Events

Professor Michael Kossove. Keynote Speaker and Award Recipient. BIO and PIC. Professor Michael Kossove has dedicated nearly five decades to education in Public Health and Medical Microbiology. An accomplished author of books and numerous scientific articles, he has devoted his career to sharing knowledge and helping others better understand the science that impacts their lives.

A polio survivor himself, Professor Kossove has made an extraordinary contribution to the polio community. He has helped polio survivors, their families, healthcare professionals, and communities better understand Polio and Post-Polio Syndrome. His unique ability to combine deep scientific knowledge with personal lived experience has transformed education from simply a profession into a lifelong mission of service and advocacy.

Professor Kossove has a remarkable gift for taking complex scientific concepts and explaining them in a clear, simple, and accessible way. And he does it with something equally valuable—a wonderful sense of humor that makes learning both engaging and memorable.

Susan L. Schoenbeck, MSN, RN, is a retired nurse educator, author, international speaker, and advocate for polio survivors. She earned her BSN and MSN from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, specializing in medical-surgical critical care, nursing education, and research.

Her nursing career spans more than five decades and includes roles as a clinical nurse specialist, education nurse specialist, nursing faculty member, nursing program director, director of nursing services, nursing-home surveyor, and nurse consultant/paralegal in medical malpractice cases. She taught nursing at Walla Walla University and other institutions and developed continuing-education programs for healthcare professionals on topics including poliomyelitis and autism.

Schoenbeck has authored numerous professional and public-interest articles and several books, including The Final Entrance: Journeys Beyond Life, Near-Death Experiences: Visits to the Other Side, Good Grief: Daily Meditations, Zen and the Art of Nursing, Heaven and Angels, and POLIO GIRL: It Only Takes One.

Her speaking and writing focus on nursing, spirituality, grief, death and dying, near-death experiences, polio, post-polio challenges, disability advocacy, and resilience. She co-founded the Voices of Polio Survivors Virtual Museum and regularly presents internationally to polio survivor organizations and disability advocacy groups. Her work reflects a lifelong commitment to education, compassionate care, storytelling, and service.

Dianne Wall lives in Winter Springs, Florida, and is a music therapist, recording artist, music educator, author, and motivational speaker.  Her Memoir, Somebody Told Me I Could: A Polio Survivor Who’s In It For The Long Haul,  describes her personal journey of overcoming challenges being born with polio, but also tells of the many people in her life who shaped her.  Dianne’s experiences help her face the future living with PPS with strength, determination and her love of music. She shares her story and why she believes all polio survivors’ stories need to be shared with the world today, more than at any other moment in time.

Joyce Graff. Rotary District 7910 Ex-Governor for 2024-2025 USA. We thank you so much for your collaboration and, above all, for your unwavering commitment as a Rotarian. Your dedication is a powerful expression of “Service Above Self” and a reminder that meaningful change begins when we choose to serve, educate, and inspire others.  
Talking about polio eradication is more important than ever. We are closer than ever to a polio-free world, but the final steps require determination, unity, and continued action. We cannot allow decades of progress to be lost because we stopped before reaching the finish line. 
Your voice brings knowledge, compassion, education, and international cooperation to this vital mission. Together, we can honor the strength and resilience of polio survivors by helping them age with dignity and respect, while continuing to protect future generations through vaccination.

Dr. Fontcuberta’s career spans clinical practice, hospital management, healthcare consulting, and international advocacy. Since retiring from clinical work, he has dedicated himself to studying post-polio syndrome and raising awareness of the needs of polio survivors.