Hope for Hypermobility 2026
The annual Hope for Hypermobility Education Day will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
Register below to attend in-person or online!
In-person deadline: April 15
Online deadline: April 24
What is it?
This patient-centred event aims to:
- Build a collaborative community amongst people living with Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD) and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), their allies, clinicians, and researchers.
- Share the latest information from leading clinicians, patient advocates, and researchers.
- Engage patients and caregivers in establishing an interdisciplinary clinic in Calgary for people living with HSD/hEDS.
- Further facilitate community-engaged research priorities related to HSD/hEDS in Southern Alberta.
The theme for this year's event is: "Advocating for care"
Event Information
Keynote Speakers
This year, we are pleased to welcome three fantastic guest speakers:
Dr. Sarah Cohen Solomon (Pediatrician and Pediatric Specialist in hEDS from Baltimore, Maryland), Maggie Buckley (Board-Certified Patient/Health Advocate from San Francisco, California), and Dr. Gabriela Gilmour (Neurologist, University of Calgary).
Check out their bios below!
Dr. Sarah Cohen Solomon, MD, FAAP
How do I Continue When Everything Hurts? Fatigue, Pain, and Pacing in hEDS
Dr. Sarah Cohen Solomon is an American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) Board-Certified Pediatrician at PRISM Spine and Joint specializing in hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and associated conditions such as mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), dysautonomia, cervical instability, and Chiari malformation. Her work is informed by her own lifelong experience with these disorders. She trained at Sidney Kimmel Medical College and Nemours Children’s Hospital, presents nationally on hEDS-related topics, serves on the Awareness for POTSies Medical Board and the AAP Council on Children with Disabilities EDI Subcommittee, and mentors trainees with chronic illness and disabilities.
Maggie Buckley, MBA, BCPA
Beyond the Bend: Elevating Care for Hypermobile Conditions
Ms. Buckley has been a Health/Patient Advocate for over three decades while living with a chronic pain condition. She works with individuals and their family/caregivers to access appropriate healthcare services to address their most pressing needs. Maintaining a robust network with other Health Advocates enables her to refer clients to specialist Advocates as needed.
She currently volunteers in many roles for the Ehlers Danlos Society, the Loeys-Dietz Syndrome Foundation Canada and the Loeys-Dietz Foundation (a division of the Marfan Foundation USA). Additionally, she has represented the voices of lived experience on several projects researching connective tissue disorders, pain management and other health topics.
With an undergraduate degree in Social Work and an MBA in accounting she has worked in banking and business management. In 2019 she became a Board Certified Patient Advocate. She is active in legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts and has experience testifying at policy hearings. She has spoken at conferences and in the media, written articles and coached hundreds of people to self-advocate for better care.
Dr. Gabriela Gilmour, MD, FRCPC
Functional Neurological Disorder and HSD/hEDS: Overlapping syndromes and shared mechanisms
Dr. Gabriela Gilmour is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary, where she is the program leader for the Functional Neurological Disorder Program. She has built the FND Program as an integrated clinic, combining movement disorders neurology and neuropsychiatry for patient assessment and rehabilitation planning. She works closely with a skilled and motivated allied health team, providing rehabilitation services for patients with Functional Movement Disorder. In addition, she works as a movement disorders neurologist in the University of Calgary Movement Disorders Clinic, and is an educator within the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. Dr. Gilmour completed her medical school and neurology residency at the University of Calgary. She then went on to complete a fellowship in movement disorders with a focus on functional movement disorder at the University of Toronto. She has published work on Functional Neurological Disorder, with her recent work focusing on neuropsychiatric phenotypes of FMD, triage and rehabilitation.
Our Other Speakers
Dr. Ranita Manocha, MD, MSc
Event Moderator
Dr. Ranita Manocha is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary. She completed specialty training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the Clinician Investigator Program, an MSc in Medical Biophysics and a BA in Cross-Disciplinary Studies at Western University. She completed medical school at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Manocha’s areas of clinical expertise including connective tissue disorders, bracing, wheelchair seating, and peripheral nerve injuries. Dr. Manocha also runs the Better Mobility Lab, where her team studies connective tissue disorders and walking aids.
Donald Golden, BHPE, CAT(C)
Presenting: Safety and Impacts of Physical Activity for Individuals Living with Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders and Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Donald Golden is currently pursuing an MD/PhD in the Leaders in Medicine Program at the University of Calgary. His thesis work focuses on joint function and quality of life in females living with joint hypermobility, including the impacts of physical activity and hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle. Donald is also a Certified Athletic Therapist, and his research interests include how physiology and biomechanics influence physical function and quality of life in chronic and acute conditions.
Aera J.M. Ladell, BSc
Presenting: The High Cost of Every Step: How Hypermobility Affects Pain, Strength, and Fatigue during Walking
Aera J.M. Ladell is a graduate student in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary, specializing in health and exercise physiology. Her current research focuses on hormone and skeletal muscle physiology, with particular emphasis on erythropoietin. Prior to beginning her master’s program, she worked extensively with Dr. Jared Fletcher in the Fascicles, Tendons, and Energetics Research (FasTER) Laboratory at Mount Royal University, where she studied Hypermobile Spectrum Disorder and Hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome, which she has published on. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a concentration in anatomy and physiology from Mount Royal University. As a member of the hypermobile community herself, she is passionate about advancing scientific understanding of hypermobility.
Gaby Nunez Noguez, BSc
Event Co-Organizer
Gaby Nunez Noguez completed her BSc in Exercise and Health Physiology (Honours) in 2025. As a Research Assistant in the Better Mobility Lab, her work involves coordinating the Hope for Hypermobility 2026 event and contributing to several research projects focused on joint hypermobility.
Past Event Pages
Special Thanks
A very special thank you to our generous event sponsor, The Canerector Foundation. The event is also supported by the Connective Tissue Disorders Rehabilitation Clinic (Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary, Alberta), the Better Mobility Lab (University of Calgary), and the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health (University of Calgary). If you would be willing to support future patient-focused events, please make a donation here and email us to let us know where you would like your donation directed.
