About Me

About Me

Headshot of Victoria Killian, a white woman with brown hair wearing an orange colored shirt

Victoria Killian, PCM, CDME
Disability, Rare Disease, and Chronic Illness
Advocate, Educator, and Speaker

Victoria Killian lives in Los Angeles, California. She is married and has an adorable chocolate labrador retriever. She is a huge science and biology nerd. Oh, and she also happens to be disabled.

Victoria became disabled at age 12 after many months of suffering from severe low back pain. She missed nearly all of her middle school years because of it. No doctors could figure out what was wrong. Victoria went 7 more years suffering until she got a diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis. And while this was her first diagnosis, it was not her last.

Over the course of another 15 or so years, Victoria was diagnosed with gastroparesis, narcolepsy, primary immunodeficiency, chronic migraine, bronchiolitis, long COVID, obsessive compulsive disorder, and a rare genetic mutation in her elastin gene that causes her to have skin healing issues and hypermobility.

Victoria was disillusioned by the healthcare system for so many years, that’s why she started patient advocacy and education. Victoria is a Founding Senator and Chair of the Communications Committee in the Patient Senate at Patients Rising. She is on the Advocacy Committee at the Spondylitis Association of America, on the California Advocacy Team (CAT) at the U.S. Pain Foundation, and on the California State Advocacy Committee at the Arthritis Foundation. And she is always eager to help other health related nonprofits anytime they need more people to write letters or call their representatives.

Victoria is extremely passionate about health insurance reform, reducing healthcare costs, and increasing positive healthcare outcomes. Anyone can be diagnosed with a chronic illness at any time; she advocates so they won’t have to suffer through the same issues she has had to for years.

Outside of Victoria’s advocacy, she creates digital content around disability and chronic illness. Victoria also works as a business and digital marketing strategist. She holds a BS degree in Business Management, and is certified as a Digital Marketing Expert from the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) and as a PCM (Professional Certified Marketer) Advanced Digital Marketing from the American Marketing Association (AMA).

Victoria’s other hobbies include: singing (theatre kid here!), baking, dog training, board game playing, and just trying to survive and thrive another day.

Published Articles, Interviews & Talks