Beverly Schechtman DPF Board Member, Director, Vice PresidentBev Schechtman is a chronic pain patient advocate and educator who has lived with Crohn’s Disease and Psoriatic Arthritis for more than two decades. She grew up in northern New Jersey and has lived in the Raleigh area in North Carolina since 2009. Bev is married to Randy and a mother of two girls, Emma and Olivia. She first contacted Claudia with Don’t Punish Pain (now Doctor Patient) Forum after being denied opioid medication while hospitalized for kidney stones in 2017. She was denied due to being a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Bev is a passionate advocate for people with chronic pain and illness as well as those who have survived sexual assault/abuse. Bev also believes strongly in Harm Reduction efforts. Her insights and work to empower and reduce mistreatment of pain patients has been featured in media outlets including the Guardian, Wired, National Public Radio, Truthout, as well as in podcasts and blogs such as Pallimed, a leading forum on hospice and palliative care. In her free time, Bev can be found reading, watching soccer, and playing with her Aussiedoodle, Griffin.
