Our Foundation

The Movement Disorders Foundation of Arizona started by setting up quarterly educational events for people living with Parkinson's. Shortly afterwards, the benefits of Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's were recognized to be highly beneficial, and seminars about DBS were quickly added to the Foundation's activities.

With the COVID pandemic, attendance to face-to-face events sharply declined. Recognizing that the need for education and care was ever growing, MDFA turned to remote meetings online as an essential tool. Zoom became the preferred meeting app and is still in use today.

Seeing the potential for wider reach with online tools, MDFA focused its efforts on creating programs and events designed around remote meetings. The Foundation's reach with regards to ongoing education for Parkinson's quickly spread. Along with a robust Arizona presence, participation rose across the United States — and shortly thereafter, a very active global audience was found.

Today, the Foundation's events extend to online weekly boxing classes, webinars on novel alternative treatments like the Vibrating Glove and Deep Brain Stimulation, and in-person hybrid events that combine both in-person and online participation.

The Movement Disorders Foundation of Arizona (MDFA) aims at assisting patients pursue wellness while living with movement disorders such as neurogenic Parkinson's Disease, Dystonia, Huntington's Disease, essential tremor, spasticity, and other movement disorders.

As a foundation, we provide patients and their caregivers free educational programs to stay informed and up to date on the latest therapy and management options, including novel pharmacotherapy, botulinum toxin injections, and deep brain stimulation. Our education programs help us reach over 1,000 people on our distribution list that are touched by movement disorders.

"The Movement Disorders Foundation of Arizona started to assist patients in pursuing wellness while living with movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, Dystonia, Huntington's disease, essential tremor and others. MDFA's main goal is to help provide patients and their caregivers educational programs to stay informed on the latest therapies and management options.

I would like to thank all of those who support MDFA with this mission and those who participate in this community. Our education programs have helped MDFA reach and support many people touched by movement disorders. Please do not hesitate to reach out to MDFA with any questions or inquiries."

— Lynette Benham, Executive Director

Julie Sievert — President of the Board

Julie brings over twenty-five years of management experience working within Fortune 500 companies. For twenty years, Julie worked for American Express in several facets of call center management, including at the Director level. Prior to that she worked in management in both Marriott and Sheraton hotels.