It was New Year’s Eve in 2009 when my helmet saved my life.

Training for the Winter Olympics in Utah, I was at the top of competitive snowboarding when I suffered a life-threatening traumatic brain injury that I’m still recovering from to this day. And while I can never snowboard competitively again, I hope to be a voice for the millions of Americans who grapple with diseases of the brain.

Until my injury, I didn’t spend too much time thinking about my brain, but in the last few years, I’ve learned a lot about the engine that drives our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

I’ve learned that in my battle to recover from this devastating injury, I am not alone. Researchers estimate that around 100 million Americans suffer from brain disorders at some point in their lives. From Alzheimer’s to autism and ALS all the way to traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic depression, diseases of the brain are not only catastrophic, they are common.

That’s why the President’s BRAIN Initiative — an all-hands-on-deck effort to understand the human brain and enable the tools, techniques, and technologies that can improve scientists’ ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent neurological diseases — is personal for me.

Learn more about the initiative here — and if you or someone you know stands to benefit from this sort of research, tell that story here.

Since my injury, I’ve learned that the human brain remains one of the greatest mysteries in science. Decades of neuroscience have revealed much about how the brain works, but the great majority of the brain’s activity, involving about 100 trillion neural connections, remains uncharted.

That’s changing quickly. Since the President announced the BRAIN Initiative last year, the research community, federal agencies, foundations, patient advocacy groups, private research institutes, companies, scientific societies, and individual scientists have committed more than $300 million to this bold effort to capture a dynamic image of the human brain, similar to the one that mapped the human genome.

The goals of the BRAIN Initiative are ambitious, but they’re achievable.

Imagine if no family had to grapple with the helplessness and heartache of a loved one with Parkinson’s, or TBI, or PTSD. Imagine if Alzheimer’s, or ALS, or chronic depression were eradicated in our lifetime. Imagine if we played a role in those breakthroughs.

That’s why I’ve worked so hard on connecting, educating, and empowering around brain health, and to tell the story about how much the brain can improve, adapt, heal, and grow. And that’s why I’m so excited to lend my voice to these efforts to help catalyze the next generation of treatments for brain diseases. Though my voice may be more public than most, I know that so many Americans have loved ones that have battled brain disorders just as I have.

If you want to make your voice heard, share your story at WhiteHouse.gov/BRAIN.

I may never get to stand on the Olympic podium, but I’m thrilled to stand with the scientists and students, researchers and citizens on the edge of the next great frontier — unlocking and understanding the three pounds of matter that sit between our ears.

Sincerely,

Kevin Pearce
Carlsbad, California

When you’re done, please forward this email to 3 San Diego friends and make sure they know the truth about Speaker Boehner’s baseless attacks.

Thanks for helping get out the facts,

San Diego for Scott

President Obama just spoke to entrepreneurs at Northwestern University in Illinois. In his remarks, he made the case for what has always fueled America’s leadership: America’s economic greatness.

Our economy is stronger now than when the President took office during the Great Recession. Businesses are creating more jobs, our manufacturing sector is booming, and our nation is more energy independent than ever before.

And while we’ve made great strides, we aren’t there yet — to build an economy that works for every American, we must invest in key economic cornerstones that will create security and opportunity for America’s middle class.

Find out more about the progress we’ve made — and the steps we still must take.

You Told Us: Here’s What Raising the Wage Means to You

Tens of thousands of people shared what raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would mean to them personally, or to their communities. Read some of those stories on our interactive map here.

READ MORE

President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu Meet at the White House

Yesterday, President Obama welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House to meet on a number of issues, including the situation in Gaza and the work to degrade and destroy ISIL.

READ MORE

President Obama Welcomes 2013 MLS Champs Sporting KC to the White House

Yesterday, President Obama welcomed Sporting Kansas City to the White House in honor of the team’s 2013 MLS Cup championship win.

READ MORE