VIDEO: Jeanette Ribak Is Brevard Public Schools ‘Superhero of the Month’

By  //  May 19, 2016

involved with the Sturge-Weber Foundation

ABOVE VIDEO: Office of School Choice administrative secretary, Jeanette Ribak, stands about 4-feet, 10-inches tall in her stocking feet, but she is a superhero to her colleagues in the department.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Office of School Choice administrative secretary, Jeanette Ribak, stands about 4-feet, 10-inches tall in her stocking feet, but she is a superhero to her colleagues in the department.

“We always knew you were our superhero in the office,” said director of school choice, Stephanie Archer. “Now you are the super hero for all of Brevard County (schools).”

Ribak and her husband, Mitch, BPS business partner and owner of Tropical Realty of Suntree, are actively involved with the Sturge-Weber Foundation and Jeanette was selected as the BPS/Sprint Superhero for April 2016.

“SturgeWeber Syndrome (SWS) is a rare disorder with abnormal blood vessels in the brain, skin and eye that can cause seizures, paralysis, strokes, migraines, learning problems, vision-loss, and other serious health issues,” she said.

The couple have been involved with the foundation for 10 years. “When my granddaughter, Lola, was diagnosed with SWS, my husband and I made the decision to do whatever we could to help her,” Jeanette explained.

“We wanted the best for her. We found Dr. Anne Comi, of the Hunter-Nelson Sturge-Weber Syndrome Center at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. Dr. Comi is the leading SWS researcher in the world. Our hopes and dreams of helping Lola are through research to find a cure for this rare disorder. Dr. Comi and her team recently discovered the cause. It is our hope that they someday find a cure.”

Lola is now 10 years old. She, her brother Henry, and her parents moved to Merritt Island a year and a half ago after living in California and Arkansas. Her dad is in the U.S. Air Force. Approximately one in 20,000 births are diagnosed with SWS, according to Ribak.

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“No two cases of SWS are the same,” she said. “Unfortunately, we know of several children who have passed away due to complications from SWS. We are passionate about our cause.”

Ribak credits BPS and the entire Brevard County community for its supportive nature. The foundation puts on a golf outing that always sells out, Ribak said and the last BPS jeans day held in support of SWS raised more than $4,000.

“I am very honored to work with such wonderful people at Brevard Public Schools. Thank you.”

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Brevard Public Schools/Sprint superhero, Jeanette Ribak, is surrounded by her husband and colleagues in the Office of School Choice. (BPS image)