Board of Directors
Founder & President
Shoshana Lipson, Executive Director
Shoshana Lipson is the President of Hope in Pain, Inc. and the Executive Director of Migraine Meanderings™ and Hope for Migraine™. She is a patient advocate, speaker, and writer with a passion to encourage, support, educate and inspire people with migraine and other chronic pain conditions to find purpose and value in the midst of chronic illness. Shoshana was diagnosed in early childhood with migraine that rapidly chronified, as well as widespread joint pain. In 2018, she started exploring how to use her background in non-profit management, social media, and public speaking to help with patient advocacy.
Since 2018, Shoshana has built a community of over 20,000 active members across multiple social media platforms, and in 2021 launched a new initiative called, Empowering Patient Voices. She collaborates with various advocacy organizations and leaders who advocate for people with migraine and chronic pain, and writes regularly for Migraine.com. Shoshana has been a migraine advocate spokesperson for several organizations and conference speaker including the Association of Migraine Disorders, Healthy Women, the American Journal of Managed Care, CHAMP, DIA Global, Pharma and Patient USA, and the Pain Therapeutics Summit. Shoshana consults with various pharmaceutical and medical device companies as a patient advisor.
Board Member
Ralph W. Carmichael, Esq.
Ralph has over 30 years of financial and management experience. He founded BŌNWRx Ltd, which makes complex spine surgery implants, built the company to a market value of over $500 million, and he holds many patents across numerous industries. In 1992, he started Carmichael & Company LLC, a merchant bank that managed over $6 billion in assets and advised on over $100 billion in transactions. He was a member of the investment committee of an international private equity fund that turned $384 million into over $1.8 billion in eight years. Prior to that, he was an executive at Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc. and an Associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Ralph is a frequent speaker at financial industry events and is a recognized authority on exit strategies and liquidity alternatives for institutional investors. He also teaches finance courses at Michigan State University. Ralph has a B.A. and M.B.A. from Michigan State University (1985) and a J.D. from New York Law School (1989). He was a Law Review Editor and Clerk for the Hon. John E. Sprizzo, U.S. District Judge (SDNY).
Board Member
Larry Jost
Organizations
Migraine Meanderings is a dba of Hope in Pain, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity, and is a patient-run organization for people living with migraine. Migraine Meanderings’ vision is to help bring migraine “Out from the Shadows” by putting a real face to this disease, as well as to encourage, support, educate & inspire people with migraine to find ways to thrive, not just survive, and to hold onto hope. Migraine Meanderings has a presence across multiple social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok and YouTube, offering community, education and support to people who live with migraine.
Hope for Migraine is an initiative of Migraine Meanderings. It is an online “private” Facebook community that exists to SUPPORT, GUIDE and EDUCATE people with migraine navigating the CGRP and other new migraine treatment options, including medical devices, as well as providing information about the clinical pipeline for migraine. Hope for Migraine provides easy to understand and consolidated information on the new migraine treatments, including FAQ sheets, treatment access, dealing with insurance, clinical trials, and medication side effects.
Empowering Patient Voices is an initiative of Migraine Meanderings and Hope in Pain, Inc. Empowering Patient Voices encourages and supports patient advocacy by highlighting authentic depictions of life with migraine. Migraine is so much more than “just a headache,” When we speak out about our condition and the many ways it impacts our lives, we raise awareness, help others feel less alone, and create real change. Empowering Patient Voices impacts patients' lives and raises awareness through their three projects: Let’s Talk Migraine, Migraine Behind the Mask, and Real Voice of Migraine.
Hope in Pain, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity, which seeks to provide patient and caregiver-oriented advocacy, support and education services focusing on migraine disease and other comorbid pain disorders. Patient voices are empowered through education and awareness campaigns that utilize social media outreach, websites, events, and patient-friendly materials. Hope in Pain works actively to promote true patient-centricity for migraine and chronic pain disorders in clinical trials, disease management, and product marketing.