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Dorothy Bedford developed a passion for youth sports concussion safety following a daughter’s 14 month concussion. “The Unmarked Detour,” published at MomsTEAM.com, shares the family’s journey as they worked with doctors, sought promising therapeutic approaches, and struggled with educators. The case also appears in Ahead of the Game, a Parent’s Guide to Youth Sports Concussion, by Dr. Rosemarie Moser, PhD. for which Bedford was a manuscript reader.

Mrs. Bedford served six years on the Princeton Public Schools’ Board of Education, working with colleagues to further the cause of concussion education, awareness, prevention and recovery. Princeton Schools observes all consensus safety fundamentals: a full-time trainer, baseline neurocognitive testing, parent/student/ coach/teacher education, reduced contact in collision sports, plus Return-to-Play and Return-to-Learn protocols (“academic adjustments”).

Her advocacy work rises out of these experiences, as the need for educators to step into the national discussion on concussion safety, prevention and recovery has become evident, in terms of concussion reduction via technology (headgear/ facilities), contact limits, effective officiating, and expediting recovery via appropriate Return-to-Learn arrangements. In addition, the potential liabilities and costs for failure to attend to latest developments demand focused attention from school administrators.

Mrs. Bedford regularly attends concussion medical and technology conferences to access the latest research. She is a member of the American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM), Committee on Sports Equipment and Facilities, a standard-setting body. She is an occasional respondent at and reporter for TheConcussionBlog.com. She understands the physics of many types of head impacts.

Mrs. Bedford holds an A.B (Princeton University) and M.B.A. (Harvard). After 12 years in international banking, she returned to Princeton to be Executive Director of the 250th Anniversary (1995-97). While raising her family, she was an award-winning Girl Scout leader, worked part time in politics, chaired Princeton University’s National Alumni Association, and was chair of the board of the Princeton University Store (an independent corporation). She occasionally writes technical marketing communications and documentation for her husband’s payment card security software firm.

Mrs. Bedford was captain of Princeton’s national title women’s dinghy team (1977), has navigated off-shore yachts, is a member of the New York Yacht Club, and holds Basic Life Support and Lifeguarding certifications. She is a member and volunteer with the US Golf Association (handicap: 29). A member of the Adirondack 46R climbing society of New York, her most recent mountain summit is Mt. Whitney (CA) at 14,505 ft.; the next attempt is Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (19,341 ft.).