Executive Director

Arash is a speaker, entrepreneur, writer, athlete, and a passionate advocate for individuals with spinal cord injuries. He suffered a traumatic cervical spinal cord injury in 2012 as a result of a fall. Despite the medical establishment telling him there was little hope for recovery, Arash decided to ignore the negative prognoses and pave his own path for recovery. Through his pursuit for…

Co-Founder and President

In August 2004, Nick was 42 when he had a mountain bike accident in the hills above Los Gatos and was initially paralyzed below his chest. He was airlifted to SCVMC where he was diagnosed with a C5-6 incomplete SCI and underwent surgery. Nick experienced a lot of return over the days and weeks after his accident and coupled with what Nick would describe as an obsessive attitude towards his…

Board Member

Christmas Eve, 2018 was when Tricia's 26-year-old daughter, Jo, had a snowboarding accident during their family holiday in Whistler, Canada, leaving her with an incomplete C4-C5 spinal cord injury. After several weeks of surgery, ICU and rehab at Vancouver General, Jo was able to fly to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose to continue her rehab. Her time there gave her family an insight into this new…

Board Member

Dan sustained an incomplete spinal cord injury at the C4-C6 level after a bike accident in December 2017 and attended Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for his SCI rehabilitation. Dan had just retired from a career in a variety of engineering and leadership roles with Space Systems Loral and BD Biosciences. In June 2019, Dan travelled to Florida where he went through 3 months of intensive…

Board Member

Dave received his B.S. Engineering from Harvey Mudd College, M.S. Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California and MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA. Dave’s business roles include leading marketing, planning, program management, strategy/corporate development and business development teams at Altera Corporation and Intel Corporation…

Board Member

Mia, a Fresno native, fulfilled her childhood dream by becoming a Firefighter/EMT in Northern California after graduating high school. In 2017, her love for the outdoors drove her to go hiking in Sequoia National Park with a cousin. That day took an unexpected turn when Mia misstepped causing her to tumble 50 feet down a mountainside, leaving her with a complete…

Board Member

In January of 1981, while a senior at high school, Julie was in a car accident that left her a complete T8 paraplegic. Prior to her accident, Julie was determined to be an astronaut and to work for NASA. On that day, the dream to be an astronaut was dashed, but not the ability to contribute by working for NASA. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1988 with a B.S…

Board Member

Marco is a biotech executive who has worked at Genentech in South San Francisco since 2007. He earned a PhD in Biological & Medical Informatics from the University of California, San Francisco and a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research from Princeton University. Marco sustained a C5\6 SCI in a body surfing accident off the coast of Point Reyes in 1994…

Board Member

It was Christmas of 2020 as Pravin was vacationing at a beach in Hawaii with his family when a wave lifted him up and slammed him into the sand, resulting in an incomplete cervical injury. On his worst days, he was a positive person working to lift hope for other patients going through their rehab stints. Through a lot of hard work and hours of therapy once he got home, Pravin has been able to recover the vast majority of his…

Board Member

In 2021, Chris retired from his position as CEO of the Valley Health Foundation. Since 2003, he led the effort to raise funds for and awareness of Silicon Valley’s largest (and only public) medical center. During that time, the VMC Foundation has raised more than $70 million for the only hospital in Silicon Valley that serves anyone, regardless of ability to pay. He was named “Outstanding Professional Fund Raiser for 2008”…

Co-Founder

1964 - 2022

Suddenly on Tuesday morning May 3rd, NorCal SCI co-founder Franklin Elieh passed away as a result of a heart attack. The entire NorCal SCI Organization is shocked and saddened by this news. Franklin did so much for the SCI community and he is simply irreplaceable. We are committed to continuing Franklin's vision and legacy to support the SCI community in Northern California. Franklin was 24 when he suffered..

Founding Board Member

1957-2022

Founding Board Member Carl McGrew passed away in Hospital on Monday May 16th. Carl had major surgery in early April yet continued health complications meant that this time, a recovery was not to be. The NorCal SCI Organization is devastated with this news yet will continue its mission to support the SCI Community in Northern Caliifornia the board is committed to carry on Carl’s work ….