Advocacy
People deserve to be seen, heard, believed, and included.
Cheryl McJoy's advocacy is informed by lived experience with traumatic brain injury, chronic migraine, chronic pain, multiple surgeries, military service, invisible disability, and navigating spaces that were not always designed with people like her in mind.
She shares her experience to expand conversations, challenge assumptions, and support more dignified systems. She does not share it to become anybody's inspirational poster.
Areas of Advocacy
Areas of Advocacy
Migraine and Chronic Pain
Supporting greater understanding of migraine and chronic pain as real, complex health conditions that affect work, travel, relationships, daily function, and quality of life.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Making room for honest conversations about memory, identity, adaptation, invisible challenges, long-term effects, and the many ways a person rebuilds.
Accessible Travel
Advocating for travel experiences where dignity, sensory needs, mobility, pain, fatigue, communication, and access are built into planning rather than treated as inconveniences.
Veterans and Reinvention
Supporting veterans in telling their own stories, navigating identity beyond military service, and building lives that are not reduced to one chapter.
Patient Voice and Being Believed
Centering the knowledge people hold about their own bodies and experiences while supporting respectful, informed conversations with qualified professionals.
Migraine Advocacy
Migraine advocacy credentials
Headache on the Hill
Arkansas state advocate, February 2026
National Headache Foundation Patient Leadership Council
Member
“Self-Advocacy Tips for Patients of Color”
Co-writer
Health-equity and patient-of-color advocacy
Advocacy concerning migraine, veterans' healthcare, health equity, and the experiences of patients of color
Cheryl does not officially represent an organization unless that relationship is documented. Additional verified roles and affiliations will be listed with direct source links as they are confirmed.
Lived Experience
Lived experience is expertise. It is not medical licensure.
Cheryl speaks from her personal experience, advocacy work, travel profession, and the lessons gathered through navigating complex realities over time.
She does not diagnose, prescribe treatment, provide clinical recommendations, or present herself as a medical professional.
Invite Cheryl into the conversation
Invite Cheryl into the conversation
For panels, interviews, advocacy collaborations, patient-leadership discussions, veteran conversations, or accessible-travel initiatives, contact Cheryl with the purpose, organization, audience, expectations, timeline, and compensation information.
Medical Disclaimer
Cheryl McJoy shares lived experience and educational information. This content is not medical advice and is not a substitute for individualized care from a qualified healthcare professional. Individual experiences and needs vary.