Meet Jay Benson. Jay is the CEO of Simon Pearce. Jay sustained a traumatic brain injury in 2015 while learning how to snowboard. He brings his lived experience with TBI to help shape LoveYourBrain, where he sits on the Board of Directors for our organization!
What gives you hope during the journey of healing after a brain injury?
When I returned to work more than 6 months after the accident, my family and I decided 80% was the new normal. It was just hard to imagine ever returning fully to "normal." A few years later I can honestly say that I am at 100%. I am a fortunate person to experience full recovery - many do not - yet the brain is amazing.
What’s an action someone in your life has taken to give hope or create positive change?
My wife is a woman of action. She exemplifies service and a giving mindset. Seeing her and so many other people volunteer during the pandemic to support those in need of food and shelter gives me hope for the future.
What’s something you value about LoveYourBrain?
LoveYourBrain is such a powerful organization and concept because it focuses on one's mindset to accept who you are, where you are in your recovery, and to realize that there are others in the same position - whether it is the injured person or the caregiver. This is incredibly empowering to TBI survivors.
What does vulnerability look like for you as a leader?
You only know what you know. I don't know everything and I don't want to know everything. Vulnerability is letting other people teach you something every day. Everyone makes mistakes. Vulnerability is owning up to those mistakes to others and then trying to do better each and every time there after.