EDUCATION: Brain Balance Center opens third location in Encinitas

SMALL BUSINESS: Addressing Social, Emotional and Cognitive Challenges

Jon Pak left a promising nearly 15-year career in finance and wealth management to follow his heart into a life calling that champions social responsibility.

“Sometimes you just have to trust your gut feeling,” said Pak.

Pak is executive director of Brain Balance Center of San Diego, a non-medical, drug-free program that helps improve attention and focus for those who struggle with social, emotional and cognitive challenges, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, processing disorders, Asperger Syndrome and other related issues.

In 2018, though, Pak was vice president and a private wealth consultant at U.S. Bank in its Private Wealth Management division.

He had climbed the high-net worth ladder for more than a decade, and previously was a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch and a financial adviser at UBS for its Global Wealth Management. He had been making his way toward his long-sought, one-time goal of being a topline stockbroker, “smoking cigars with big shots,” he said.

But after 14 years in the business, he said he realized he was no longer motivated by money. And while he enjoyed the life of dressing the part, riding in limousines, traveling to New York and other perks, he had seen what he called “the ugly side of the industry, the name calling and the backstabbing.”

“One day I woke up tired of that industry, tired of chasing money and tired of wearing a suit every day,” said Pak, 47, a native of Korea who was raised in Chile, earned a degree in marine engineering (aquaculture) from Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello in Santiago, Viña del Mar Concepción, Chile, and landed in the United States in 2001.

“I ran out of that drive. I wasn't motivated that way anymore. If you're not driven by money (in the finance field), you're doomed.”

Pak, who has a son who is neurodivergent, was involved with different nonprofits as a volunteer and board member and said he knew that “my passion, my mission in this world has always been helping one another and I wanted to helping others.”

So Pak, who has lived in Rancho Penasquitos since 2006, which was also the same year he earned an MBA from National University, said he had a heart-toheart conversation with his wife and took some time off to plan his future.

Within a month's time, he knew what was next. He had heard about a business called Brain Balance, which had sites in Southern California as part of about 100 centers across the country, but no presence in San Diego.

“I thought Brain Balance was too good to be true, and ‘How come we don't have

one in San Diego?'” he said. “I visited their centers in Orange County and Angeles and saw it was legit. I saw reviews from all over the country, with the vast majority saying great things about it.”

The Brain Balance program integrates key elements necessary to drive development and brain connectivity, taking a comprehensive, whole-person, integrative approach to getting to the root causes of challenges. This includes sensory engagement, core muscle strength and coordination, eye tracking, auditory processing, academic exercises and nutritional guidance.

When combined, the program's research-based components focus on strengthening weaker areas of the brain. Pak says the balanced brain allows for the development of skills and tools necessary to function at a higher level.

Brain Balance offers personalized in-center sessions, at-home activities and nutrition program that work together to bolster development.

Pak opened the first Brain Balance in 2019 in Carmel Mountain Ranch, and with many of the clients coming from the South Bay, he added a second site in Chula Vista in 2021. Pak said the demographics showed that many other clients lived in North County, and so earlier this month, Brain Balance added a third spot in Encinitas. The three sites have about 60 students altogether.

Pak said that Brain Balance and its instructors work on all aspects of sensory development; gross and fine motor skills; core strengthening and primitive reflexes; and visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile processing. He said he has seen life changing work at the center by providing kids the tools they need to succeed.

The business also regularly collaborates with schools and community partners to promote healthy habits, brain exercises and best practices for healthy development. Pak and his team have also hosted more than 30 free webinars in areas of ADHD, learning challenges, sensory processing, behavior and anxiety.

“I love what I do, I love my team,” he said. “Life is incredibly short. I am not motivated by driving the best car or living in the best house. I want to go to bed every night knowing i did my best today. If I die tomorrow, I want to know I did the best I could. I know my mission is to help others, people, the environment and animals, without greed, without being money motivated. When parents tell me stories about their kids' success, all these wins we celebrate. That feeds us. When you do things right, it all comes together.” ■