Sunday, October 5, 2025 at Tyler State Park Richboro/Newtown, PA
Celebrating an Empowered Brain Injury Community: 2025 BIAPA Conference Highlights
The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania’s 2025 Conference Celebrating an Empowered Brain Injury Community: A Conference for Survivors, Care Partners, and Professionals, took place June 30–July 1 in Lancaster and was filled with energy, connection, and inspiration.
This year’s event brought together 260 survivors, care partners, professionals, and advocates, along with 34 informative exhibitors. From inspiring stories to impactful sessions and meaningful conversations, the spirit of learning and community was felt in every corner.
In addition to the informative sessions, the conference is always uplifted by the Survivor Open Mic Coffeehouse, hosted by brain injury survivor Cristabelle Braden. This special evening is a powerful reminder of the strength and resilience within the brain injury community, as individuals courageously share their stories, talents, and creativity.
Due to the generosity of those who supported the David L. Strauss Memorial Scholarship Fund, we were able to provide conference scholarships to 53 survivors and care partners.
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2025 BIAPA Awards.
Meaghan Wright – Barb Dively Advocacy Award
Meghan Chemidlin – Dan Keating Pioneer in Brain Injury Award
Lady Sharper Rennie – Direct Service Award
Claire Larson – John Sears Inspiration Award
Stefani Eichelberger – Leadership Award
Elayne Masters – Service to the Brain Injury Community Award
BIAPA is grateful to everyone who made this year’s conference a success. We look forward to continuing this journey of empowerment together!
To watch a short highlight reel of the conference, visit this link .
BIAPA Day with the Pittsburgh Pirates
Sunday, August 10, join BIAPA at PNC Park for Brain Injury Awareness Day, a special afternoon dedicated to raising awareness and showing support for individuals and families affected by brain injury. Fans will enjoy a great day of baseball while standing in solidarity with survivors, family members and healthcare heroes.
The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania seeks to employ a Recreation Therapist to create content for an expansion of the existing ReDiscover U Program to include 4 community-based activities per year.
See the full description of this opportunity on theBIAPA Website.
For questions or to initiate an application, please contact Monica Vaccaro, BIAPA Director of Programs at vaccaro@biapa.org
Pre-Enrollment Assistance Coordinators
The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania seeks to employ two Pre-Enrollment Assistance Coordinators in Central Pennsylvania Pennsylvania. Pre-enrollment Assistance Coordinators assist individuals with TBI and their family members to apply for services through the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Head Injury Program (HIP).
See the full description of this opportunity on the BIAPA Website.
More information about the Pennsylvania Head Injury Program and Pre-Enrollment Assistance can be found on the PA Department of Health Website.
For questions or to initiate an application, please contact Monica Vaccaro, BIAPA Director of Programs at vaccaro@biapa.org
BIAA’s upcoming webinars are $50 for professionals (includes one ACBIS CEU) and are now FREE for brain injury survivors and family members!!
ReDiscover U classes are held on Monday nights at 6 PM ET via Zoom. Use this link to join any of the classes at 6 PM on Mondays
August 4, 2025: SHARE Night!
August 11, 2025: BI Series: Brain Fog and Fireworks
August 18: Mindfulness Meditation Teacher
August 25: Meet Tugger: Warrior Canine Connection
For more information about ReDiscover U, including a description of the classes, CLICK HERE.
To sign up for the ReDiscover U email list, click HERE to fill out a brief registration form.
The BIAPA statewide virtual support group will meet Thursday, August 21 at 5 PM. This tight-knit community consists of survivors, caregivers, family members and professionals from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania! Please use thisZoom Link to access the meeting.
BIAPA's next Caregiver Support Group will be held on Wednesday, August 13, at 6 PM. This monthly, virtual meeting is open to all caregivers. The meetings are an excellent opportunity for caregivers to meet one another, share experiences and discuss topics of unique relevance to their roles. No pre-registration is required! To join this monthly meeting, use this Zoom Link.
To sign up for email alerts for one of BIAPA's virtual groups listed above, follow this link to complete a brief registration form.
A full list of all of Pennsylvania's Brain Injury Support Groups, along with contact information for each, is on the BIAPA website's Support Group Listing Page. We are currently updating this information, and while we have done so for most groups, there are still some that we're trying to reach. If you're aware of groups that are meeting either virtually or in-person and they are not on our listing, or if you have any updated details about a group on the list, please contact Melanie Morrison morrison@biapa.org so that we can let others know about them.
.jpg)
.png)
