About Us
Staci Stevens, MA Founder
Staci Stevens holds a bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine from the University of the Pacific and a master’s degree from Pacific in Exercise Physiology. Ms. Stevens served on the Department of Health and Human Services Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee and as co-vice president of the International Association of ME/CFS. Her primary research interest is in functionally characterizing ME/CFS and improving quality of life for people with the illness. She founded Workwell Foundation in order to functionally characterizing ME/CFS and improve quality of life for people with the illness.
Christopher R. Snell, Ph.D. Scientific Advisory Committee Chair
Dr. Christopher Snell has over 20 years experience studying ME/CFS and in particular the post-exertional fatigue and malaise that typifies this illness. He is part of a group that was among the first to advocate for use of cardiopulmonary exercise testing to measure fatigue in ME/CFS research. Together they have probably conducted more exercise tests with patients than anyone. Their two-day exercise testing protocol has potential to be a biomarker for both pathology and function in ME/CFS. Dr. Snell is a former chair of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC) to the U.S. Secretary for Health. He has published extensively on ME/CFS and lectured in the USA and abroad, including invited presentations for the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.
Jared Stevens, MPH Clinical Coordinator/Program Manager
Jared Stevens graduated from Sonoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and received his master’s degree in Public Health from the University of New England. He has extensive experience testing individuals with ME/CFS and other fatiguing conditions. Jared is a certified EKG technician and holds the position of clinical coordinator/program manager. He is responsible for the overall operations of Workwell Foundation in addition to scheduling patients and performing cardiopulmonary exercise tests.
J. Mark VanNess, Ph.D. Scientific Advisor
J. Mark VanNess is the Kim Allen Morten Endowed Chair for Health and Exercise Sciences and Distinguished Professor and department chair for Health and Exercise Sciences at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and exercise science from Wheaton College, master’s degree from Cal State University Sacramento, Doctorate from Florida State University, and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. He teaches classes in exercise and cardiovascular physiology. He began working on post-viral illnesses in 1999. His main research interest is on the role of the autonomic nervous system in immune dysfunction.
Todd E. Davenport PT, DPT, OCS Scientific Advisor
Dr. Todd Davenport serves as tenured full Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy in the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where he teaches in and directs the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. Dr. Davenport is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s DPT and Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency programs. He is a past clinical research fellow at the Warren G. Magnusson Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where his work included construction and validation of function-based physical capacity tests for patients with chronic fatiguing illnesses. Dr. Davenport is a graduate of the Master of Public Health program at the Berkeley campus of the University of California.
Theresa Dowell, DNP, PT Medical Director
Theresa Dowell, family nurse practitioner (FNP) and physical therapist (PT) is the Medical Director of Workwell Foundation. She created Four Peaks Healthcare Associates to meet the need for health care providers specializing in complex medical conditions. As both a FNP and PT with extensive training in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), Fibromyalgia, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), and Long COVID, she is equipped with the necessary tools to improve her patients’ health and the quality of their lives.
Theresa received her Bachelor of Nursing and Master of Physical Therapy at Northern Arizona University. She continued her education at Duke University where she received her Master of Nursing Science and Doctor of Nursing Practice. Theresa is a member of the US ME/CFS Clinicians Coalition which is made up of the top ME/CFS clinicians and researchers in the country; together they authored the consensus statement for the Diagnosis and Treatment of ME/CFS. She also serves as a board member for the International Association of CFS/ME.
Karin Steere Associate Professor
Karin Steere is an Associate Professor in the School of Physical Therapy at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. Dr. Steere specializes in human neurophysiology and systemic disease. She teaches courses in cardiopulmonary PT, pharmacology, systemic pathology, applied neuroscience, and physiology of movement. In addition to teaching full time, she continues to maintain a clinical practice where she treats individuals with chronic systemic disorders including ME/CFS, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, autoimmune disorders, and chronic pain. Her research focuses on autonomic, endocrine, and neuroimmune changes in chronic immune conditions, along with biological and psychosocial factors in other systemic conditions.