A healing Payne

When Payne Sigman ’22 shows up to lead a support group for brain injury survivors, he’s present and grounded. At the same time, his parents, Jenness Zerkle Sigman ’90 and Mark Sigman, sit in a similar group for caregivers, providing the space to process, share and simply be.

The Sigman family leads these groups through their Play4Payne Foundation and the Brain Health Collective, a partnership between the University of Dayton and multiple individuals and organizations to address brain health needs.

“The Sigmans are key partners and advisers,” said Susan Davies, director the Brain Health Collective, chair of the UD Department of Counselor Education and Human Services, a school psychology professor and a traumatic brain injury researcher. “When we were setting up the collective, establishing community-based support groups was particularly important to me. They took the lead with that.”

Their involvement and empathic leadership was born for a reason — to give back.

Payne, who graduated from the University’s clinical mental health counseling program, survived a traumatic brain injury after a car accident in 2014.

“When my accident happened, I was blessed to have a large group of friends who came alongside me and supported me, which has, I think, had a big impact in me having such a successful outcome,” said Payne, who is a licensed counselor helping people with substance or alcohol use disorders through the Emerge Recovery & Trade Initiative.

 “Unfortunately, I know there’s a lot of people who don’t have that,” he continued. “For one reason or another, their friends might leave them and so then they feel isolated and alone, and it’s difficult, so I’ve loved getting to see how the foundation has been able to fill that gap in people’s lives.”

The support groups are just one facet of the Brain Health Collective — others include an annual symposium, undergraduate students doing community outreach, graduate students providing care, mini-grants for research and projects, and professional workgroups — but they are a really important one.

“We do [tandem groups] because some of them are unable to drive and really can’t be away from the caregiver that long, so at least for an hour, the survivors and caregivers get a break from each other,” Jenness said. “Both can unload and share without the other one being in the room.”

Group members offer resources to each other. They also meet for social events — including a very popular bingo and pizza night and Dayton Dragons outings — where they can unwind, cry and laugh in the safe presence of each other.

Nobody expects to go through this experience, as a survivor or a caregiver, but nearly one in four Ohioans will sustain at least one brain injury in their lifetime, according to the Ohio Department of Health and the Brain Injury Association of Ohio.

“Give someone a chance. Talk to people who are maybe walking a little strange, have a different affect in their voice, or something else that might make them appear different, but learn to give them a chance.”

The Sigman family, Davies and other partners are all working to ensure people don’t slip through the cracks during brain injury recovery. The Sigmans, who have been involved since 2022, currently sit on the collective’s continuum of care workgroup. And Davies said the regional initiative updated its strategic plan to reflect the necessity of fundraising to make the work sustainable.

In the meantime, Payne and Jenness hope people will lean into their humanity.

“Give someone a chance,” Payne said. “Talk to people who are maybe walking a little strange, have a different affect in their voice, or something else that might make them appear different, but learn to give them a chance.”

PHOTOGRAPHS BY SYLVIA STAHL ’18

A version of this article appears in print in the Summer 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 7. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE