We are

SH I N E

Uniting Survivor Voices. Driving Real-World Change.

Survivors Honouring Inclusion, Networking & Empowerment

GLOBAL STROKE COLLABORATION

We’re building a future where life after stroke is grounded in evidence, shaped by lived experience, and defined by personal choice.

Uniting Voices, Transforming Lives.

Uniting Voices, Transforming Lives.

Who Are We?

S H I N E is led entirely by stroke survivors.

We lead with experience and contribute to research, policy, and partnerships that redefine life after stroke

centred on freedom, purpose, and each survivor’s personal goals.

meet our founders

To influence systems and co-design solutions that put survivors’ goals at the centre, driving freedom, purpose, and change through leadership, education, innovation, and science rooted in lived experience and equity.

our mission

Our Approach

S h i n e is dedicated to

Building a Better Way Forward

We keep it simple, but powerful, with three core pillars:

We are survivor-led.

We work in partnership with researchers, clinicians, and policymakers, but always with survivors at the centre. Our priorities come from lived experience, ensuring every step we take reflects the realities of life after stroke.

We champion evidence + experience.

We combine real-world insight with research to create strategies that work in practice as well as in theory. This balance keeps our work grounded, credible, and impactful.

We support systems change.

We focus on shifting policies, practices, and mindsets so that survivor leadership becomes embedded in how stroke care, research, and innovation are shaped.

We work at the intersection of survivor experience, research, and system design.

what do we do?

Stroke survivors bring essential insight, leadership, and direction to life after stroke.

Shape Policy & Systems

Work with governments, health organisations, and industry to ensure survivor goals are built into stroke care and policy at every stage.

Co-Design Solutions

Partner with researchers, innovators, and clinicians to create tools, programs, and services that reflect real-world survivor needs.

Amplify Survivor Leadership

Support advocates to take active roles in research, advocacy, and decision-making at global, national, and local levels.

Drive Education & Awareness

Share evidence-based, survivor-led insights with healthcare, policy, and industry audiences to shift perspectives and practice.

our impact

Together we help reimagine what’s possible

by contributing to research, policy, and co-designed solutions, centred on freedom, independence, purpose, and survivor-defined progress.

Read our stories

what does s h i n e stand for?

Survivors Honouring Inclusion, Networking and Empowerment.

We’re a coalition of stroke survivor advocates across regions and cultures, united by one mission: to shape life after stroke around survivor goals, guided by research and real-world experience, in order to drive meaningful change.

A global survivor-led movement. Rooted in action.

By bringing our lived experience into policy, research, and innovation, we work to create systems that reflect real-world needs and open new possibilities for life after stroke.

Together, we’re turning survivor expertise into momentum for change at every level.

Life after stroke that’s built with evidence, led by experience, defined by choice.

OUR CO-FOUNDERS

Survival is just the beginning.

You shape the rest.


The voice of stroke survivors needs to be heard to drive meaningful change in post-stroke care.

Stroke is one of the leading cause of death and disability.¹

S H I N E  is here to amplify survivor voices.

In the world, someone has a stroke every 2 seconds.²

The absolute number of people affected by stroke has almost doubled in the past 30 years.³

Up to 50% of stroke survivors are left with long-term disabilities.⁴

1.9 million nerve cells die every minute a stroke goes untreated = Time is brain.⁵

More than 80% of strokes are preventable by addressing modifiable risks.⁶

1 Wafa HA et al. Stroke. 2020;51:2418–2427,  2 Global Stroke Action Coalition, WSO, 3 Global, regional, and national burden of stroke and its risk factors, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 Feigin, Valery L et al. The Lancet Neurology, Volume 20, Issue 10, 795 – 820, 4 Donkor ES. Stroke Res Treat. 2018;2018:3238165, 5 Saver JL. Stroke. 2006;37(1):263–266, 6 O'Donnell MJ et al. Lancet. 2016;388:761–775

Our Advisory Board

  • Bo Norrving

    Lund University, Sweden

  • Sheila Martins

    Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

  • Francesca Romana Pezzella

    AO S Camillo Forlnini, Roma

  • Simona Sacco

    Simona Sacco

    University of L’Aquila, Italy

  • Urs Fischer

    University Hospital Bern, Switzerland

  • Else Sandset

    Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål