Brenda Eagan-Johnson

Dr. Brenda Eagan-Johnson

Brain Injury Neurodevelopmental Consulting
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Mobile: 724-944-7744
Office: 724-944-7744
Introduction

Nationwide: Child, Teen, and Young Adult ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY CASES (Traumatic Brain Injuries, including Concussions, & Non-Traumatic Brain Injuries) are my specialty. I help determine whether and to what extent the brain injury has impacted the child's or young adult's current functioning, what injury-related deficits are present, and what to expect in the future, based on the age at the time of injury, the location of brain damage, and the severity of the injury. I am a former special educator, so explaining the effects of a pediatric brain injury to a jury is part of my expertise. See below for my bio.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Brenda Eagan-Johnson, Ed.D., CBIST-AP, is an internationally recognized expert in pediatric traumatic brain injury, neurodevelopment, and school functioning following concussion and acquired brain injury. She has over three decades of experience working with children, adolescents, and young adults with mild, moderate, and severe brain injuries and serves nationally as a medicolegal consultant and expert witness in pediatric brain injury litigation.

Dr. Eagan-Johnson specializes in the educational, neurodevelopmental, executive functioning, and long-term functional impacts of a pediatric brain injury. Her work focuses on translating complex brain injury findings into understandable, evidence-based opinions regarding school performance, cognitive functioning, behavior, educational accommodations, future needs, and long-term life outcomes following injury.

Dr. Eagan-Johnson has led Pennsylvania's nationally recognized BrainSTEPS Brain Injury School Consulting Program as its Director for more than 20 years. BrainSTEPS is a statewide program funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health and supports students with brain injuries across all 500 Pennsylvania public school districts. In this role, she oversees multidisciplinary educational consulting teams and trains them in supporting students with brain injury. Her daily work involves consulting on child, teen, and young adult brain injury cases.

Dr. Eagan-Johnson earned her Doctor of Education degree in Mind, Brain, and Teaching (educational neuroscience) from Johns Hopkins University and her master’s degree in Special Education Transition and Brain Injury from The George Washington University, where she then served as an adjunct instructor in the graduate program. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist Trainer with Advanced Practice in NeuroRehabilitation (CBIST-AP), the highest certification awarded by the Brain Injury Association of America.

Dr. Eagan-Johnson was part of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Common Data Element (CDE) TBI v3.0 Working Group that was conducted in 2025-2026. Dr. Eagan-Johnson serves on the International Pediatric Brain Injury Society board of governors and has served on the Academy of Brain Injury Specialists board of governors under the Brain Injury Association of America for six years. She was an expert external reviewer for the CDC Report to Congress on the Management of Traumatic Brain Injury in Children and currently serves as an expert for several CDC-funded research studies. Dr. Eagan-Johnson was charged with leading the first National Return-to-Learn Concussion Consensus under the National Collaborative on Children’s Brain Injury, a group she also co-leads.

Dr. Eagan-Johnson has authored over two dozen peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters. Her research focuses solely on brain injury. She presents extensively on pediatric brain injury, concussion, executive functioning, and school reintegration following injury at the national and international levels. She has trained thousands of school-based professionals nationwide and received multiple state and national awards for her contributions to pediatric brain injury and concussion management.


Areas of Expertise
  • Brain Injury
  • Education & Schools
  • Lead Poisoning
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorder/Disability
  • Pediatrics
  • Personal Injury
  • Shaken Baby Syndrome
  • Sports Medicine
  • Trauma Surgery/Trauma Medicine

Expert Background
Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:
A: I have my doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in Education specializing in Mind, Brain, & Teaching in Baltimore, MD.
My masters degree is from George Washington University in Special Education Transition & Brain Injury in Washington, DC.
My bachelor's degree is in Elementary and Special Education from Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH.
Q: Please list your affiliations or memberships in any professional and/or industry organizations:
A: International Pediatric Brain Injury Society (I also serve on the board)
International Brain Injury Association
North American Brain Injury Association
Brain Injury Association of America
National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
Council for Exceptional Children
National Association of Special Education Teachers
International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:
A: I was an adjunct professor at George Washington University in Washington, DC, for several years, teaching brain-injury coursework in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
Q: Have any of your accreditations ever been investigated, suspended or removed? (if yes, explain)
A: Never
Q: On how many occasions have you been retained as an expert?
A: As this specific information frequently changes, please contact me directly at brenda@pediatricbrains.com
Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?
A: I investigate pre- and post-brain-injury changes experienced by children, teenagers, and young adults. I identify brain-injury-related strengths and weaknesses and provide recommendations for support and services the individual will require throughout adulthood, at school, at home, and in the community. I also assist law firms by consulting on their brain injury cases (all ages) to help them identify which experts to bring in, etc.
Q: For how many years have you worked with the legal industry as an expert?
A: Since 2016

References

Available Upon Request