Katherine Price Snedaker, LCSW
Katherine Snedaker is the Executive Director and Founder of PINK Concussions. She earned her Masters in Social Work from Fordham University.
Snedaker has presented on sex differences in brain injury for organizations such as the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Boston Children's Hospital, Ohio State University, and the International Brain Injury Association.
In 2013, Katherine founded PINK Concussions as a website summarizing existing research on female concussions, and in 2015, as a 501c3.
In 2016, with a founding grant of $20,000 from the NCAA, Katherine brought together the top experts in the field in produced the first International Summit of Female Concussion and TBI at Georgetown University School of Medicine/Medical Center/MedStar. With the success of the first event, Katherine produced a two day Summit on Female Brain Injury in the Military at the Palo Alto VA Healthcare System/Stanford University.
For a complete timeline of PINK, click here.
For a complete list of press, click here.
For a complete list of papers, click here.
Press on Domestic Violence
FORBES A Global Public Health Epidemic Going Completely Untreated
NeuroRehab Times It’s A Really, Really Lonely Place To Be
NeuroRehab Times How Female Brain Injuries are Going Undetected
Some Katherine’s Presentations on Brain Injury in Women
Harvard Medical School Co-hosting PINK Concussions with the Boston Children’s Hospital Conference, Invited keynote speaker, Boston, 2019
Ohio State University’s 4th Brain Health Summit, Invited keynote speaker, 2019
West Virginia TBI Conference, Invited keynote speaker, 2019
PINK Concussions PINK 7 with IBIA World Brain Injury Congress, Host, moderator and presenter, 2019
NY Harbor VA’s Post Concussion Dysautonomia Conference, Invited keynote speaker, 2019
Stanford U Sports Concussion Summit Invited presenter, 2019
PINK Concussions Summit PINK 6 with the Tampa VA – Host, moderator and presenter, Tampa, 2018
Santa Clarita Valley Concussion Conference Invited keynote speaker, Los Angeles, 2018
US Army Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Invited keynote speaker on Military Female Brain, Germany, 2018
PINK Concussions Summit PINK 5 at NABIS, Host, moderator and presenter, Houston, 2018
The Canadian Concussion Symposium Invited keynote speaker for two events, Toronto, 2018
CTE in Female Brains with the Tampa VA Host, moderator and presenter, NYC, 2018
4th Federal TBI Conference Presenter on Domestic Violence and Female Brain Injury, DC, 2018
VA’s Women Veterans, PTSD, and Post-Military Health Invited presenter on Domestic Violence, Boston, 2018
ELEVATE Tech Fest HEALTH Invited presenter on Female Athletes in Sport, Toronto, 2018
Utah State Brain Alliance Conference Invited presenter, Salt Lake, 2018
The Milken Institute: Future of Health Summit Invited presenter, “Importance of Women in Brain Banks,” DC, 2018
VA Brain Trust Invited Speaker on PINK Concussions’ Collaborations with the VA, Boston, 2017
International Brain Injury Associations’ World Brain Injury Congress Invited Speaker on Female Brain Injury & Poster Presenter on Youth Sports Concussion Program, New Orleans, 2017
Defense & Veterans Brain Injury Center’s (DVBIC) Webinar Presenter on Female Brain Injury to 470 DoD clinicians signed on to listen to the hour-long webinar and Q&A, 2016
Brain Injury Association of American’s (BIAA) Webinar Invited Presenter on Female Brain Injury to 340 TBI clinicians, 2016
World Brain Injury Congress presented Female Athletes’ Experience of Concussion, The Hague, 2016
Canadian Brain Injury Conference, Presenter, Female Brain Injury and Concussion, Toronto, 2016
PINK Concussions Summit PINK 2 Presenter, Female Athletes & Concussion, Palo Alto VA Medical Center, 2016
PINK Concussions Summit PINK 1 Presenter, Female Athletes & Concussion, Georgetown U Medical, 2016
UMass Concussion Conference Presenter, Female Concussion, Lowell, 2016
American Society of Neuroradiology Conference Poster presenter Female Athletes’ Experience of Concussion, ‘15
Santa Clara Valley Brain Injury Conference Presenter, Female Athletes’ Experience of Concussion, 2015
American Academy of Neurology Sports Concussion Conference Poster presenter, 2014, 2015
Before PINK Concussions, she founded SportsCAPP.com which focused on free resources for youth sports teams for concussion education and policy; and also produced four state conferences for CT school nurses/staff in best practices to help students “Return to Learn/School” after concussion while lowering risk of liability. She has presented on concussion across the US, Canada and Europe.
Katherine’s Presentations on Youth Sports Concussion and Return to Learn
Harvard Medical School Co-hosting PINK Concussions with the Boston Children’s Hospital Conference, Invited keynote speaker, Boston, 2019
Brown University Concussion Education Conference, Invited presenter, Concussion Education Programs, 2018
Santa Clarita Valley Concussion Seminar, Invited keynote speaker, Youth Sport Prevention, Los Angeles, 2018
International Olympic Committee’s World Conference on the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, One hour workshop presenter, Youth Sport Concussion, Monaco, 2017
IBIA World Brain Injury Congress, Poster presenter, Youth Sports Concussion Program, New Orleans, 2017
International Olympic Committee’s World Conference on the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, One hour workshop presenter, Youth Sport Concussion, Monaco, 2017
The State of Connecticut Commission on Women, Children and Seniors (CWCS), Invited presenter, Hartford, 2016
University of Connecticut, Stamford, 2014 and 2015, and Storrs Campus, 2016, Presenter
Sports Concussion & Technology National Council on Youth Sports Safety Tour, 2015-2016, Presenter, Sports Concussion and Technology in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and DC
Sacred Heart University, Athletic Trainers of East Coast Conference, Invited presenter, NCAA DII, CT 2014
Quinnipiac University School of Medicine, The Concussion Conference, Host and presenter, CT 2014
Sacred Heart University, Invited presenter, College Concussions and Return To Learn, 2013
The Institute of Medicine, Youth Sport Concussions Effect on Families, Invited presenter, DC, 2013
Professional Training for School Nurses: Norwalk, Darien, Trumbull, Cheshire, Norwalk Public Schools, New Canaan Country School, 2010-2017
Parent Concussion Education: Fairfield Prep 2015, Darien Oxridge 2015, Cold Spring Harbor 2014, and KING, 2010-2018
Concussion Education Trainings: Norwalk Junior Soccer Association, Rowayton Community Soccer, Weston Youth Lacrosse for example
Why PINK Concussions?
I founded PINK Concussions to improve the research, medical care and community support for females with brain Injury including concussion #pinkTBI. I believe females with brain injuries ARE the invisible patients within "the invisible injury."
It is my belief that every female with a concussion deserves a doctor who practices with gender-specific consideration for her symptoms, her acute care and her recovery plan. Her journey back to health can be helped by the correct diagnosis, gender-specific care, education, and the proper support systems at home, school or work.
I have suffered concussions since I was sixteen and learned quickly just not mention the weeks of headaches to doctors who had no understanding of my experience. But in 2008, when my son suffered a series of concussion which forced him to close to a year of school, I sought out concussion experts, emailed researchers and attended scores of medical professional conferences to find an alternative to the isolating prescription of "rest until symptoms cleared."
I quickly became "the concussion mom" to call for answers and found myself educating more and more families each month. There seemed to be a deep gap between local doctors' diagnosis of a concussion and the family's knowledge and coping skills on how to help their child heal from a concussion. The schools also seemed to lack an understanding of how best to integrate a child still healing back into the classroom. My quest to help my own child had now expanded to wider and wider circles of need.
With my background of social work and new knowledge of concussions, I went on to found several concussion education websites, support groups and organizations to educate sports, schools and community groups on larger scale. I also co-founded and worked in concussion clinics and began to speak across the country at government, civic and sports events. As medical social worker by profession and a mother of a child who had PSC, I had the unique prospective of being a patient, caregiver and professional challenged by concussion.
Working in the clinics and talking to families, I began to notice young girls who they weren’t healing as fast as their families, friends and teachers felt they should. In support groups, the girls shared their experience and frustrations with doctors, teachers and their peers. I founded a unique support group for teens with PCS which ended up being ALL females. Over several months we met twice a week to explore types of exercise and support to see what would best benefit girls with PCS. I learned more from these girls than I could ever read in a book or a classroom. The isolation of staying at home combined unsupportive attitudes of teachers, peers and medical providers was clear when these teens shared their what turned out to be a common experience.
While I had great plans to run further support groups, in quick succession, Hurricane Sandy partial-destroyed my house and I was diagnosed breast cancer. With time off from the concussion clinic due to cancer treatment, I founded PINKconcussions.
What was the PINK Spark?
In January 2013, I was undergoing treatment for breast cancer but wanted to still contribute to my field. My thought was to have a website with information about female concussion originated from a misquote by Jim Nantz to Roger Goodell on The 2013 Super Bowl Pre-Game Show. Nantz remarked, “women soccer players are 2 1/2 times more likely to suffer a concussion than college football players."
Instead, he should have compared "women soccer players" to "male soccer players," not to football players. His misquote caused great controversy that morning as press, football and soccer fans alike scrambled to google the correct statistic. From my research experience, I knew that statistics about female concussions were buried in short sub-paragraphs on gender in larger research studies. I realized there needed to be a central hub for information about female concussions and launched the first site on the internet to focus purely on female head injuries and began tweeting under @PinkConcussions,.
I confirmed the site’s value when I presented in DC, on Feb. 25, 2013, to the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council Committee on Sports-Related Concussion. As I was waiting to present, I noticed that almost every presentation had some small section about differences in female concussion including those from the US Army and ATC of West Point.
What is PINK Research?
Partnered with two Clemson University professors, I conducted a study of female and male athletes' experience of concussion which has now been published in a peer review journal. I have presented our findings at:
NCAA II Athletic Trainer Conference, 2014
American Society of Neuroradiology Annual Conference, 2015
Santa Clara Valley Brain Injury Conference, 2015
American Academy of Neurology's Sports Concussion Conference, 2014 and 2015
The World Brain Injury Congress, 2016
Why RTL Conferences?
In 2014, I produced four state conferences where I along with a faculty of medical professionals trained over 650 Connecticut school nurses/staff in best practices to help students recover from concussions and lower the risk of liability for the schools. I also chair the Technology Work Group at National Council on Youth Sports Safety, Inc. and continue to speak around the country on the topic of concussions.
Why did I focus on Youth Sports in 2009?
I launched SportsCapp.com to deal with the loopholes in the 2009 Connecticut Concussion Law. Sports CAPP.com was designed to help recreational teams, town leagues and private schools build concussion awareness into their programs for players, coaches and parents. I designed this website around my concern with middle school aged athletes who are not covered by CT Concussion Law since they play in private or town leagues rather than in public middle schools where they would be protect by the law. I had been working with CT and NY lacrosse leagues for several years and hopes to bring concussion awareness to teams from other sports across the state. In 2010, I first founded of Team Concussion, a social media/web based support group for teenagers who were isolated at home with concussions.
Katherine Price Snedaker, LCSW
Katherine@PINKconcussions.org
I try to answer emails within 48 hours. If you don’t hear back from me in 48 hours, please feel free to email me again.
In any case of any medical emergency, please call 911.
Also see SportsCAPP.com Concussion Awareness and Prevention Program - our sister youth sport site
Archive of Katherine in the Press for PINK Concussions or SportsCAPP - click logo or photo below, click here
A Mind Game My meetings with the NFL
Sports CAPP speaker on ESPN Sports CAPP speaker on ESPN, August 2012, video Outside the Lines Show
The NFL invite me to a Meeting August 2012
Mom fights Law Loophole about me, June 2012
Concussion Awareness Night about the concussion event I created, June 2012
A Concussion Story about one of Sports CAPP’s youth speakers, Chris Coyne, June 2012
2012 Blogs which have published SportsCAPP articles
Stop Concussions Com http://www.stopconcussions.com/2012/06/katherine-snedaker-parent-advocate-sportscapp-com
The Concussion Blog http://theconcussionblog.com/2012/06/25/6239/
2012-2013 Radio Click show title or station logo to hear MP3
March CBS Atlanta SportsRadio 92.6 Katherine talking about www.PinkConcussons.com and female concussions
Feb. 15, 2013 Radio Show Pink Concussion Katherine on www.PinkConcussions.com with Tony Savino of AM 1490 WGCH
Feb. 10, 2013 Radio Show Sport Biz with Bloom and Paul Andersen of www.NFLConcussionLit.com
Nov 7, 2013, Update in Concussions from NFL with Sports Biz Today
Oct 31, 2013, Concussion Awareness with Canada Sports Radio Show Beyond the Cheers - one hour show
Oct 25, 2012, with Sports Biz Today Concussions and Schools
Oct 22, 2012 Defining mild v severe concussion and RG3 with Sports Biz Today – live show, no tape
Oct 9, 2012 Refs, State Laws, Educate schools/teams w/Tony Terzi
Oct 8, 2012 KCAA 1050 Morning Show Los Angeles @ 12 mins into show
Sept 16, 2012 Live Show with Fred Wallin
Sept. 7, 2012 Howard Bloom’s Sport Biz Today – Podcast not posted yet
Sept 4, 2012 Trevor Crow Show WDJZ 1540 AM - starts 7 minutes into recording
June 15, 2012 FTNS Radio with Anthony Scire: Neck Exercises to reduce concussion risk Co-guest with Mark Asanovich
June 29, 2012 FTNS Radio with Anthony Scire: Youth Football player tells his story of 6 concussions Co-guest with Chris Coyne