The Brain Surgeon's Take

Amy Loughren is a former registered nurse who is known for assisting in the arrest and prosecution of serial murderer Charlie Cullen. Before his apprehension, Cullen and Loughren were friends who both worked the night shift in the ICU at Somerset Medical Center in New Jersey. Loughren was a single mother of two children and hiding her cardiomyopathy from her employers, with some help from Cullen, in whom she confided. In 2003, Loughren was approached by detectives who suspected Cullen of poisoning hospital patients. The patient who triggered law enforcement interest was Florian Gall. After consulting with her 11-year-old daughter, Loughren agreed to assist law enforcement.As part of the investigation into Cullen, Loughren met with him at a diner, wearing a wire. The evidence from the meeting allowed police to then arrest Cullen. After he was arrested, Loughren encouraged him to make a full confession, which then supported his convictions for 29 murders.

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Diane Webster is a trial attorney who defends her clients in a variety of civil litigation, including medical and healthcare litigation, products liability, pharmaceutical liability, and medical/surgical device litigation. These clients include hospitals and physicians, insurance companies, medical/surgical device companies, state and county governments, a major league baseball organization, several corporations, and school districts. Her practice also encompasses premises liability, municipal law, and government litigation. Diane defends multimillion-dollar complex/catastrophic litigation cases involving medical negligence, birth trauma, obstetrics, neonatal negligence, neurologic injuries, and alleged defective or malfunctioning medical devices. She practices in all aspects of insurance and general liability defense involving allegations of sexual abuse, personal injury, premises liability, product liability, and wrongful death. In the area of commercial litigation, Diane defends class action lawsuits alleging violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

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Double Board Certified, Dr. Brown received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his medical degree from The Chicago Medical School. He then completed his General Surgery residency at Northwestern University in Chicago. He then graduated and became certified by the American Board of Surgery in General Surgery. Dr. Brown completed his residency training in the field of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. Dr. Richard J. Brown founded his practice, Brown Plastic Surgery in 2009 with the vision of creating a complete and personal plastic surgery experience focused on patients’ overall health and wellbeing. He provides procedures for cosmetic body enhancements and breast reconstruction after breast cancer. In addition to being a skilled surgeon, Dr. Brown is a published Author of the book The Real Beauty Bible: Navigating Your Journey Through Plastic Surgery.

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Jorge Colina was sworn in as the Miami Police Department's 41st Police Chief on January 26th, 2018. Chief Colina began his career with the Miami Police Department in 1990. Over his subsequent 29 years of service, he has earned more than 100 commendations and numerous awards, including repeated selections as Officer of the Month by the Miami-Dade County Chief's Association. He was promoted to the civil service rank of Sergeant in 2004, then to the rank of Lieutenant in 2007. He received his first executive staff appointment in December of 2009, when he was promoted to the rank of NET Commander of the Coconut Grove neighborhood. In 2011, he was promoted to the rank of Major and served as the commanding officer of several sections, including the Tactical Operations Section, Central District, and Internal Affairs. In 2015, Chief Rodolfo Lanes appointed him to the rank of Assistant Chief of Police. He is Miami's first Chief of Police to have served as an Assistant Chief over all three of the agency's divisions: Field Operations, Criminal Investigations, and Administration.

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Gino Torretta was the most celebrated football player in the University of Miami and NCAA history. Torretta won both athletic and academic awards during his prolific career as a Hurricane. He became only the second player in Hurricane history to win the coveted Heisman Trophy Award as the nation's top collegiate football player. He was also honored as the Walter Camp Football Foundation's Player of the Year. The Associated Press, Kodak, Walter Camp and The Football News named Torretta first-team All-American. He also won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, The Maxwell Trophy and the Davey O'Brien national quarterback awards. Torretta was a unanimous selection as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the year for two consecutive seasons, the NCAA Today's Top Six Award winner, Toyota Leadership Award winner and Chevrolet Offensive Player of the Year. Torretta finished his Miami career with eleven school passing records, including career attempts (991), completions (555), yards (7,690), total offense (7,772), longest pass (99 yards to Horace Copeland vs. Arkansas, an NCAA record) and most passing yards in a game (485 vs. San Diego State). He was tapped into Iron Arrow, as one of the University's best ambassadors. He has also been inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Honor and the University of Miami Hall of Fame.

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During his 21-year Navy career, Jason spent 11 years as an enlisted SEAL and 10 years as a SEAL officer leading teams in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s lived through it all at the highest level in his Navy SEAL career: From failures as a young leader that resulted in him almost being kicked out of the SEAL teams, to redemption and leading teams in intense combat operations in Iraq, to being shot eight times, including a round to the face, and nearly dying during an enemy ambush, Jason has lived the OVERCOME Mindset he now teaches others. Your team will walk away with a new perspective and understanding that there are no bad days, only good days and great days. They will understand how to build elite-performance teams comprising multi-dimensional leaders. Jason teaches individuals, companies and teams how to overcome failure, setbacks and catastrophic crisis through his incredible presentations on life ambushes and his proven “Get off the X” methodology.

Jason is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader” and has appeared on multiple national news networks, including Fox News, CBS, CNN, and CBN. Jason has been featured in multiple documentaries, including History channel’s Navy SEALs, America’s Secret Warriors, and as an actor he played the lead role in The Perfect Day film and a supporting character on an episode of Hawaii 5-0.

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Kathy A. Fields is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at UCSF.  She is also the co-creator of Proactiv and co-founder of Rodan + Fields, leading her to amass a $1.5 billion net worth.  In 2018, Forbes listed her as number eighteen on its list of “America's Self-Made Women".  In the 1990s, Fields and Katie Rodan created the acne treatment Proactiv. In 2002, Fields and Rodan created the business Rodan + Fields, which primarily sold anti-aging products.  Fields has also published several best selling books.

Fields started her secondary education at Northwestern University, then transferred to the University of Florida where she completed her BS in Neurobiological Chemistry.  Following her undergraduate degree, Fields attended the University of Miami School of Medicine for a degree in medicine. She then completed her dermatology residency at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

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Gravano fell into crime at an early age. At the age of 14 he joined the Rampers, a prominent street gang in Bensonhurst. Despite his father’s attempts to dissuade him, like many of his Ramper colleagues, Gravano drifted into the Cosa Nostra. In 1970, Sammy The Bull made his first kill for the Colombo family. In 1985, he was involved in the corporate takeover and removal of Paul Castellano. John Gotti was unanimously elected as boss who named DeCicco as underboss and Gravano as captain. After DeCicco’s death in 1986, Gravano’s specific position within the family varied. Eventually, he was named by Gotti as underboss. Gravano pleaded guilty to a superseding racketeering charge. After 11 months alongside Gotti in prison and a total of 23 years in the mob, he decided to cooperate, formally agreeing to testify on November 13th, 1991. He was released from prison in 1994 and entered into the Federal Witness Protection Program. In 1996, Gravano co-wrote a book about his life, Underboss. He began living very openly and appeared in a nationally televised interview with journalist Diane Sawyer. In 2000, Gravano was implicated in an international ecstasy ring. On September 7, 2002, he was sentenced in New York to 20 years on the federal charges. He was released early, in September of 2017.

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Mr. Pineiro joined the Marines at age 17 and was part of the first division, spending time in Central America and South America since he was fluent in Spanish. He transitioned to the intelligence division and spent time in Granada, where he was awarded the Silver Star Medal for his bravery in saving several agents in the field of combat. He was subsequently recruited to the CIA and was sent to Nicaragua for reconnaissance.

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As an All-American at Ohio State and All-Pro linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Shazier was living his best life while excelling at the game he loves, a game that has given him so much. But then Ryan was forced to redefine success. Suddenly, it was no longer measured by tackles or sacks, but by purpose and faith.

WALKING MIRACLE is the story of this new definition of success, following the arc from December 4, 2017, when Shazier was injured playing the Cincinnati Bengals, to his retirement. For three years, Shazier doggedly pursued a return to professional football. He took small wins as “first downs” on the drive to return to the field: moving his toes, walking, dancing at his wedding, and ultimately running and returning to the team. What Shazier didn’t realize is that along the way, he was preparing himself for another purpose—that of father and husband, philanthropist, and football analyst. The journey was preparing him not for a renewed life as a middle linebacker, but a renewed life after the game.

WALKING MIRACLE—the message on a bracelet given to him by his godmother—is the story of Ryan’s comeback, but it’s also a book of life’s lessons, challenges, and a love letter to the power of positive thinking.

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