We Are Here To Help, No matter how stroke affects your life it is a difficult thing to work through. Our mission is fulfilled through partnerships with volunteers, donors, businesses, and the medical community.
If you would like to get involved or volunteer please send us an e-mail admin@strokeawarenessoregon.org or call 541-323-5641
Lili Alpaugh, a retired physical therapist, has a passion for helping those with disabilities. As a P.T., she worked with many stroke survivors, and in the personal realm, she has been a caregiver for several family members with neurological conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Autism and TBI. She has lifelong experience with advocating for people with disabilities of various kinds, understanding their needs and working to find resources for them.
Lili is a native of New Orleans but has made Bend, Oregon her home now for over a decade. In New Orleans, she served on the Board of the Advocacy Center (for the Elderly and Disabled), worked as a volunteer for several nonprofits, and has co-chaired several large fundraising events. Her interests include hiking in the Pacific Northwest, writing memoir and essays, studying history, and travel.
Marc Beebe received his Bachelor’s Degree from Amherst College and was a Junior High teacher at a small private day school in Connecticut for three years. He then spent 7 years in the US Army Reserves while working on a law degree at the University of Denver College of Law. A believer in public service, he served as a VISTA volunteer with Idaho Legal Aid Services in Twin Falls, Idaho followed by serving as the managing attorney at Idaho Legal Aid Services in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Mr. Beebe entered private law practice at the Casco Legal Clinic in Portland, Maine where he served for 26 years before semi-retirement to Oregon in 2007. From 2010-2016, he practiced Bankruptcy Law in Bend. Mr. Beebe’s prior Board experience includes The Woodlands Club, Falmouth, Maine and Crooked River Ranch Homeowners Association in Oregon.
As a critical care specialist, involved in building capable, well-oiled, and healing teams of doctors and nurses, Sarah Burke’s past life was all about taking care of people. A car accident resulted in a closed head injury that ended her medical career. Years later her doctor recommended an MRI of her head that revealed a number of past strokes that had gone undiagnosed for years.
Rather than letting this bring her professional life to a stop, Sarah transitioned to bring the same focus, compassion, and attention to her clients as a real estate professional. Sarah’s energies are now directed towards helping people find their perfect home and make wise investments in commercial real estate, and she’s every bit as committed to their well being.
Sarah was drawn to the Stroke Awareness Oregon because of the organization’s focused work to help individuals who have survived a stroke navigating through this new reality. She brings her expertise of medical background and understanding of best practices.
Libby is originally from Austin, Texas, where she attended nursing school and worked as an Oncology Nurse. She quickly became a Charge Nurse, and got certifications in Oncology and in Med-Surg. Following that, Libby would later transfer to Case Management and became certified as an ACM (Accredited Case Manager) and CHPN (Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse). She found her way to Bend to help her son, who’s a stroke survivor, in any way she could. Libby is now retired and enjoying all that Bend has to offer. She has been an active and involved volunteer for SAO for quite a time before becoming an official board member. Her hobbies include cooking, gardening, hiking with Spencer, her Goldendoodle, and going on road trips. She was honored to be nominated to the SAO Board of Directors.
Stephen (Steve) Van Houten is a retired Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor who last worked with the Oregon Department of Human Services in Bend. He received his Master’s Degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Oregon
During that time, he helped originate the Oregon Association of Rehabilitation Professionals in the Private Sector (OARPPS) dedicated to establishing ethical competent services for Rehabilitation companies in the state. The business grew to 9 offices and 40 counselors before closing in late 1980s.
Concurrently and after the business closed it’s doors, he was also a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) and worked as a Vocational Expert Witness for the Social Security Administration for about 20 years. Other iterations of his career were:
In October of 2019 he experienced a “wake up stroke”. He is committed to the continued work to recover from his own stroke and passionately dedicated to helping others recover from their stroke experiences.
Lawnae Hunter holds both an Oregon Principal Broker’s License and a California Broker’s License. She is also Principal Broker/Owner of PLUS Property Management serving Central Oregon and California Central Coast. She has over thirty-five years of experience in general real estate brokerage including land development, commercial and industrial land sales, new home sales, property management and general resale. Lawnae was appointed by the Governor to the Oregon Real Estate Agency (OREA) in 2018 and serves as Vice-Chair. Ms. Hunter thrives in a dynamic and competitive sales environment with a strong understanding of the market and economic forces affecting Central Oregon and the state.
In 2014 Lawnae suffered a severe Stoke. After her stroke she began a rigorous rehabilitation program and committed to returning to a normal work and personal life. Public Service has always been an important part of her life. After the stroke she committed herself to prevention and stroke awareness. She is currently treasurer of Stroke Awareness Oregon, which she co-founded with Dr. Goins.
Mindy Laidlaw graduated from Pacific University in 1987 with her degree in Occupational Therapy. She completed her Acute Care internship at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, and knew this was where she wanted to start her career. She has now been with the organization for over 31 years. Most of her career has been practicing on the ortho/neuro floor. She then went on to supervise the Acute and Rehab therapy teams. Her teams were an inspiration to her because they had such a positive impact on patients and their families in the community. She is now the Intake and Post-Acute Community Coordinator.
Mindy was drawn to Stroke Awareness Oregon because their mission was to educate everyone about the importance of FAST. She knew she wanted to be on this board because the team moved with intention.
Other interests include Cooking, gardening and spending time with her family and friends.
Bob Ludwick joined Pacific Southwest Realty Services (PSRS) in 2008 and currently holds the title of Principal. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Westmont College and his Master of Arts from Willamette University. Prior to joining PSRS, Bob worked as an investor, developer, and commercial real estate consultant. Over the last four decades of his career, he has developed, owned, and managed about 400,000 square feet of industrial and mixed-use properties and has been part of the development and sale of more than 1000 residential units. Despite his noteworthy accomplishments in real estate, Mr. Ludwick is most proud of his role as husband, parent, and grandparent to his four children and eight grand kids. His passion for Stroke Awareness Oregon drives our mission through his consistent efforts in assisting with outreach and building strong relationships in the community.
Dr. Newby, a neurosurgeon retired from The Center in Bend, graduated from OHSU in Portland in 1970. He looks forward to assuring SAO thrives as it strengthens its foundation to educate communities about stroke and to support stroke survivors and their families.
Dr. William Wheir is a board certified Diagnostic radiologist with additional subspecialty certification in neuroradiology. He grew up in the great state of Texas, and received his medical degree from the University of New Mexico. He is highly skilled in all areas of neuroradiology including imaging of the brain, head, neck, and spine and performs image guided procedures such as drain placements, paracentesis, thoracentesis, and joint injections, spine injections and nerve blocks. He also regularly performs biopsies of the lung, thyroid, kidney, liver and bone, including the spine. Dr. Wheir is an active member of the CORA Executive and Operations committees as well as the St. Charles Health System Stroke Committee, ensuring that stroke patients receive the best possible care and treatment.
CORA was happy to add Dr. Wheir’s talent to their team in 2010. When not caring for patients, he enjoys spending time with his wife and 3 kids.
Passionate about both the science and art of nursing and healthcare delivery, James is striving to make a difference in how patients receive and participate in their care, and enhancing the voice of the nurse and the patient in the discussion of what healthcare will be like “tomorrow.”
A nurse, “by accident” according to his own words, James was recruited to St. Louis University as an EMT, after the untimely death of his younger sister, who suffered a stroke secondary to an undiagnosed heart condition at just 14 years old. Inspired by the compassion and care taken by the nursing teams who cared for not only her, but for him and the rest of his family, he sought to return such compassion and caring to both the patients and teams he’s had the pleasure to serve. At the bedside James specialized in trauma intensive care and emergency medicine, as a leader he has specialties in the development of neuroscience centers of excellence, opening and expanding new facilities, and improving the quality of care of provided by nursing in New York, St. Louis, Northern California, and now Central Oregon.
James is currently a Chief Nursing Officer within the St. Charles Health System, and is pursuing his Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Health Systems Executive Leadership through the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Riddock is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, clinical Lipidology, nuclear cardiology and cardiovascular computed tomography. He is also a certified specialist in clinical hypertension through the American Society of Hypertension. He joins Summit Health after completing medical school at Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland, residency at David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, and his fellowship at Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, TX.
Dr. Riddock has special interest in preventive cardiology, clinical lipidology, personalized risk assessment, heart failure and clinical research. Dr. Riddock especially values his two deployments to Afghanistan, which deepened his appreciation for the men and women serving our country and reinforced a team approach to delivering excellent health care. Dr. Riddock enjoys educating his patients about their health and providing thoughtful and targeted interventions.
In his spare time Dr. Riddock enjoys spending quality time with his wife and 2 children, enjoying outdoor activities such as camping, skiing, biking, running and some resistance training.
Keith Taylor is a passionate and dedicated leader in the stroke community. He is dedicated to helping stroke survivors regain their own power and strength in order to live a full and productive life.
While owning and being the sales manager of a large manufacturing business in Oregon, he had a stroke at the age of 48. After looking for, and not finding anyone to help with the depression and lack of confidence after having such an event in his life, he decided to fill that void for other stroke survivors.
Keith says, “I am extremely excited to be a part of SAO and believe the impact and support we can have on the stroke community, and those that help with such a debilitating event, is beyond significance.”
Gerry O’Brien has been the managing editor at The Bend Bulletin for 2 1/2 years. He previously was editor for the Herald and News in Klamath Falls, Ore., for seven years and prior to that was the editor for The Helena Independent Record, The Montana Standard in Butte, and The Billings Gazette for a total of about 30 years. A New Jersey native, he’s a graduate of Fordham Prep high school and the University of Colorado School of Journalism. He and his wife, Vikki, have a daughter, Molly.
Lara Lieberman, RN is an SAO board member and the Stroke Program Coordinator for St. Charles Health System. She has over 20 years experience in stroke and cardiac care. She brings both her drive and advocacy to the award-winning stroke program and with her leadership she ensures St. Charles Medical Center remains a nationally certified center of excellence. Throughout her career Lara has worked tirelessly to advocate for early recognition and treatment of strokes and myocardial infarctions. It is her goal to increase awareness of the healthcare disparities that exist among high risk underserved populations. When not at work Lara can be found hiking, skiing, or stand up paddleboarding with her son and Siberian husky.