Behind the scenes of Triumph Foundation are the individuals who plan, build, and execute our programming and events. As we are consistently developing and growing, our staff is moving us forward with constant support. We strive to build a sense of family and it begins with the dedicated individuals who put their sweat & tears into the heart of Triumph.
I have always had a passion for helping people in need. After spending years working in retail management and other unfulfilling roles, I chose to spend two years volunteering in Haiti with a non-profit. It was then that I discovered my desire to create a career focused on making a difference in people’s lives. When I returned to the States, I started on a journey toward a nursing career, which ultimately transitioned into pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health. While interning at a local non-profit to finish that degree, I was reignited with my love for non-profit work. Following graduation, I moved to Santa Clarita with my 9-year-old daughter and discovered Tr...
I have always had a passion for helping people in need. After spending years working in retail management and other unfulfilling roles, I chose to spend two years volunteering in Haiti with a non-profit. It was then that I discovered my desire to create a career focused on making a difference in people’s lives. When I returned to the States, I started on a journey toward a nursing career, which ultimately transitioned into pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public health. While interning at a local non-profit to finish that degree, I was reignited with my love for non-profit work. Following graduation, I moved to Santa Clarita with my 9-year-old daughter and discovered Triumph Foundation. Having become hard of hearing ten years ago and joining the disability community, I am knowledgeable in navigating the systems needed. That experience has helped me transition into learning about the SCI community that we serve. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be a member of the Triumph family, where I can use my experience to continue and advance our mission even more.
I was attending California State Northridge to finish my bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology when my mother suffered a stroke that made me change my career path. I began looking for answers at the Center of Achievement where I met Dr. Todd, who helped me get involved on campus and with the community. At the Center of Achievement, I worked with people of various ages and disabilities which helped me quickly realize I wanted to work with the disability community. Today, I help the team at Triumph Foundation coordinate adaptive recreation events, and I love it. As a father of 3, I love being able to bring my kids to Triumph events so they can play and have fun. I am happy and blessed to be part of the...
I was attending California State Northridge to finish my bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology when my mother suffered a stroke that made me change my career path. I began looking for answers at the Center of Achievement where I met Dr. Todd, who helped me get involved on campus and with the community. At the Center of Achievement, I worked with people of various ages and disabilities which helped me quickly realize I wanted to work with the disability community. Today, I help the team at Triumph Foundation coordinate adaptive recreation events, and I love it. As a father of 3, I love being able to bring my kids to Triumph events so they can play and have fun. I am happy and blessed to be part of the Triumph family.
I have always been interested in human services and had a passion for being with people, even at a very young age. When the opportunity to work for Triumph Foundation came up, I jumped at the chance to immerse myself in something I knew nothing about, except it was working with people. I am enjoying the increasing ability to learn new things, working along side people who have become family, and constantly being inspired by those around me. I am a mom to two small, spirited boys and three fur babies. Because of my work with Triumph Foundation, I am one of those lucky people who get to “love their job.”
I have always been interested in human services and had a passion for being with people, even at a very young age. When the opportunity to work for Triumph Foundation came up, I jumped at the chance to immerse myself in something I knew nothing about, except it was working with people. I am enjoying the increasing ability to learn new things, working along side people who have become family, and constantly being inspired by those around me. I am a mom to two small, spirited boys and three fur babies. Because of my work with Triumph Foundation, I am one of those lucky people who get to “love their job.”
My name is Walter Sanchez and I was born in El Salvador. My country went thru a civil war that lasted from 1980-1992. This war caused the death of 75,000 people and many innocent people were separated from their families. I lived outside the city in a small town. My younger brother and I had a normal childhood and played soccer, but at night I would hear gunshots and helicopters flying. When I was seven, my mother would tell us to go under the mattress and the next morning on my way to school I would see bodies lying on the ground. My mom’s three brothers immigrated to America fleeing the war for a better life. I was 12 years old when my uncles told my mother that they would take care of me in Am...
My name is Walter Sanchez and I was born in El Salvador. My country went thru a civil war that lasted from 1980-1992. This war caused the death of 75,000 people and many innocent people were separated from their families. I lived outside the city in a small town. My younger brother and I had a normal childhood and played soccer, but at night I would hear gunshots and helicopters flying. When I was seven, my mother would tell us to go under the mattress and the next morning on my way to school I would see bodies lying on the ground. My mom’s three brothers immigrated to America fleeing the war for a better life. I was 12 years old when my uncles told my mother that they would take care of me in America because in El Salvador the military would recruit boys as young as 13 years old to go to war. I did not want that life so I immigrated to America.
It was 1988 when I arrived in Los Angeles and I was very happy to start a new life and learn a new language. As a teenager I went through a lot; I went to Cleveland High School in Reseda, CA but I was getting in trouble and hanging out with the wrong crowd so my uncle decided to send me back to my mother in El Salvador. I really thank my uncles for sending me back, it was a tough lesson but it made me a better person. When I was 15 years old I went back to school and got my first job as a waiter. Tips were good because I had learned English and I was able to serve tourists. When I was 18 years old and in my last year of high school, my mother lost her job. I remember how worried she was and how she would cry because she had worked so hard for her house. At that time, I asked my uncle to help me to get back to America. I told my mom this time will be different- that I would work hard and would pay for her house. I came back to Los Angeles in 1993 and started working for American Sign Company as a laborer painting and shipping; and then two years later I was my own contractor installing signs for real estate companies. By the year 2000 I had paid for my mother’s house and helped my younger brother come and live here in Los Angeles. I had a dream to buy a house with my wife and in 2005 God blessed us with twin girls- everything was going perfectly.
On December 29th 2000, I had a car accident that changed my life forever. I suffered a spinal cord injury that left me paralyzed from my waist down. My level of injury is T11 -T12 complete Paraplegic. When I was in the hospital after my surgery, they told me I would be transferred to rehabilitation and I was happy because I thought that at rehabilitation, I was going to be able to walk again. I wanted to become independent. When you are in rehabilitation everything is accessible and you have a great team of physical therapist and doctors, however when you go home reality hits you. There I was in my new set of wheels…my wheelchair. I was so miserable that I wanted to die. I had my family support, but at night I used to dream that I was walking and did not want to wake up from the dream. Around that time, my wife asked me for a divorce. I don’t blame her as I was not myself, I was bitter and the Walter that she knew was gone.
It took me two years to accept my new life. I bought a car and got hand controls. I was selling cars for my friends and then I was buying and selling too, I had a handyman service and a cleaning service, and little by little I got myself out of the depression. My daughters have always been my reason to live, and I wanted them to see that their dad would always be there for them. My twins will never say we did not go anywhere because their dad is in a wheelchair; on the other hand they say my dad is in a wheelchair and we go everywhere!
In 2012 I met the most beautiful girl who did not care that I was in a wheelchair; she saw Walter and not my wheelchair. I asked her to go to the movies with me and she said yes! We started dating and we would go everywhere. I took her and my twins to Universal Studios, Sea World, Disneyland; my life was normal again.
In August 2015 I went to my first handcycling event. Social media was a big factor as I would see pictures of guys and girls doing adaptive sports and since I used to ride bikes for fun I went to try handcycling with Triumph Foundation. I remember this like it was yesterday. Andrew asked Steve to get me in an upright bike, oh man, I felt like a kid! I was taking pictures, and from that moment on a whole new world was opened up for me. Andrew told me what Triumph Foundation is all about, helping individuals like me to triumph over disability and from that day on I was involved with all their events- support groups, networking with others like me, and meeting so many new friends.
Thanks to Triumph Foundation I tried almost all the adaptive sports: water skiing, snow skiing, Over the Line baseball (one of my favorites), wheelchair rugby etc. But what I love the most is to meet newly injured people because it reminds me how lost I was in depression, not wanting to go out and live life.
In 2016 I asked my girlfriend to marry me and she said yes! We got married in November 2016 and my life is good because she is in it. I started to work part-time with Triumph Foundation as an ambassador, and that lead to other opportunities such as helping with adaptive sports. For the last two years I have led Over the Line at the Wheelchair Sports Festival that takes place in the spring. I run my own support group in the Antelope Valley as well as helping other groups. I run the wheelchair loaner program and I maintain our handcycles and rugby wheelchairs. I love sharing the sport of handcycling with others and now work with Triumph’s handcycle program. I go out in the community to get sponsors for our events. I love helping others to triumph over their disability. I like to say I’m not disabled I JUST DO THINGS DIFFERENT! Andrew says, “We are the club nobody wants to join but once you are in you are family!!” and I’m proud to be part of this family.
I was injured in a motorcycle accident at the age of 8, resulting in a complete T4 spinal cord injury. From a young age I always remained active in a variety of adaptive sports; snow skiing, water skiing, and handcycling. I was introduced to Triumph Foundation in 2013 at the Abilities Expo, right around the same time I had recently stopped working full time for a family owned Construction Company. I knew I needed to continue to stay productive and decided to get more involved with the SCI community. I gradually became more involved with Triumph; attending their Inland Empire SCI Life Series group, handcycling clinics, and annual sports festivals. In the middle of 2017 I started helping more with th...
I was injured in a motorcycle accident at the age of 8, resulting in a complete T4 spinal cord injury. From a young age I always remained active in a variety of adaptive sports; snow skiing, water skiing, and handcycling. I was introduced to Triumph Foundation in 2013 at the Abilities Expo, right around the same time I had recently stopped working full time for a family owned Construction Company. I knew I needed to continue to stay productive and decided to get more involved with the SCI community. I gradually became more involved with Triumph; attending their Inland Empire SCI Life Series group, handcycling clinics, and annual sports festivals. In the middle of 2017 I started helping more with the behind the scenes operations of Triumph; answering inquiry emails, managing Triumphs’ social media, website, blog and any other tasks that were needed. I’m grateful to be part of such an amazing team, #TriumphFamily.
I first heard of Triumph when I was working in the Development Department at Children’s Hunger Fund in Sylmar. Andrew came by to see our operation and learn how to take Triumph to the next level of organizational growth. We hit it off immediately. Shortly after that, we both realized that Andrew had actually visited my Dad in the hospital after his own spinal cord injury. We quickly bonded over the need for people to connect with the newly injured and care for those who have no hope. Today, I help Andrew connect with donors, sponsors and foundations to solicit their donations to support the mission.
I first heard of Triumph when I was working in the Development Department at Children’s Hunger Fund in Sylmar. Andrew came by to see our operation and learn how to take Triumph to the next level of organizational growth. We hit it off immediately. Shortly after that, we both realized that Andrew had actually visited my Dad in the hospital after his own spinal cord injury. We quickly bonded over the need for people to connect with the newly injured and care for those who have no hope. Today, I help Andrew connect with donors, sponsors and foundations to solicit their donations to support the mission.
