A Milestone 18 Years in the Making: CHF Welcomes Its First Staff Member Dedicated to Programs

Since its founding in 2008, Carolina Headache Foundation has been carried forward almost entirely by the dedication of a small group of volunteer Board members. Everything the organization has built — including PRIME, our flagship program equipping resident physicians to recognize and treat headache disorders — began as volunteer work, sustained by donors who believed in this mission long before it had a track record to point to.

That early donor belief made it possible to build a program strong enough to earn a $200,000 Independent Medical Education Grant from Pfizer this year, funding PRIME's expansion across North Carolina. Now, that same combination — steady donor support alongside Pfizer's investment — has brought CHF to a milestone 18 years in the making: welcoming our first-ever staff member dedicated to programs.

We're delighted to introduce Dion Chavis as CHF's first Program Coordinator. Dion brings 15 years of experience launching and scaling programs, most recently leading a nationwide training initiative across more than 100 school districts for Sandy Hook Promise — exactly the kind of experience PRIME needs as it grows from a handful of trainings into a statewide presence. The work is personal for him, too: his family's own experience with a delayed migraine diagnosis gave him a firsthand understanding of exactly what PRIME exists to change.

"Everything we've built has been carried by an incredible community of volunteers and donors who believed in this mission from the very beginning," said Holly Harding, Executive Director of Carolina Headache Foundation. "Bringing Dion on board is proof that belief is paying off — and it puts us in an incredibly strong position, with our Board, our donors, and now our staff, all working together to take PRIME to every corner of the state."

From an all-volunteer Board to a growing program team — this is what steady, donor-fueled progress looks like.

Dion Chavis