Mandi Dickey is a Board Certified Nurse Practitioner with experience in healthcare since 1999. She is a four-time Top Nurse Practitioner award winner, received the Faculty Excellence award in her previous role of nursing professor, has been on the review committee for several nursing textbooks, was the recipient of the Women of Armor Personal Growth award for 2023, was listed in Marquis Who’s Who in 2024, and was the recipient of the Elinor D. Hands Award from the MN Brain Injury Alliance in 2025.

In 2022, Mandi began her own podcast called Brain Wellness – the Podcast, initially covering a multitude of topics related to brain health and wellness and transitioning toward mostly brain injury topics since 2024, and has been a guest on multiple other podcasts. She has also presented at numerous local, regional, and state conferences. Additionally, she is an invited speaker for both national and global conferences in 2026.

In 2023, Mandi was in a car accident and experienced a traumatic brain injury. She has merged knowledge gained from personal experience with her healthcare education to provide a unique brand of concussion care in her current practice as a brain injury Nurse Practitioner at Minneapolis Clinic of Neurology. She is an Ambassador for the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center, an elected Board Member for the MN Brain Injury Alliance, and Certified Brain Injury Specialist through the Brain Injury Association of America.

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnp

Kelly Tuttle joined the "head injury survivors club" (as she described it) in 2015, the night another car pulled in front of her as she was driving. It wasn't until three months later that she realized something was seriously wrong. Kelly's traumatic brain injury (TBI) marked the beginning of a new life and a personal journey of self-discovery. Kelly Tuttle is the author of After the Crash: How to Keep Your Job, Stay in School, and Live Life after a Brain Injury and Getting Behind the Wheel. Her books offer readers strategies and tools to continue working while their brains and bodies heal. Kelly Tuttle wants TBI survivors to know they're not alone and there's hope of getting better. She got better, and they can too. Kelly is a member of the California Association for Nurse Practitioners, the California Association of Nurses/National Nurses United, and the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Gonzaga University and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from California State University, Fresno. A longtime martial arts student, Kelly has a second-degree black belt in kenpõ karate and a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She is also an obsessed knitter without enough storage space for her yarn and a lover of adult coloring books and pencils.

Find Kelly at: https://kellytuttle.org

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brainlovingnp

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brain_np_/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-tuttle-72589810/

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnp

Vance Mattzela is an Alaskan born, traveling millwright that was in a massive motorcycle accident in Florida in 2017, which broke his body and brain. He moved to Michigan in 2020 in order to be closer to family and to get treatment for his back and TBI. He started B4B in 2023 in order to bring better visibility to TBI among bikers and the general public.

Find Vance at: https://www.b4busa.org/

Email: contact@b4busa.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568457067148

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vance-mattzela-47870138b/

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnp

Dr. Jennifer Gans is a San Francisco based clinical psychologist and researcher recognized internationally for her expertise in the psychological impact of tinnitus, hyperacusis, and hearing loss on well-being. She serves as a Board Member of the American Tinnitus Association (ATA). She is the CEO/Founder of MindfulTinnitusRelief.com, the first-ever self-administered 8-week online skill-building course of its kind for learning how to shift tinnitus from ‘bothersome’ to ‘non-bothersome’. With both a Cognitive Behavioral and Mindfulness Meditation approach, Dr. Gans presents globally to physicians, researchers, and audiologists on her research and tinnitus patient education, a critical piece of the tinnitus management puzzle.

Find Dr. Gans at: https://mindfultinnitusrelief.com/

Or: https://drjennifergans.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.gans1

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjennifergans/

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnp

Mandi Dickey is a Board Certified Nurse Practitioner with 20+ years of experience in healthcare. She is a three-time Top Nurse Practitioner award winner, received the Faculty Excellence award in her previous role of nursing professor, has been on the review committee for several nursing textbooks, and was the recipient of the Women of Armor Personal Growth award for 2023. In 2022, Mandi began her own podcast called Brain Wellness – the Podcast, covering a multitude of topics related to brain health and wellness, and has been interviewed on multiple other podcasts, discussing migraine and stroke treatment and concussion prevention. In 2023, Mandi was in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury, and while not fully recovered, has returned to her passion of sharing and educating the public about neuroscience topics, now most passionately about concussion and TBI.Find more about Brain Wellness at: ⁠https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/⁠Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnpFind my book and all other events at: ⁠bio.link/brainwellnessnp⁠

Dr. Barry Miller has over 25 years of higher education experience that includes research, teaching, and administrative roles. For the past 7 years he has served as the Director of Outreach and Business Development for the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab. His educational background includes anatomy, exercise physiology, strength & conditioning, and biomechanics. He has a PhD in Biomechanics from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and an MBA in Finance from the University of Delaware. He serves as a reviewer for several injury biomechanics research journals, and co-authored several journal papers and a Sport and Fitness Nutrition textbook. He enjoys an active lifestyle that includes regular fitness activities, pickleball, golf, and home improvement projects.

Find Dr. Miller at: www.vt.edu/helmet

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VTHelmetRatings

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vthelmetratings/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@virginiatechhelmetratings1024

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-miller-237b15a5/

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnp

Will Grove is the Helpline Director for the Brain Injury Association of Arizona. In his role, Will assists survivors of brain injury as well as families and caregivers with getting connected to resources in their community, while also hosting multiple support groups and programs in Arizona. He also travels the state promoting BIAAZ and assisting with public policy initiatives. Prior to working at the Brain Injury Association of Arizona, Will spent a decade working in the area of youth behavioral health. Originally from Pennsylvania, Will has been living in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona for the last 15 years.

Find Will at: https://biaaz.org/

Helpline phone: 888-500-9165

Email: outreach@biaaz.org

Facebook: @BIAarizona

Instagram: @biaarizona

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/biaarizona/

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnp

Dr. Daniel Avesar, PhD is a brain injury survivor and advocate dedicated to raising awareness and promoting understanding of brain injury. When he was 18 years old (10/11/1999), during the third week of his undergraduate studies, Daniel sustained a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) that required a craniotomy of the right side of his skull. That marked the beginning of a seven-year journey to rebuild cognition, regain his inner self, and address vision challenges, plus dealing with other problems like derealization and hyperacusis. Those experiences led him to study neuroscience, seeking to understand the profound changes he had undergone due to his TBI. Daniel earned a PhD in neurophysiology from Dartmouth College in 2013 and completed postdoctoral research at the University of Oregon in 2017. Since then has been interviewing brain injury survivors as well as researchers and clinicians to create free online content aimed at dispelling misconceptions and increasing public understanding about brain injury both from the “internal” and “external” perspectives. Dr. Avesar has two projects online, the Experiencing My Brain podcast which includes one on one discussion with brain injured people about their invisible problems, and the Building Brain Awareness talk series on YouTube, presentations from clinicians, researchers and brain injury services on what they are studying and working on for brain injury.

Find Daniel at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574995580688

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@buildingbrainawarness2139

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-avesar-phd-54704730/

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/experiencing-my-brain/id1596998070,

Find more about Brain Wellness at: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/

Support the show with Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/brainwellnessnp