CME Planning Committee
The PMD Alliance CME Program aims to improve the competence of healthcare professionals who care for patients with movement disorders. We offer educational opportunities that cover practical knowledge and skills for diagnosis, treatment, and care. Our CME planning committee is led by movement disorder specialist physicians who are professors and clinicians in large university systems and teach, both clinically and non-clinically, learners in healthcare professions. Our committee also includes one advanced practice provider (APP) and a licensed clinical social worker. All bring with them strong backgrounds in instructional design, adult learning theory, and healthcare practice and education.
Leslie Cloud, M.D.
Associate Professor and Rogliano Family Endowed Chair, Director, Parkinson’s Disease Program, VCU PMDC
My research focuses on the development of novel therapeutics for the nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. I currently have both observational and interventional clinical studies that are enrolling individuals with Parkinson’s disease (and their spouses). If you are interested in learning more about my research program, please contact me at the VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center.
My primary clinical interest is in Parkinson’s disease and other forms of Parkinsonism; however, I also have training and expertise in the full spectrum of movement disorders.
I teach, both clinically and non-clinically, to a wide variety of learners across many departments in the School of Medicine and many schools at VCU. I have served as the faculty facilitator for the medical student and neurology resident movement disorder rotations since 2013. I have also served as the faculty facilitator for the neurology resident journal club since 2013. In this capacity, I have restructured the journal club format to improve residents’ clinical research vocabulary and literacy as well as their critical thinking skills.
Britt Stone, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Neurology’s Movement Disorders division, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dr. Britt Stone is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Neurology’s Movement Disorders division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She manages adult movement disorder patients, including patients that require botulinum toxin injections and programming for deep brain stimulation, as well as patients in the Huntington’s disease clinic. She has been a member of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology since 2014. She is also a member of the American Herbalist Guild, the Movement Disorders Society, and the American Association of Neurologists.
In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Dr. Stone holds a number of professional leadership positions at VUMC and elsewhere. She is part of the Physician Council for Clinical Service Excellence, the Early Career Council, and the Clinical Operations Director for VUMC’s main campus neurology clinics. She is also part of the Parkinson’s Foundation Fellowship Review Committee, a member of the Advisory Board at Boston Scientific, and an Expert Panelist for the Texas Medical Board. Dr. Stone is currently pursuing an Integrative Medicine Fellowship with the Andrew Weil Center of Integrative Medicine in Tucson, AZ.
Prior to her current position at VUMC, Dr. Stone worked as a neurologist and movement disorders specialist at Baylor Scott & White Healthcare in Round Rock, TX. She trained at the University of Pennsylvania, where she completed neurology residency. She subsequently completed a movement disorders fellowship at Langone Medical Center in New York City. She earned her M.D. from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, and her B.S. in neuroscience from Vanderbilt University.
Clarisse Goas, APRN-CNP
Advanced Practice Provider in Movement Disorders
Clarisse Goas, APRN-CNP is a Nurse Practitioner who graduated Summa Cum Laude with Research Distinction from The Ohio State University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She graduated in 2012 with her MSN in Adult Health after receiving the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Award. She worked for 4 years at Pickaway Health Services in Primary Care. Her father’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease contributed to her desire to subspecialize in Movement Disorders. She worked for 4 years at Wake Forest Baptist Health treating Movement Disorders patients. She returned to Ohio in 2019 and joined The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in the Advanced Therapies Movement Disorders program in January of 2020. She has experience in clinical trials, (both as the principal investigator and co-investigator) including new medication symptomatic interventions, deep brain stimulation (Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Abbott) and intestinal pump drug delivery systems. She currently runs the virtual quarterly PD patient education series “Understanding the Disease,” is the PD Multidisciplinary Clinic Coordinator at OSU and the NP team lead for Duopa.
Jason Rivera
Senior Director of Continuing Education, PMD Alliance
With a Master of Public Health from the University of Arizona, Jason Rivera spent 15 years managing major projects, building collaborations and creating professional development and capacity building training. He served as the Associate Director of Prevention Services at the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation for 5 years before joining the PMD Alliance Team.
As PMD Alliance seeks to meet the needs of the Medical Network and other areas of the ecosystem, Jason’s extensive experience with professional development has provided the necessary expertise in directing the launch of the new continuing education program for physicians and APPs (Advanced Practice Providers), as well as guiding future development and training opportunities for the organization and other parts of the ecosystem.
Kelly Papesh, MSN, DNP
Clinical Director, PMD Alliance
Kelly Papesh is a doctorally-trained and board-certified family nurse practitioner. After completing her Bachelor of Science in nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, she completed a Master of Science in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, KY. She has extensive experience as an advanced practice provider (APP) in neurology and patient case management, with over five years of experience specializing in movement disorders. Her experience includes assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with a variety of movement disorders including Parkinson disease, atypical parkinsonism, essential tremor, ataxia, and Huntington’s disease. She is skilled in advanced therapies including deep brain stimulation and botulinum toxin injections. She loves to provide education and teaching patients, care partners, peers and the community.
As a strong advocate for APPs, she’s eager to create opportunities for APPs to deepen their education and professional skills and to work with peers from across the country who share a vision and passion to advance the field of APPs and make a splash in the world of Parkinson disease and movement disorders.
Anissa Mitchell, LCSW
Chief Program Officer, PMD Alliance
Anissa has a master’s degree in social work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She has over 25 years experience working as a medical social worker in a variety of settings.
Ten years ago, Anissa had an opportunity to work exclusively within Parkinson’s disease running an outreach center and found what some would say is her calling. In fact, she has been described as a Parkinson’s passionary- a person with passion and vision for those impacted by Parkinson’s disease. Anissa has a special interest in supporting the family network. Not long after starting her work in Parkinson’s her own mother was diagnosed. Anissa has developed and facilitated a variety of groups and educational programs for both persons with Parkinson’s and their family members, and loves using creativity to empower others.
