Mind Over Matter: Unlocking Potential, Elevating Performance, Celebrating Innovation, Advocacy, and Excellence in Athlete Brain Health

Dr. Sharon H. Porter
May 30
4 min read

Updated: May 31

By Dr. Sharon H. Porter | Friday, May 30, 2025 | 7:10 PM EDT

Each year, a dynamic gathering of trailblazers, visionaries, and changemakers convenes to celebrate the intersection of athletics, health, and innovation. This year’s theme—“Mind Over Matter: Unlocking Potential, Elevating Performance”—sets the tone for an unforgettable experience designed to champion mental resilience, cognitive wellness, and transformative career pathways.

Hosted by Head to Speech, the nation’s first nonprofit dedicated to advancing athlete brain health through the lens of speech-language pathology, hearing sciences, and cognitive communication, this Annual Retreat and Awards Luncheon is more than a networking event. It’s a powerful movement to Bridge. Connect. Integrate. Expand.

A One-of-a-Kind Experience

This signature event brings together a highly vetted community of board members, advisory council leaders, giving circle champions, and professionals from across a wide spectrum of industries, including:

Athletics and Sports Performance
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
Neuropsychology and Cognitive Sciences
Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
Law, Media, and Sports Management

Whether you're a former athlete navigating your next chapter, a healthcare professional exploring new frontiers in brain health, or an advocate determined to advance concussion awareness, this gathering is where ideas meet action.

What to Expect

Celebrate Excellence

Applaud this year’s recipients of The Headie Award, honoring exemplary individuals in advocacy, performance, leadership, and innovation. Past honorees include NFL sports moms, athletic directors, sports psychotherapists, concussion researchers, and player development experts.

Spotlight Innovation

Discover groundbreaking programs designed to elevate athlete brain health, cognitive resilience, and communication wellness—from sports speech-language pathology career pathways to post-game leadership transitions.

Engage & Interact

Test your problem-solving skills and teamwork in a sports-themed escape room, and build lasting connections through interactive challenges and team-building activities.

Inspire & Educate

Absorb lessons from compelling stories of mental toughness, adaptability, and forward-thinking. Learn how athletes and support professionals are pioneering new approaches to athlete development and cognitive performance.

Giving Back, Moving Forward

In 2023, the Head to Speech community raised $5,270 to support the mission of the organization—closing the gap between sports and communication sciences. Every dollar raised supports the four foundational pillars:

Bridge athletics and speech-language pathology/audiology.
Connect with community partners for training and awareness.
Integrate into athletes’ routines and cultures.
Expand access to careers in brain health and sports speech-language pathology.

They are just getting started.

Bids for Brains: A Silent Auction for a Safer Future

Support “Bids for Brains, the silent auction fundraiser, where every bid is an investment in athlete brain safety, concussion prevention, and cognitive wellness. Bid on unique experiences, exclusive memorabilia, and wellness packages, all while supporting a cause that changes lives.

Be Part of the Movement

Join the Giving Circle—an elite community of donors giving $84/month, $250/quarter, or $1,000/year. Members receive exclusive access to:

Roundtables and private events
Advisory Council and nominating committee roles
Grant-making voting rights
Premium networking with top leaders in sports and health

Want to do more? Explore opportunities to become a sponsor, media partner, or auction donor and gain visibility among a committed, purpose-driven audience.

Ready to Elevate the Game?

Whether you’re an athlete, advocate, healthcare provider, or supporter, this is your moment to unlock potential and help shape the future of cognitive wellness in sports.

RSVP now for your exclusive invitation to this transformative event and join in with honoring resilience, advancing athlete brain health, and celebrating the power of Mind Over Matter.

Dr. Pope on The I Am Dr. Sharon Show on the FAM TV Plus Network (Roku & FireTV)- February 3, 2024

About the Founder, Tabia Pope, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Nationally recognized as a nonprofit trailblazer, Dr. Tabia Pope is the Founding Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Head to Speech Incorporated. Dr. Pope is the Bestselling Author of Align Your Brand with Social Impact and is working on her second book, Protect Your Brand: Healthy Brain, Wealthy Brand. She also is the owner of BIA Communications, LLC, BIA Brand and the Certified Sports SLP trademarks.

She is an invited speaker for national television and speaking platforms on various topics related to brain health and injury, neurogenic language disorders, sports concussion management, business practice and management, and well as health literacy and outcomes, health communications, and social impact branding.

Dr. Pope is a 2023 graduate of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) Leadership Development Program, where she created a national Career Pathways program for Head to Speech and received mentoring in emotional intelligence and various other leadership topics throughout the process.

She is currently a distinguished Clinical Instructor of Speech-Language Pathology at the University of the District of Columbia, where is dedicated to bridging the gap between Athletics and Communication Sciences and Disorders. She is the co-coordinator for the UDC B.R.A.I.N. Lab, where she engages in brain health and injury research, assessment, innovative interventions, and neurocognitive training. She receives student-athlete referrals from academic advisors.

Dr. Pope is also a Black Men's Brain Health Conference Emerging Scholar, where her research focuses on the perspectives of retired professional athletes and their support systems towards brain health, sports concussions, and cognitive-communication interventions by speech-language pathologists. She creates brain workouts and integrates neurocognitive training, mindfulness and cognitive-communication tasks into the athletes warm ups, sports drills, physical exercises, and daily routines.

Head to Speech received a $5,000 grant through the Ivy Incubator for Nonprofit Excellence to build capacity. Within three years of its founding, Dr. Pope has been instrumental in fundraising over $30,000 and guiding the organization towards achieving the standards for excellence certification within the State of Maryland.