Becky Dennis is the board president of Encephalitis411.org, a nonprofit that aims to improve the quality of lives of those impacted by encephalitis. Becky is also a survivor of encephalitis and as a patient advocate, is a trusted “go-to” resource for scarce information about encephalitis, a rare syndrome. Tenacious drive and compassionate spirit. Putting encephalitis on the map.
As a survivor who has had what doctors consider a phenomenal recovery, Becky “pays it back.” She works with patients all over the globe to advocate for their recovery and proper treatment and often receives referrals from physicians to help patients in their journey. In addition to being an author and speaker on the topic of encephalitis, Becky is a member of the International Encephalitis Consortium, a global representation of infectious disease experts, neurologists and other health care professionals from the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia. The Consortium’s mission is to advance the knowledge of causes, diagnostic strategies, treatment and outcome interventions of encephalitis. As part of her participation in the Consortium, Becky actively supports research projects in establishing guidelines to treating encephalitis. She is also a former board member of Encephalitis Global, Inc.
Within the medical community, Becky works with a wide variety of experts, including neurologists, internists, infectious disease physicians, psychologists, and brain injury associations:
- Provides an insider’s look and perspective at reality of the illness (encephalitis)
- Acts as a valuable resource through interactions with hundreds of survivors.
- Serves as a trusted referral for patients in need
For patients, Becky offers a unique perspective as a survivor herself:
- Provides empathetic ear of understanding for those affected by encephalitis
- Offers the lay person’s version of encephalitis terminology, including treatment and recovery guidance
- Acts as liaison for the survivor community to offer tools toward advocacy
With caregivers, she’s often a resource to help coach both during the acute phase of crisis as well as helping navigate the long-term recovery:
- Provides a “voice of reason” to serve un-met needs during the crisis
- Short-cuts caregivers’ learning curve of “what’s next?”
- Refers to global network of encephalitis specialists
- Focuses on emotional needs of caregivers and provides guidance
Becky is available for speaking engagements on a wide variety of topics for medical conferences, patient advocacy groups, universities and business organizations. She has also made appearances at civic clubs, churches and book clubs. She has served as a keynote speaker at multiple physician, nurse and patient/caregiver forums.
Some of the topics she frequently discusses are:
- Brain injury or encephalitis
- Patient advocacy
- Restoring faith
- Overcoming adversity
- Medical challenges
- Women in business
- Entrepreneurialism
- Global travel
To book Becky as a speaker, contact Tony at anthony@majamopublishing.com. Please specify audience, topics, travel needs and objective.