the needs of groups who have traditionally encountered barriers to access and is fostering a diverse and inclusive culture — among those who support them and within the PPA itself — the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Initiative was conceived in the spring of 2022. This initiative is overseen by the IDEA Committee, whose mission is
Cultivating a transformational approach to inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility through a multidimensional lens that encompasses underrepresented communities which can include but isn’t limited to ethnicity, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, age and religion and regardless of ability. Our goal is to create an equitable culture for all pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma patients and all those supporting our patients, including caregivers, healthcare providers, and researchers.
We are actively recruiting members for this committee!! Interested? Contact us today!
IDEA Committee Members
Saundra Underwood
Saundra D. Underwood is the Founder and Principal Owner of Lady Alexandra Wellness
Concepts. What started out as a personal interest grew into a hobby and is now a full time
business for this natural born entrepreneur. The vision and mission was simple – create a line of
bath and body products with key ingredients from Mother Nature. Although the initial goal was
developing a skincare company, her mission became grander. Thus, the focus became all about
wellness after she attended massage school. Currently working as a licensed massage therapist
in her home based serenity massage studio she is able to care for others – a passion that began at
a very young age.
Growing up, Saundra wanted to become either a doctor or lawyer – both professions having the
noble goal of caring for others. However, after attending college and graduate school, Saundra
made a life changing decision. Forego a traditional career path to embark on a life of dreams and
adventure. In 1985 she became a Flight Attendant and was able to travel across the United
States, Canada, The Islands, Asia and Europe. During those years she had the opportunity to
become a runway model, appear in magazines as a hair model for Revlon, live in Paris, teach
English to foreigners, dance with a traveling modern dance troupe, write articles, essays, poems,
perform in poetry slams. Working as a temporary employee for major corporations she
eventually utilized her prior education conducting medical and legal research.
After more than forty years from her college graduation she has maintained her interest in the
medical establishment by being an active participant in medical research. She has been part of
the Black Women’s Health Study for over 30 consecutive years. She uses her knowledge,
experience and wisdom to advocate for healthy initiatives, teaching natural skincare classes,
promoting wellness through massage therapy and healthy nutrition.
Saundra currently lives in Chicago, Illinois and is working on an inspirational medical
guide/journal chronicling her diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. Following her diagnosis and
recovery she has become active with the Pheo Para Alliance first as a volunteer and now as a
member of Inclusion Diversity Equity Accessibility (IDEA).
Ms. Underwood attended the University of Cincinnati where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in
Psychology and is a graduate of Capital University Law School. In her spare time she enjoys
watching historical documentaries, bike riding, walking in nature and reading.
Layla Adrianovska
Layla Adrianovska is a pheochromocytoma patient from Toronto, Canada. She is a current student of a Master of Applied Health Sciences program at Western University, and chairs the 2023 Pheo Para Awareness Week Committee. Being diagnosed shortly after her 19th birthday, Layla aims to bring awareness to the barriers that younger pheo and para patients may face.
Attiya Khan
Attiya is a consultant and speaker on domestic violence prevention, focussed on solutions that include both survivors and people who have been abusive. Her 2017 documentary film A Better Man, where she engages with the person who harmed her, helped to spark new conversations about domestic violence around the world. Previously she served as a shelter worker, a counselor and an advocate for domestic violence survivors.
Attiya was diagnosed with pheochromocytoma in December 2016, after years of experiencing increasingly debilitating, painful symptoms without a diagnosis and repeated challenges in getting many healthcare providers to take her concerns seriously. After an internist she met at a friend’s gathering suggested she get tested for pheochromocytoma, she was diagnosed and quickly scheduled for surgery. Her right adrenal gland, along with the tumour, was successfully removed in March 2017. She has been pheo-free ever since. The repeated dismissive narrative from the medical community, that she was experiencing panic attacks, has led to her desire to share her story to as many people as possible. Her short film, The Last Episode, documents her struggle with the disease and is intended to serve as an educational resource for patients, advocates, and care providers.
Linda Rose-Krasnor
Linda Rose Krasnor is currently a Professor Emeritus at Brock University, which is located in southern Ontario, Canada. She is a developmental psychologist, with particular research interests in social development and youth engagement. In addition to her teaching and research responsibilities, Linda served as President of the Brock faculty union and was active in the University Senate, serving terms as Chair of the Senate’s Governance and the Planning, Priorities, and Budget Advisory committees. Since becoming involved in the Pheo Para Alliance, Linda has been part of the peer support initiative, helping to develop the peer support training module and facilitating the monthly peer support calls.
Although asymptomatic, in 2009 Linda was assessed for pheocromocytoma/paragangliomas following the diagnosis of multiple paraganglomia in three close family members. Linda’s testing indicated bilateral neck paragangliomas, which subsequently were determined to be glomus vagale tumors. One was been surgically removed in 2016, with accompanying vagal nerve damage resulting in a paralyzed vocal cord and Horner’s Syndrome. With further surgery and extended speech therapy, Linda’s voice has recovered and she is being monitored yearly for growth in the remaining tumor. Linda and her family have the SDHD mutation.
In her role as a Board member, Linda is looking forward to helping advance the important and much needed educational, support, and empowerment functions of PPA and to strengthen its critical role in promoting research into prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. She is specifically interested in increasing our understanding of the socio-emotional implications of living with pheo/para, especially for children and youth.
Linda received her B.A. in psychology from Boston University and her M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Waterloo. In addition to her work with PPA, Linda volunteers as a leader of adult and children’s bereavement groups for Hospice Niagara.
Teena Price
Teena is a Veterinary Pathologist at Veterinary Diagnostics (VDx), in Davis, CA. She works in both the diagnostic pathology service and preclinical research. Teena graduated as a Veterinarian from Murdoch University in Western Australia in 1994, and spent the next 8-10 years working as a clinical veterinarian before making the leap into the pathology field, which she loves. Teena grew up in Tasmania, Australia, and moved to the US in 2004 to complete her pathology residency at UC Davis, fell in love with an American, and never left Davis. She has two young boys, a dog, and two cats, and loves hiking, and being outdoors with her family. Teena first came across the Pheo Para Troopers after her Mum was diagnosed with an abdominal paraganglioma in 2015. Her Mum was subsequently found to have a SDHB mutation, that Teena’s sister, and three of her nieces, and nephew also have. After what would have been her Mum’s 70th birthday in 2021 (she passed away in 2019 from a brain tumor), Teena decided to become more involved in the Pheo Para Alliance. She and her youngest son, Elias, started fundraising in Spring 2021, and Elias, who competes in Ninja Warrior, took it upon himself to “train” Teena to become a Ninja Warrior too! Apparently, you can teach old dogs new tricks. It’s been an amazing journey, which culminated in the Inaugural Pheo Para Ninja Warrior Competition that was held in September 2021 in California. Together they raised just shy of $10,000, and are looking forward to continuing their awareness and fundraising campaign!
Shonna Snyder
Shonna was diagnosed with a bladder paraganglioma in 2019 after many years of extreme symptoms in which doctors dismissed as such things as stress, fatigue, panic attacks or POTS. Given her research and health education background, she knew that these diagnoses were not accurate and so she continued to push for further testing. She visited multiple doctors who did not believe her when she suggested that she had a pheo/para in her bladder and so she struggled to get the CT that she requested. She finally had a doctor truly listen and order the CT scan she needed in July of 2019 after five trips to the ER in one week. Her surgery took place in November of 2019 at the NIH.