Falling Forward

Sam is the Founder and Chairman of Falling Forward Foundation which makes grants to pay for continued outpatient rehabilitation after insurance benefits run out. Sam saw the need for such support and launched the Foundation after his own rehab experience.  

 In 2011, Sam suffered a spinal cord injury that resulted from an accident while on vacation in Italy.  Sam was paralyzed from the waist down and faced a long, uncertain recovery. Thankfully, Sam learned that, unlike most medical insurance, his policy had no “therapy cap” and placed no limit on rehabilitation. Sam's insurance covered nearly two years of intensive physical therapy.  With the skill and support of many rehab professionals, Sam recovered.  He's now able to walk with a cane, drive a car, work part-time and live a productive life.   

During his two years in rehab, Sam saw the impact of therapy caps first-hand.  Sam met hundreds of people whose recoveries were cut short when their insurance benefits stopped, and they were unable to pay out of their own pockets.  In August of 2013, Sam launched Falling Forward to give other patients the same opportunity that he had --- to continue outpatient rehabilitation and to recover to their full potential. So far, Falling Forward has funded continued outpatient rehabilitation for more than 190 people at four rehab centers in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas and Missouri. To see their stories and learn more, visit www.fallingforward.org

Prior to his accident, Sam spent more than 25 years in marketing and advertising, building some of America's largest brands in snack food, household products, footwear and retail.  Sam grew up in Peoria, IL and earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.