Meet Scott
To be American is to be raised on promises.
That if we work hard enough, make the right choices, and commit ourselves to certain values, a meaningful future awaits us.
But life is rarely that simple.
I once imagined a future shaped by law, business, and public life. Then, at five months old, my son Eli was diagnosed with FOXG1 syndrome, a rare and devastating neurological disorder that prevents him from walking, talking, or living independently. Overnight, the assumptions I carried about control, certainty, fairness, and the future itself began to change.
That journey transformed me.
It led me to build a global nonprofit dedicated to advancing scientific research. It deepened my interest in citizenship, community, and the responsibilities we owe one another. It changed the way I think about resilience, belonging, sports, history, democracy, and the fragile institutions that hold a society together.
Today, my work as a writer, historian, speaker, and nonprofit leader is driven by a common question: What allows people—and nations—to endure hardship without losing hope?
I believe the answer often lies in community. In shared purpose. In the courage to remain open to one another even amid division, uncertainty, and pain. I believe history matters because it reminds us that difficult moments are not new—and that ordinary people have always possessed the capacity to build, sacrifice, adapt, and persevere.
This website is a home for those ideas: citizenship, resilience, public life, science, sports, storytelling, and the moments that reveal who we are.
Most of all, it is rooted in a simple belief: that while life may not unfold as we planned, meaning can still be found in how we respond—and in what we choose to build together.
About Scott
SCOTT D. REICH is an author, historian, speaker, and nonprofit leader whose work explores citizenship, community, history, sports, and the forces that shape American life. Through his writing, speaking, and storytelling, he examines how singular moments and shared experiences reveal something larger about who we are—and what we owe one another.
He is the author of The Power of Citizenship: Why John F. Kennedy Matters to a New Generation and One Day in September: Baseball, Brotherhood, and the Birth of the All-Star Game. He also hosts the podcast Curveball, featuring conversations about adversity, resilience, leadership, and life’s unexpected turns.
Scott is the founder and CEO of Believe in a Cure, a global nonprofit dedicated to advancing research and treatments for rare neurological disorders, inspired by his son Eli’s diagnosis with FOXG1 syndrome. Through the organization, he has helped raise millions of dollars to support families, fund scientific research, and bring together researchers, clinicians, and advocates around the world.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was president of his class. Scott has practiced law in both Big Law and senior in-house leadership roles, and has also built mission-driven organizations at the intersection of healthcare, media, philanthropy, and public life. He has taught presidential communication at Penn and serves on the advisory board of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
His work and commentary have appeared on The Today Show, in The New York Times and People, and across national television, radio, podcasts, and major publications.
