Dr. Courtney Burnett I Secretary

Dr. Courtney Burnett is a hospital medicine physician, assistant professor of medicine, author, and motivational speaker. She is passionate about raising awareness for brain cancer, patient advocacy, and invisible illness/disability. But, more broadly, she works to raise awareness on our ability to embrace all of life’s difficult gifts, regardless of the cause. At age 29, while studying medicine in Thailand, Courtney self-diagnosed her brain tumor which turned out to be an incurable and rare form of brain cancer. Courtney sees her diagnosis as a difficult gift: a gift that teaches us, motivates us, changes us, and inspires us. Courtney works full time as a hospitalist, treating adults with a wide variety of medical conditions. She is the creator of the well-known blog, “Elephant, Lotus, Brain Tumor” and author of the award-winning memoir Difficult Gifts. Regardless of the unexpected situations life brings, she believes in the power of hope, mindfulness, and vulnerable storytelling can help us all find gifts amidst difficulty.