President: Jason Blackwell, Mobility Works
Jason Blackwell is the sales manager at Mobility Works and has been in the mobility industry since graduating from the University of Richmond in 2007. He is an avid Spider fan, a devoted husband, and father to 3 girls. In a chair himself since 2002, Jason has spent many years advocating for the rights of people in chairs including working to make the EZPass free for those with loss of upper extremity mobility. In his free time, Jason enjoys spending time with his family, hunting, and watching the Spiders play basketball.
Vice President: (Pending)
Secretary: Caitlin Brown, Samaritans Walk
Caitlin is co-owner of Samaritans Walk. She graduated from CA University of Pennsylvania with a sports management degree. She is a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Caitlin is a two time VA State weight lifting champion and has been competing for 9 years.
Treasurer: Evan Wrinkle, CPA, WellsColeman
Evan is an accountant at WellsColeman providing tax, assurance, and bookkeeping services to individuals, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations in the Greater Richmond area. In 2012, at the age of 21, Evan suffered a T12 spinal cord injury from a fall. Afterward, Evan graduated from VCU with degrees in accounting and personal finance. Evan lives in New Kent.
Board Member: Katie Sloan
Katie Sloan is the Coordinator of Programs and Community Impact for Smart Beginnings Southeast, a regional affiliate of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. She grew up in Franklin, VA and attended Longwood University in Farmville, where she received her Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education. She taught kindergarten, first grade and special education in Chesterfield County for 10 years. During that time she received her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education and Preschool Special Education. She founded and directed Bermuda Hundred Preschool at Bermuda Hundred United Methodist Church and taught Early Childhood Education at John Tyler Community College for the next 25 years of her career. She was also involved in children’s ministries at Bermuda Hundred.
Her board experience with non-profit organizations includes; The Longwood University Foundation Board, Bermuda Hundred Child Development Center Board Chair, Healthy Families Hopewell-Prince George Board and Advisory Board of Early Childhood Education, John Tyler Community College.
Katie is married to Gary Starr and lives in Chester, VA. She has three sons. Will Sloan, a Methodist minister; Joe Sloan, a football coach with Louisiana Tech University and Josh Sloan, a librarian with Appomattox Regional Library Systems.
Board Member: Bobby Whitten
Bobby was born and raised in Richmond, Va where he attended D.S. Freeman High School. He went on to graduate from the University of Virginia in 1977 with a degree in finance and minor in marketing. In his professional life, Bobby was a 3rd generation owner of Whitten Bros. Jeep Chrysler Dodge Mazda for 40 years before retiring from the family business before passing it along to the 4th generation.
Bobby’s board experience includes; 10 years on the Hospitality House board, serving as chairman 2013-14. a second stint on the Doorways board, former board member at World Pediatric, board member Virginia Automobile Dealer’s Association, member of the Massey Cancer Center board, member of the Park Sterling Bank board, and member of First Capital Bank board.
In his free time, Bobby enjoys the outdoors through hunting, fishing, and playing golf.
Board Member: Dr. William McKinley, Sheltering Arms Institute, VCU Health
Dr. McKinley is currently a Professor and serves as Director of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Medicine in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System and Sheltering Arms Institute. He has served as Project Director for the VCU SCI Regional Model System of Care (a grant supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research). He is also Director of the PM&R Residency Training Program at VCU and board certified in PM&R, Electrodiagnostic Medicine and Spinal Cord Medicine. Dr. McKinley completed his residency training in PM&R in 1989 at VCU and remained on faculty to focus on clinical, academic and research pursuits. He has presented to numerous regional and national conferences and has published extensively within his expertise of spinal cord injury.
Board Member: Dr .William Carter, VCU Health
William Carter, MD/MPH is a spinal cord injury medicine trained Assistant Professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He completed his undergraduate degree at Georgia Tech University followed by his medical and public health degrees at University of Connecticut, internship in Montgomery Alabama, and finally residency and specialty training at VCU. His professional goals are to improve education, communication, and systems based practice, with an eventual goal of spreading to community outreach. Outside of work Dr. Carter enjoys spending time with his family, community outreach, playing sports, learning new languages and cultures.
Board Member, Bill Fertig
Bill is Director of United Spinal Associations Spinal Cord Injury Resource Center. He lives with family in Virginia Beach, VA and telecommutes in his work with United Spinal. He served twenty-five years as a municipal police officer and training sergeant. An off-duty motorcycle accident resulted in T-7 paraplegia in 1999. Bill brings his past experiences and life with SCI to his Information Specialist team which helps support consumers who contact the Spinal Cord Injury Resource Center after injury or disease onset.
As an Executive Council member of the North American SCI Consortium for 2019, Bill hopes to help build NASCIC membership through his SCI community contacts and assist as needed in the project-based initiatives of NASCIC.
Board Member, Ryan Trigg Smith
Originally from Virginia, Ryan Trigg Smith has been a resident in Morgantown since 2011. Ryan moved to Morgantown to pursue a degree in law from WVU’s College of Law. Since graduating from the College of Law school in 2014, Ryan has been in-house intellectual property counsel at Viatris. Ryan is a licensed member of the Virginia State Bar, and is a registered patent attorney at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Additionally, Ryan has a unique experience in regards to physical rehabilitation. In 2001, Ryan suffered C3 and C6 cervical fractures and spinal cord injuries resulting from a car accident. Although Ryan will depend on a wheelchair for mobility for the remainder of his life, he lives on his terms. He remains independent and participates in regular community activities. When Ryan is not practicing law, he enjoys reading books; hunting with his father, brother, and cousin in Virginia; spending time on the Rappahannock River; and traveling with friends.
Board Member, Tori Billings
Tori is an Occupational Therapy Clinical Leader on the Dallas Disbro Ability Center (DDAC) unit at Sheltering Arms Institute, where she assists individuals with SCI/D in regaining their functional independence. She was born and raised in Smithfield, VA and attended Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Health & Science, a minor in Human Services, and a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. In her free time, Tori enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 dogs as well as volunteering, reading, gardening, and camping.
Director: Richard Bagby, United Spinal Assoc. of VA 
A native Virginian, Richard was born with the sense of wanting to help others. He played football for the University of Richmond, where he decided to foster his enjoyment of service by looking to joining the U.S. Marine Corps. Unfortunately, that dream was derailed when he suffered a c-5 burst fracture from a “6ft dive into a 4ft pool” resulting in complete quadriplegia. With the help of many friends and family, he refocused his aspirations and sought to aid veterans and people with disabilities through his work in accessible transportation sales, helping people become independent through driving. Richard stumbled upon the non-profit sphere somewhat by chance. Through efforts mentoring newly injured SCI’s (subsequently attaining certification as a Peer Mentor by the United Spinal Assoc. as well as the Trauma Survivors Network or TSN), he learned about the Spinal Cord Injury Association of Virginia where he became an active member and eventually a Member of the Board. Richard is extremely excited to be part of an organization that has the potential of creating an immensely positive impact on our SCI/D community. He is currently devoting his free time to rekindling his competitive fire through wheelchair racing with Sportable, as well as spending time at Virginia Beach. If you’re down that way, odds are you can catch him “pushing the boardwalk”.
Operations Coordinator, Kate Blackwell, United Spinal Association of VA
Kate Blackwell is a Virginia native having grown up in the Richmond area. She returned home after graduating from the University of South Alabama in 2001 with a degree in Elementary Education. After teaching elementary students both in RVA and in Central America, she felt it was time to leave the profession and focus more on her marriage to Jason. Kate and Jason got married in 2007, and settled in Chesterfield where they live with their 3 girls. Kate enjoys being a stay at home mom, providing childcare for friends, volunteering at their girls’ school, advocating for children in the foster care system and for those with disabilities.
“Caregiver Chat” Facilitator: Julie Bivins, MSW
Julie Bivins is the social worker for the spinal cord injury team at VCU Medical Center’s Inpatient Rehab Unit. Prior to that, Julie worked for the Injury & Violence Prevention Program within the department of trauma surgery at VCU Medical Center. She previously worked in the mental health field, with individuals, families, and children. She currently lives in Richmond City with her husband and in her free time enjoys gardening, cooking, traveling, and hanging with her pup.