Advancing the
health & human rights
of people in pain.

DID YOU KNOW

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Nearly 1 in 4 US adults lives in pain every day.

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40 million experience severe pain.

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More than 22 million people in the US have pain that prevents life activities and work.

PAIN CAN…

affect anyone.

Chronic pain impairs the most fundamental aspects of human life: the ability to function, work, and participate in family and social life.

WHAT WE DO

At NPAC, we will work to change perceptions and policies until people with pain are included in all aspects of social and economic life.

How we think about pain informs our willingness to invest in its treatment.
Policies often determine who gets services and care.

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OUR INSPIRATION

Pain is stigmatized and misunderstood, and people with pain are often excluded from social life. These injustices have compounded amidst a drug overdose crisis and global pandemic. 

In response, we have come together as scientists, clinicians, civil rights advocates and people living with pain to fight impediments to medication and care, uplift people with pain, and expand available treatment and services.

We receive funding from the Ford Foundation, Borealis Philanthropy, and individual donors. 

OUR FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Kate Nicholson

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Kate Nicholson, JD, worked as a civil rights attorney and in the U.S. Department of Justice for 18 years, where she litigated and managed cases, coordinated federal disability policy, and drafted the current American with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. Kate developed intractable pain after a surgical injury which impaired her ability to sit, stand, or walk for two decades.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Juan M Hincapie-Castillo

PRESIDENT

Dawn Gibson

SECRETARY

Julie Reiskin

TREASURER

Laura Mills

Lindsay Baran

Senator Joann Ginal

Ola Ojewumi

OUR SCIENCE & POLICY ADVISORY COUNCIL

OUR COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

RECENT ADVOCACY FROM NPAC:


 NPAC is first and foremost a policy-focused advocacy group.