Conference Speakers

Dr. Ashley Gubbels is a fellowship-trained minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic. She specializes in chronic pelvic pain conditions such as endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, pelvic muscle pain, and neuropathic pain conditions like pudendal neuralgia. She is well versed in the excisional treatment of endometriosis, peripheral pelvic nerve blocks, and pudendal nerve decompression. She is board certified in OB/GYN and a member of AAGL (formerly American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists) and the International Pelvic Pain Society.

She received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2004 and her medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2008. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2012. Dr. Gubbels served in the United States Air Force as a general OB/GYN from 2012-2016 and served as the medical director of the Women’s Health Clinic at Nellis Air Force Base from 2015-2016. She then pursued an AAGL Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecology with a focus in chronic pelvic pain at Creighton School of Medicine/St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center under the tutelage of Dr. Michael Hibner. Upon completion of fellowship, Dr. Gubbels joined the faculty at the University of Rochester Medical Center in 2018 as an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has been with the Cleveland Clinic since 2022 and the Director of the Chronic Pelvic Pain Program since 2025.

Richard P. Marvel, MD, FACOG received his undergraduate degree at the Johns Hopkins University where he graduated with honors. Dr. Marvel earned his Medical Degree at West Virginia University, and completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. He was on the faculty at Hahnemann for 5 years during which time he was the Director of the Ob/Gyn clinic and the Director of Gynecology. He was on faculty at the University of Maryland in from 1997-2003 as an assistant professor. Following this he started his own practice specializing in chronic pelvic and vulvar pain. His clinical interests include chronic pelvic pain, advanced laparoscopic surgery, peripheral nerve pain and surgery, vulvar pain disorders including pudendal neuralgia. He has organized and currently directs an interdisciplinary Pelvic Pain Center at the Anne Arundel Medical Center. He is on the Board of Directors and Past President of the International Pelvic Pain Society. He is Co Founder and on the Board of Directors of the Pudendal Neuralgia Association. Dr. Marvel is a member of several professional organizations including the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American Pain Society, the International Pelvic Pain Society, and the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopy. He is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American College of Surgery. He is married and has two adult children. He currently is in private practice in Annapolis, and on the faculty of the Anne Arundel Medical Center Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency

Amy Stein, DPT,BCB-PMD received her Masters in Physical Therapy from Nova Southeastern University in 1999, and her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2013. She is the founder of, and a premier practitioner at Beyond Basics Physical Therapy in NYC, specializing in pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic pain, women’s health, and manual therapy for men, women, and children. Her treatment consists of a multimodal and a multidisciplinary approach to each patient’s entire well-being.  She is the author of Heal Pelvic Pain, an easy-read, self-help book and has recently made a home video called Healing Pelvic and Abdominal Pain: The ultimate home program for patients and a guide for practitioners. Amy is one of the founders of the Alliance for Pelvic Pain, a patient-oriented educational retreat, which is held 1-2 times each year.  Amy is also a contributor to the medical textbook, Female Sexual Pain Disorders: Evaluation and Management, and serves on the Executive Board of the International Pelvic Pain Society. She is a member of the International Pelvic Pain Society, International Society for the Study of Womens’ Sexual Health, National Vulvodynia Association, Interstitial Cystitis Association, Interstitial Cystitis Network, Society for Urological Nurses, AmericanUrogynecology Association, National Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Fibromyalgia Assoc, American Physical Therapy Assoc Pelvic Health Academy, New York Physical Therapy Assoc. She is a well recognized expert in her field, lectures nationwide, and has been interviewed in media outlets ranging from the medical segments of popular TV news shows, like ABC’s 20/20 to such newspapers as the New York Daily News and magazines such as Elle and More magazine. 

Erin T. Carey, MD MSCR completed a combined BA-MD Program at the University of Missouri – Kansas City Kansas City, MO and a Fellowship- Pain Medicine and Advanced Laparoscopy and Pelvic Pain, University of North Carolina School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chapel Hill, NC. She received a Master of Science and Clinical Research (MSCR), University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC. She did her Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. Dr. Casey is currently an Associate Professor (tenure) in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chapel Hill, NC. She also serves as Division Director, Fellowship Director & Director of Research of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill. Dr. Carey is a Fellow, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG), a member of International Pelvic Pain Society (IPPS), The AAGL, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and The American Gynecological & Obstetrical Society (AGOS). Dr. Carey has written and co-authored numerous books, peer reviewed articles, studies, abstracts and oral presentations. She speaks nationally and internationally on pelvic pain. 

Howard M. Richard, III, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Richard is a board-certified interventional radiologist who specializes in women’s interventions, urological interventions and complex vascular retrievals and embolizations. In regard to women’s interventions he has a special interest in uterine fibroid embolization and chronic pelvic venous congestion. In addition Dr. Richard sees patients with chronic pelvic pain for which he provides diagnostic and therapeutic image guided nerve blocks. Dr. Richard has extensive experience in urinary stone disease management and percutaneous image guided cryosurgery surgery for renal cancer. In regard to complex vascular procedures, he is an institutional resource for patients with difficult embedded IVC filters and the image guided embolization of persistent endoleaks. Dr. Richard received his medical degree at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville, Virginia. He completed a surgical internship at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Maryland. He served in the US Army Medical Corps as a General Medical Officer prior to completing his radiology residency at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. He completed a fellowship in interventional radiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Dr. Richard has varied research interests. He is the primary investigator in the Lava trial, a study of a novel liquid embolic agent at the University of Maryland. He is a co-investigator in the PRESERVE trial using irreversible electroporation (NanoKnife) in the treatment of prostate cancer. He is also the principal investigator of an ongoing prospective evaluation of treatments for patients with pudendal neuralgia.

Alexandra Milspaw PhD, LPC received her master’s degree in counseling psychology and human services from Lehigh University and her doctorate degree in human sexuality from Widener University. She is a licensed professional counselor in Pennsylvania and is a Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Trainer. Owner/Founder of Telehealth services offered for individual and couples’ therapy; Dr. Milspaw is the owner/founder of 4Directions Counseling, LLC, Bethlehem, PA; National Director of Behavioral Health Services, Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine; Associate Director, Institute for Women In Pain; Director of Counseling and Outreach Education, Allentown Women’s Center, Allentown, PA. She works with male and female patients suffering from chronic pelvic and sexual pain, providing counseling, education and mind/body relaxation techniques for stress and pain management. Her private counseling practice specializes in chronic pelvic and genital pain, trauma and sexual health, the neurobiology of pain and trauma and how mindfulness techniques have been shown to help heal this damage within the brain and nervous system.

Kathryn Witzeman, MD, FACOG is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She completed her medical degree at the University of Cincinnati SOM and subsequently completed her OBGYN residency training at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She completed the APGO Scholars and Leaders program in 2012 and graduated from the University of Arizona Integrative Medicine Fellowship in 2018. Dr. Witzeman is a member of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health, The Menopause Society, International Pelvic Pain Society, a Fellow, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Colorado OB-GYN Society.  In 2008, Dr. Witzeman founded the Women’s Integrated Pelvic Health Program at Denver Health Medical Center and serves as its director. Dr. Witzeman joined the Board of Directors of the International Pelvic Pain Society in2014, and currently serves on the Executive Board. She is board-certified and a Fellow of the American College of OBGYN. Her clinical and research interests include vulvovaginal disorders, pelvic pain, menstrual disorders, menopausal problems, integrative medicine, biomedical ethics as it applies to the field of OBGYN as well as medical education. She speaks nationally and internationally on topics of pelvic pain and integrative medicine. 

Dr. Jyotsna Nagda received her undergraduate degree and  medical degree from Bombay University in India. She completed her residency training in Anesthesiology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She subsequently completed her Pain fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) / Harvard Medical School, in Boston where she has since been a staff faculty for the last 21 years. She is Board Certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. She served as the Pain Fellowship Program Director for eight years, and currently holds the position of Director of Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement at the BIDMC Arnold Warfield Pain Center. Dr. Nagda is also a staff member of the BIDMC- Intimate Health and Wellness Center and the Endometriosis Center . Her clinical and research interests include chronic pelvic pain, spinal and geriatric pain and the simulation program  for safety in Pain medicine . She is one of  the founding members and on the board of directors of the Pudendal Neuralgia Association. Dr. Nagda also serves on the editorial board of Indian Journal of Pain. She has spoken at numerous national and international venues about topics related to diagnosis and management. of chronic pain conditions including chronic pelvic pain. She is a member of several professional organizations including the American Society of Anesthesiology, American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, American Society of Interventional Pain physicians, Spine Interventional Society. 

Keith R. Zonts is a dynamic speaker and patient advocate who shares his powerful personal journey of overcoming pudendal neuralgia (PN). After years of living with this debilitating condition, Keith now enjoys a mostly 100% pain-free life and is passionate about inspiring others through his story of resilience, recovery, and hope. A testament to his full recovery, he has returned to his love of running and has successfully trained and competed pain-free, completing numerous foot races including four full marathons. With decades of corporate leadership experience and direct involvement in patient advocacy, he delivers authentic, relatable, and transformative talks that empower audiences facing chronic illness, adversity, or personal challenges.