Image
Juan Garibay

Meet Juan

Job

Program Manager at Rancho Research Institute

State

California

Role

Survivor

Bio

When Juan was 20 years old, he was part of a gang. During that time, he was shot, and he sustained a spinal cord injury (SCI). After his SCI, Juan’s life changed for good. While he was in prison, Juan thought about his life; he decided to change and become a good citizen. When he got out of prison, Juan volunteered at the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. In this role, he helped others with SCI. In 1999, he got a scholarship from Rancho Research Institute (RRI). It was part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Later, he was the program manager at the Rancho Violence Recovery and Prevention Program. In this role, he helped patients who were newly injured by violence or an assault. His experience as an SCI survivor inspires his family and others to overcome the obstacles in their lives.

Learn more about Juan (PDF, 1 page)