Born of need, built with love
In 1975, Karen Schurig’s life was dramatically changed when her daughter, Lisé, suffered a traumatic brain injury at age 14 from a car accident in Mill Valley, CA.
Lisé survived, but was badly injured and required full-time care. Karen was a single mother who had neither the know-how nor the income to support her injured child. She was forced to navigate this new reality entirely alone during an era when the understanding of brain injury was limited and there were no resources or services to help them navigate this “new normal.” Like more than 44 million Americans, Karen and her family became primary caregivers overnight.
Smart, fearless, and determined, Karen founded Marin Brain Injury Network (MBIN) in 1985 to help others adjust to a changed life after brain injury. She began by gathering survivors and their families to create an extended web of support. Over the next 24 years, she worked tirelessly to build a trusted hub of diverse, specialized brain injury services. Karen passed away in 2009, but her loving legacy lives on.
Today, 35 years since its founding, MBIN is now known as Schurig Center for Brain Injury Recovery. What was once a loose network of advocates has become a community center staffed by a team of dedicated professionals providing an array of brain injury support services not available anywhere else in our area.
The Evolution of Our Name
- In 1985, our organization was incorporated as Marin Brain Injury Network, which continues to be our legal name.
- In 2010, we become Brain Injury Network of the Bay Area (BINBA) to reflect the reach of our services throughout the larger Bay Area.
- Today, we do business as Schurig Center for Brain Injury Recovery, in honor our founder Karen Schurig and to highlight the healing that is possible after a brain injury.