To Table of Contents his father why anything should be done , the response was always , “ because that is what we do .” Still , Alan leaves one with the impression he loves not just the act of helping people , but the act of engaging with individuals and bringing them together .
People are drawn to Alan , as well . His longtime friend , Dr . Jason Cohen , praised Alan during a recent episode of his podcast , Gross Anatomy . “ Everybody knew and loved Alan growing up ,” Jason said . When Alan is asked about Jason ’ s remark , he says he always was just a people person . “ I think it ’ s just my personality and being a real New Yorker . My family was in the retail business and I was always working there as a child , interacting with individuals .” Alan says his commitment to helping others runs deep : “ I always saw the community in New York , coming up where I grew up , and our synagogue , giving back ,” he continues , “ and that is the fabric of who I am .”
It was only natural that Alan would become involved with another family whose commitment to service runs deep : the family of Christopher and Dana Reeve . After attending a conference in Washington , D . C . at which he first understood what the Reeve Foundation meant to people in the paralysis community , he met the Reeve children . Later , after they were introduced , a special friendship developed between Christopher and Alan . “ We went to hockey games and had many conversations together . I keep him and Dana very close to my heart all of the time . I am lucky enough to be friendly with all three of his children .”
Today , Alan serves as Director of New Partner Engagement for the foundation , and his own Alan T . Brown Fund , thrives within it directed by his mother . Alan is delighted by any opportunity to talk about the Reeve Foundation ’ s programs focused on ‘ today ’ s care , tomorrow ’ s cure ,’ including their flagship National Paralysis Resource Center . Over 20 years the foundation has awarded $ 34 million in Quality of Life grants to nonprofits that need help funding programs to assist people living with paralysis . In addition , the National Paralysis Resource Center serves 100,000 individuals and families each year through free programs that include certified peer mentoring , advocacy , and research .
Alan shares that COVID has made it challenging for people dealing with new injuries to navigate their situation , and isolation presents a challenge . He ’ s proud to note , however , that the foundation and its network of teams has been able to do much to mitigate that . “ During COVID , the foundation has actually done so much work to help educate individuals living with paralysis on so many different levels through the National Paralysis Resource Center .” Alan is a certified peer mentor in their Peer & Family Support program , which has helped approximately 11,000 people in 40 states .
When he considers the short term versus the long game , Alan would like to see more change that improves quality of life and opportunity for the more than 5 million Americans with paralysis . “ I have been hearing the word inclusion for decades , and hopefully now the world itself , and companies as well , are ready to be inclusive . Hopefully corporate America will start hiring more individuals with ability , and more people will stop seeing people ’ s disabilities .”
As a frequent traveler , he sees a need to eliminate everyday challenges of navigating public facilities that people without disabilities often don ’ t realize exist : “ We need to make sure that when individuals with a disability want to travel , they do not have to go through so many hurdles just for a trip that somebody else would normally take . It would be great to get on the plane with ease , check into a hotel knowing that the bed is the right height , and you can use the bathroom as well as public transportation .”
To address those challenges constructively , another foundation Alan co-founded ,