Pheo Para Alliance Speaker’s Bureau is comprised of patients, caregivers, clinicians and researchers who can educate your group on the complexities of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma.
The illness presents various hurdles to overcome and endure. Topics of discussion may include diagnosis, treatment, management of ongoing symptoms, psycho-social issues, genetics & research.
Pheo Para Alliance works closely with world-renowned clinicians and researchers who have dedicated their careers to ensuring patients have the best health outcomes and finding new answers to help future generations. You can request a speaker for a clinical or research setting, in addition to a speaker who provides a patient or caregiver perspective.
If you are interested in requesting a speaker, please email us at info@pheopara.org with details about the opportunity, including your preference for a patient/caregiver or clinician/researcher, whether the opportunity is virtual or in-person, the preferred date and the approximate number and type of audience.
Meet some of our speakers below.
Speakers Bureau
Linda Rose-Krasnor, MASc, PhD
Chair, Board of Directors, PPA
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.
Michael L. Campbell
Vice-Chair
Michael L. Campbell is the retired Interim Executive Director of the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, CT. Prior to that position, he served as Chief Operating Officer for 6 years. Mark Twain wrote most of his well-known works from this house and spent more years there than he did in any other place. Michael helped keep the legacy of Mark Twain and his family alive by serving 70 employees. He has served the nonprofit community in the Central Connecticut area for over 40 years. He was the Executive Director of SummerWind Performing Arts Center in Windsor, CT and was Chief of Staff for the Girl Scouts of Connecticut. He also served as National Development Director for the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps in Arlington, VA, responsible for all advancement efforts nationwide for this youth development organization. One of Michael’s favorite roles was Executive Director of the Hartford Children’s Theatre. His duties there included development, finance, operations and the management of all programs that led the organization to receive the New England Theatre Conference’s award for best youth theatre production in New England. Michael was a fixture at the Producing Guild, a premier non-equity theatre for over 15 years as Business Manager, Production Manager, Actor, Singer and Production Assistant. He has served on many local, national, and international boards with experience in all areas of nonprofit governance and management.
Michael was diagnosed with a pheochromocytoma in the summer of 2021 and spent over a month in the hospital at the University of Connecticut Health Center. His surgery was successful, and he vowed to give back to the community. Michael has traveled to almost 60 countries, is a former mountaineer and has served in uniform as a Lieutenant Commander acting as a mentor for the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps. With his wife Rie and their four cats Shiraz, Zambezi, Colaba, and Marais he lives in Canton, CT.
Karel Pacak, MD, PhD, DSc
Chair, Medical Advisory Board & Member, Board of Directors
Dr. Pacak is a board-certified endocrinologist and an internationally recognized expert in the diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine tumors, especially pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma. He graduated summa cum laude from Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic in 1984. In 1990, he began his postdoctoral fellowship at NINDS. In 1995, Dr. Pacak began his residency in internal medicine at the Washington Hospital Center under Dr. L. Wartofsky, followed by a fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism at NIH. In 1998, he established a new Program for Neuroendocrine Tumors focusing on pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma at NICHD. He received his Ph.D. in 1993 and his D.Sc. in 1998 in the field of neuroendocrinology from Charles University. In 2006, he was awarded a lifetime professorship in Internal Medicine at Charles University. Currently, Dr. Pacak serves as the Medical Director for the Center for Adrenal Endocrine Tumors at Akeso Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic.
Dr. Pacak established the International Symposia on Pheochromocytoma. He also helped co-found a new Asian Alliance for the Study of Neuroendocrine Tumors in 2010. He is a recipient of numerous awards including the Peter Heimann Memorial Award at Yale University, International Association of Endocrine Surgeons; NIH Director’s Mentor Award, Award for Cure from Pheo Para Alliance, NICHD Director’s Award of Merit, Pincus Taft Memorial Lecture the Highest Award from Endocrine Society of Australia, and Jessenius Gold Medal from Slovak Academy of Sciences. Dr. Pacak is the author of more than 305 scientific peer-reviewed articles, 98 book chapters, and 5 books.
Lisa Anderson
Treasurer
Lisa Anderson is a “mother on a mission” determined to help others avoid a long and excruciating journey toward a pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma diagnosis. After seeking answers for nearly 5 years that would explain her college-aged son’s debilitating symptoms (headaches, blood pressure swings, irregular heartrate, sweating, nausea, vomiting and extreme panic/anxiety), a suspicion of a pheochromocytoma tumor was finally discovered through incidental testing by a gastroenterologist who ordered an ultrasound to investigate a potential gallbladder issue. The time from diagnosis to tumor removal surgery became a whirlwind of searching PubMed articles about pheo, coordinating with the surgical team, cross-checking every well-intended medication, and caring for her precariously sick son who required 24-hour hospital care until the surgery date.
After learning a blood and/or urine test to check metanephrine levels when the symptoms first appeared could have signaled this adrenal tumor, Lisa has made it her mission to look for ways to raise awareness about this disease with health care providers. She has found a place with Pheo Para Alliance (PPA) to channel her energies. Throughout her more than 30-year career at the Fred Hutchingson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA, Lisa has had the opportunity to cultivate relationships with physicians, scientists, residents, fellows, administrators, and volunteers with whom she worked collaboratively to support cancer research with special emphasis on patient needs. She hopes to use her experience in health care administration and knowledge of health care systems to access an array of medical professionals and organizations to remind them to “think about pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma” so that others will not have to endure an unnecessary and potentially dangerous delay in diagnosis.
Lisa holds a BA in Spanish from the University of Washington, and a Masters in Teaching from Western Governor’s University. When she’s not happily volunteering with the PPA, she loves substitute teaching at the local elementary school, road trips, and playing golf with her husband and two sons.
Shonna Snyder, PhD
Member
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.
Saundra Underwood
Member
In the fall of 2019, Saundra was diagnosed with a Pheochromocytoma after experiencing a traumatic crisis while receiving dental care. During the procedure her heart actually stopped and she was immediately rushed to the emergency room where she was placed in a medically induced coma. After awaking the discovery of the tumor took place during a 3 week stay at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. A successful surgery was performed to remove the tumor but months later she was diagnosed with heart failure due to the years of damage caused by the tumor. But once properly medicated Saundra is now five plus years past this diagnosis and life experience.
She has been an active volunteer with the Pheo Para Alliance during those five years and is now looking forward to speaking on behalf of individuals diagnosed with this rare disease. Her positive attitude throughout her recent medical journey led her to establish My Rare Inspiration, LLC which is a line of medical inspiring paraphernalia.
Saundra D. Underwood is the principal owner of Lady Alexandra Wellness Concepts which began with a line of natural skincare products. After nearly 25 years in the skincare business Saundra’s interest with taking care of others lead her to attend Cortiva School of Massage. This career decision was a continuation of her interest in health and wellness. Besides working in the health care industry, Saundra has worked in many industries to satisfy her ubiquitous curiosity for learning – worldwide travel as a flight attendant, trainer, substitute high school teacher, business & legal researcher, writer and fashion/hair model. Her hobbies include walking, biking, hiking, reading, writing poetry and short stories as well as caring for exotic house plants.
She attended the University of Cincinnati where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Criminal and also earned a Juris Doctorate from Capital University Law School.