Chronic pain and “hidden” health conditions, such as migraine, musculoskeletal disorders and endometriosis, can adversely affect worker well-being and productivity. Yet their impact on business operations is often under-recognized, and many workers are unaware of the support available to them or face stigma that prevents them from seeking assistance or accommodation. Learn how you can cultivate a supportive work environment that empowers people who are managing chronic conditions to thrive and succeed at work.
The Health Action Alliance is a joint initiative of the Ad Council, the CDC Foundation and the de Beaumont Foundation—in partnership with Meteorite. Our free tools, training and events help employers, large and small, navigate evolving health challenges, improve the health of workers and engage with public health partners to build stronger, healthier communities.
David Michaels, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington DC. He served as US Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health from 2009 to January 2017, the longest serving administrator in OSHA’s history. He was also a member of the Biden Haris Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board.
During the Clinton Administration, Dr. Michaels served as US Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety, and Health, charged with protecting the workers, community, and environment around the nation’s nuclear weapons facilities. In that position, he was the chief architect of the historic initiative to compensate nuclear weapons workers who were sickened by radiation, beryllium, and other toxic exposures.
Kristine is the Senior Manager of the Ergonomics and Industrial Athlete program at Pacific Gas & Electric
Company (PG&E). She has nearly 20 years of experience developing and managing corporate ergonomics programs for small businesses, national and international Fortune 500 companies across many industry sectors with proven results for increased efficiency and decreased injury costs. She holds a Master’s degree in Health Ergonomics from the University of Derby and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. She is also a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE) and a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).
Dr. Paige DeBaylo is currently a Research Manager at the National Safety Council in the Workplace Program’s MSD Solutions Lab. She has a Master of Science and a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Auburn University. She has edited, reviewed, and published occupational health, workplace stress, developmental psychology, and scale development and validation related research papers in leading academic journals and has presented her work at national conferences. She has experience in managing teams and leading a variety of research projects including projects focused on advanced quantitative methods, such as meta-analysis and factor analysis, as well as program evaluation and thematic analysis.
Jaime’s journey with migraine has been a life-long one. From a toddler with abdominal migraine to a wife and mother with chronic intractable migraine, Jaime has learned to turn her pain of 41 years into empowerment. She also manages daily life with depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, spinal stenosis, and chronic back pain. Despite these conditions and their limitations, she strives to do her best to find her optimal health. Jaime’s platform includes advocating for headache and mental health disorders, as well as reducing health and racial disparities Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) experience in headache medicine, which are her passions. Jaime has a unique experience seeking care as a woman of color, where her gender renders her disease dismissable and her race renders her pain as nonexistent.
She is the author of the popular blog The Migraine Diva and served as the Migraine Patient Advocacy Coordinator with Global Healthy Living Foundation. She is a participant with the Coalition for Headache and Migraine Patients, with whom she worked to create an Issue Brief on Disparities in Headache and is a part of the leadership of the Disparities in Headache Advisory Council (DiHAC). Jaime is a stakeholder with the Headache and Migraine Policy Forum, works with the Society for Women’s Health Research Interdisciplinary Migraine Network, sits on the Patient Leadership Council with the National Headache Foundation, and serves on HealthyWomen’s Chronic Pain Advisory Council. Through her advocacy work and blog, Jaime’s mission is to make a very invisible disease visible to the rest of the world and validate the real pain of millions. You may reach her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Carl stopped taking his health for granted at an early age due to migraine. Over the last 30 years, health has become central throughout his life and work. This includes working at one of the biggest health companies in the world.
Today, Carl works with charities, foundations, and organizations to help lift the global burden of migraine including the Migraine World Summit, the Brain Foundation, Migraine & Headache Australia, the Coalition of Headache and Migraine Patients (CHAMP), the Global Patient Advocacy Coalition (GPAC), and the World Health Education Foundation (WHEF). Carl is a member of the International Headache Society, acts on several patient committees, is the author of MigrainePal.com and the founder of the Migraine World Summit.
Carl is a public and passionate patient advocate for migraine. He has spoken nationally and internationally on TV, radio and in print about migraine and the need to increase research funding, reduce stigma, and increase patient support.
