COMMUNITY BRAIN INJURY SERVICES - Key Persons
Dr. Towne is a member and has had leadership positions in numerous professional organizations including the American Academy of Neurology, Community Brain Injury Services, the American Neurological Association, the Virginia Neurological Association, the Richmond Academy of Medicine and the Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia where he is on the Professional Advisory Board and has been included in Best Doctors in Richmond. He served as a medical officer (COL, MC, Ret.) and has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. He has received research funding by the NIH, the Department of Veterans Affairs and has been the principal investigator for many clinical trials in epilepsy and headache, including two VA Cooperative Studies. Dr. Towne has served on the Board of Directors for Community Brain Injury Services since 2014.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Manager
Job Titles:
- Communications & Advocacy Coordinator
Claire Yarbrough, B.S., CBIS is a 2002 Bachelor of Science in Psychology graduate of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA and has been with Community Brain Injury Services since August 2006. Claire started at The Denbigh House program in Newport News as the Kitchen/Maintenance Unit Coordinator and served as Program Coordinator for more than 2 years. In March 2010, Claire made the move to Richmond to join the CBIS Leadership Team as the Director of Administration.
Claire hails from the great state of Wisconsin and hence is quite a connoisseur of cheese. Outside of work, Claire loves spending time with her family and serving as chief chauffeur to her two busy children.
Job Titles:
- Division Director, Behavioral Health & Wellness
Dr. Gabriella Caldwell-Miller joined the Community Brain Injury Services' Board of Directors in July 2023. Dr. Caldwell-Miller believes that access to quality behavioral health services is a matter of social justice for underserved populations. This belief has shaped her career, ministry, and civic involvement.
For over 25 years, Dr. Caldwell-Miller has excelled as an LPC and a behavioral health leader in non-profit, state, and local government settings. She is the Division Director for Behavioral Health & Wellness at Hanover County Community Services Board, providing strategic clinical leadership for mental health, substance use disorder, and behavioral health wellness programs.
Dr. Caldwell-Miller received a B.S. degree in Sociology and an M.S. degree in Counselor Education from Illinois State University in Normal, IL. She earned a Ph.D. in Human Services from Capella University in 2007. In 2011, she received a Master of Divinity degree from the School of Theology at Virginia Union.
Dr. Caldwell-Miller also serves on the Board of Hanover Safe Place and Leadership Metro Richmond.
Job Titles:
- Community Brain Injury Services' Board President
Elliott Buckner is Community Brain Injury Services' Board President and has served on the CBIS Board since 2011. Mr. Buckner is a partner at Cantor Grana Buckner and Bucci. Mr. Buckner has represented cases in every kind of catastrophic injury claim, including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, tractor-trailer crashes, car collisions, and other product liability cases. He also handles wrongful death claims on behalf of families who have experienced loss due to negligence.
Mr. Buckner is widely recognized by his peers for his relentless and effective approach to litigation. He has been named to the list of Best Lawyers in America, been AVⓇ Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-HubbellⓇ, included in the list of "Legal Elite" by Virginia Business Magazine, and has been annually selected to the Virginia Super LawyersⓇ list (on the Rising Star list and as a regular selection) since 2007. He has also been regularly selected to the "Top 100 Virginia Super Lawyers" and "Top 50 Richmond Super Lawyers" lists. These selections mark Elliott as one of the very best Richmond personal injury attorneys, and among the top litigators in all of Virginia.
Francis Liu joined the Community Brain Injury Services' Board of Directors in 2021 and is the current Board Treasurer for Community Brain Injury Services. Francis is a Senior Accountant with The Supply Room with over 11 years of experience providing various accounting, auditing, and tax services to not-for-profit organizations and privately-owned businesses in both the United States and Canada. Francis is also a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant (CPA, CA).
Job Titles:
- Employment and Intake Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Professor of Pharmacotherapy & Outcomes Sciences and Neurosurgery
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations for Patient First
- Vice President, Marketing and Public Relations
Ian Slinkman is the Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations for Patient First. He is responsible for all aspects of advertising, marketing, online presence, community relations, and public relations for Patient First and its 76 urgent and primary care medical centers throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
Job Titles:
- Employment and Intake Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Kitchen and Maintenance Unit Coordinator
Jason Young, MSW, CBIS has been working with survivors of brain injury since starting at The Mill House as an intern in 2000, and has held a variety of positions within the organization from Program Coordinator to his current position of Executive Director of Community Brain Injury Services. Jason has overseen the expansion of The Mill House from a small part time program to its current status as the largest community based brain injury provider in the Metro Richmond area, the addition of a second service area and Clubhouse program, and the development of a case management program.
From 2004-2008, Mr. Young served as the Chair of the Virginia Alliance of Brain Injury Services Providers (VABISP), a statewide organization for service providers and returned to this role in 2018. Jason is also the immediate past Board President for the International Brain Injury Clubhouse Alliance (IBICA). Mr. Young received his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond and his Masters in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University. In his free time, Jason enjoys backpacking, racquetball, golfing, and spending time with his two children, Mackenzie and Jacob.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Case Management Team
Job Titles:
- Physician
- Certified Psychiatrist
Kara Keuthan Beatty is a board-certified psychiatrist. She completed her Bachelors of Science in Psychology at Texas A&M University. She attended the University of Texas at Houston for medical school. For residency, she went Virginia Commonwealth University, where she served as chief her last year. After residency, she completed a fellowship in Brain Injury. In July 2018, Dr. Beatty started her own practice, Resilience Health, where she provided general psychiatric and neuropsychiatric services. In November 2023, she transitioned to the Richmond VA Medical Center. Besides being a provider, Kara is also a TBI survivor. During the summer after her freshman year at college a truck sped through a red light and broadsided her driver's side. She spent 4 days in a coma before going to TIRR for rehabilitation. She stayed out of school for the fall semester to complete outpatient rehabilitation. She was so inspired by her physician that she decided that she wanted to become a doctor.
Kara currently sits on the Board of Directors for Community Brain Injury Services and serves as Vice Chair for the Virginia Brain Injury Council. From May 2022 to May 2023, she served as president of the Psychiatric Society of Virginia. In May 2023, she was recognized by Style Weekly as one of Richmond's Top 40 Under 40.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Community Brain Injury Services' Board Vice President
Karen Grazionale is Community Brain Injury Services' Board Vice President. Karen is retired after 30 years managing special projects for a major health insurance company. Her expertise is in human-centered design, project management, and VoIP technologies. In February 2016, her husband was hit by a car leaving him unconscious with polytrauma to his head and body. Karen used her experience with the clinicians in the ICU and her expertise to develop a process for effective innovation that she patented and has copyrights to.
Karen has a Bachelor's Degree in Business and is also certified in Brain Injury Fundamentals, by the Brain Injury Association of America. She's a member of the Brain Injury Association of America, co-facilitates a Support Group for Caregivers and volunteers for Meals on Wheels.
Karen lives in Hampton, Virginia with her husband Victor and dog Riley. They love to travel and have been to Europe, Costa Rica, Canada, S.E. Asia and are currently working their way across the United States in their camper.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Director of Business Development - Partner
Lance Elwood is the co-founder of Community Brain Injury Services and has served on the Board since 2006. After completing his undergraduate work at the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in psychology and his Graduate Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University Special Education, Lance Elwood went on to hold numerous management positions with the Chesterfield County Community Services Board (CSB) and in private sector human services organizations. Lance is the Co-Founder of Career Support Systems, Inc., an Employment Services Organization that provides supported employment and related services to individuals with barriers to employment.
Lance has successfully written and managed numerous grant projects and start-ups. He remains most passionate about creating new and innovative services to pave the way for individuals to fully participate in the workforce.
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Member of the Case Management Team
Job Titles:
- Maintenance Unit Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Communications Unit Coordinator
Job Titles:
- CAWC - Immediate past President
- Immediate past President of the Community Brain Injury Services Board of Directors
Mike Weber serves as the Immediate Past President of the Community Brain Injury Services Board of Directors and has served on the Board since 2010. Mr. Weber has in excess of 35 years in the insurance industry specializing in the Risk Management of social services and non-profit organizations. More recently, he will be providing insurance services amongst all aspects of the medical field.
Mr. Weber received his degree from James Madison University and took extensive course studies in international business at San Francisco State University. He achieved his Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) designation in 2006 and a Certified Authority of Workers' Compensation (CAWC) in 2017. In addition to serving on the CBIS Board, Mr. Weber has also served on the Board of the Children's Home Society of Virginia.
Paula Lumsden is a healthcare marketing professional who is currently the Director of Promotions for the Association of State and Territory Health Officials in Arlington, Virginia. She has previously served as the Director of Marketing for Tidewater Physicians Multi-specialty Group and Tidewater Physical Therapy, both in Newport News, Virginia. Paula lends her extensive expertise to the CBIS Development and Governance Committees. Paula holds a B.S. from Michigan State University, an M.A. from Eastern Michigan University, and an M.S. from Boston University. She has served on the Community Brain Injury Services' Board of Directors since 2015.
Job Titles:
- Case Manager - Middle Peninsula
Stephanie Grana has served on the Community Brain Injury Services Board of Directors since 2013 and is the current Board Secretary. Stephanie Grana is a partner with Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci and for more than 26 years has fought for individuals and families in Virginia suffering from catastrophic injury and wrongful death. In her years of practice, she has recovered more than 50 verdicts and settlements of over $1 million.
Her professional integrity and ability to secure results for her clients has earned her an AVⓇ Rating from Martindale-HubbellⓇ , a leading lawyer rating directory. Steohanie has been selected to Best Lawyers in AmericaⓇ specifically for her excellent work in handling medical malpractice cases. She has also been selected by her peers to the Super Lawyers list every year since 2009 and has consistently appeared in its list of the "Top 100 Virginia Super Lawyers", "Top 50 Female Super Lawyers in Virginia", and "Top 50 Richmond Super Lawyers".
Stephanie Grana is past President of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, leading a 2000+ member voluntary association of trial lawyers from across Virginia. Stephanie was also selected by The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia to serve on the Virginia Model Jury Instruction Committee which writes and edits jury instructions for all Virginia cases.
Job Titles:
- Case Manager - Tri - Cities
Job Titles:
- President
- President of Leadership Solutions
Terrie Glass joined the Community Brain Injury Services' Board of Directors in 2018. Ms. Glass is the President of Leadership Solutions and has 20 years of leadership experience in a values-based, mission-driven organization. She helps companies and organizations create programs to develop their leaders, focus their work more effectively, and create a culture of excellence in customer service and retain the best of the best.