Overseers
Scientific Review
The Board of Governors is the principal board of the Corporation with all legal power and authority to manage, oversee, and make decisions regarding the ADDF's programs and activities. Board members includes leaders from government, industry and the research community, who serve as ambassadors for the ADDF and provide strategic oversight and counsel.
ADDF Honorary Chair (Retired)
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Associate Justice, US Supreme Court
Justice O'Connor was the first woman to serve as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. She received her LL.B. from Stanford University in 1952 and worked in California and Frankfurt, Germany, before settling in Arizona. She served as Assistant Attorney General of Arizona from 1965 to 1969 and then was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Arizona State Senate. She ran and won re-election to the state senate twice, serving two full terms. In 1975, she was elected Judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court and served until 1979, when she was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
In 1981, the Senate confirmed her nomination by President Reagan as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Justice O'Connor retired from the Supreme Court in 2006 to spend more time with her husband, John Jay O'Connor, who since passed away from Alzheimer's. President Obama honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009.
ADDF CO-CHAIRS
Chairman Emeritus, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Leonard A. Lauder, Co-Chairman of the ADDF, is Chairman Emeritus of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products, , with annual sales of nearly $11 billion.
Mr. Lauder is also extremely active in the worlds of education, art, politics, and philanthropy. He is an emeritus trustee of the University of Pennsylvania, the Chairman Emeritus of the Whitney Museum of American Art, a trustee of the Aspen Institute, and a member of the President's Council of Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital.
Among his honors, he has been named an Officier de la Légion d'Honneur by France and recognized by the United States Navy Supply Corps Foundation with its Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2013, Mr. Lauder received the Palazzo Strozzi Renaissance Man of the Year Award. Most recently, he was named a 2014 Living Landmark by The New York Landmarks Conservancy. Mr. Lauder is married to Judy Glickman Lauder, an internationally recognized photographer and philanthropist.
Chairman, Clinique Laboratories, LLC
Ronald S. Lauder, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder, ADDF, is an international philanthropist, diplomat, public servant, entrepreneur, investor, and patron of the arts.
Mr. Lauder is Chairman of Clinique Laboratories, LLC, a division of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and is the Founder and Chairman of RWL Water, LLC, an international water company. In 1986, he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Austria after serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO policy. In 1987, Mr. Lauder established the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, which has educated more than 30,000 Jewish children throughout 15 countries in Eastern Europe.
He serves as President of the World Jewish Congress and Chairman of the Jewish National Fund. From 1995 to 2005, he was Chairman of the Museum of Modern Art and is now the museum's Honorary Chairman. In 2001, he established the Neue Galerie New York, where he serves as President. He is also Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
ADDF VICE CHAIR
Randal Sandler
Director of Client Services and Marketing, Bridgewater Associates
Randal Sandler is Director of Client Services and Marketing at Bridgewater Associates, an institutional investment and hedge fund manager based in Westport, Connecticut with more than $130 billion in assets under management. Mr. Sandler has been with Bridgewater since 1994, where he has held a variety of investment and management roles.
Prior to joining Bridgewater, Mr. Sandler attended the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, earning his MBA in finance and economics. He received his bachelor of arts in political science with high distinction and honors from the University of Iowa. During college, he spent his summers working in the financial futures pits at the Chicago Board of Trade, from which his passion for the markets and money management was born. Mr. Sandler resides in Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife, Liz, and their two children.
Howard Fillit, MD
Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer
Howard Fillit, MD, is a geriatrician, neuroscientist, and innovative philanthropy executive, who has led the ADDF since its founding. Dr. Fillit has held faculty positions at The Rockefeller University, the SUNY-Stony Brook School of Medicine and the Cornell University School of Medicine. In 1987, he joined the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he is a clinical professor of geriatric medicine and palliative care, medicine and neuroscience. Dr. Fillit also maintains a limited private practice in consultative geriatric medicine with a focus on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
He has authored or co-authored more than 300 publications and is the senior editor of Brocklehurst's Textbook of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. Dr. Fillit is the recipient of many awards and honors including the Rita Hayworth Award from the Alzheimer's Association. He is a fellow of the American Geriatrics Society, the American College of Physicians, the Gerontological Society of America and the New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Fillit earned his bachelor of arts in neurobiology cum laude from Cornell University and his medical degree from the SUNY-Upstate Medical University.
Kevin Dieterich
Vice-President, Executive Financial Management, Estée Lauder Companies
Assistant Treasurer and Secretary
Lisa Somar
Robert A. Belfer
Chairman, Belfer Management
Robert A. Belfer currently serves as Chairman of Belfer Management LLC, a private firm specializing in the energy, real estate and financial services sectors. Mr. Belfer enjoyed a long career with Belco Petroleum Corp., where he was named Chairman in 1985. He serves as a Member of the Board of Overseers and the Executive Committee of the Weill Cornell Medical College; on the Visiting Committee of Harvard University's Kennedy School; a Trustee of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute; and a Member of the Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee and the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Mr. Belfer is a graduate of Columbia College and Harvard Law School. He and his wife established the Robert and Renée Belfer Family Foundation, which has given extraordinary support to a wide variety of renowned educational and nonprofit institutions. Together, they raised three children and have five grandchildren.
Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD
Director, Center for Innovation in Brain Science and Professor, Departments of Pharmacology and Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Arizona
Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD, is the inaugural director of UA Center for Innovation in Brain Science at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. She was formerly the Vanderveen Chair in Therapeutic Discovery and Development at the University of Southern California, where she was also Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering and Neurology.
Dr. Brinton was awarded the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation Scientist of the Year, Woman of the Year by the California State Senate, Science Educator of the Year by the Society for Neuroscience and Los Angeles Magazine Woman of the Year. She was also recognized as one of the Ten Best Minds by US News and World Report. For her decades of commitment to science education for inner city youth of Los Angeles, Dr. Brinton received the Presidential Citizens Medal. Her research has appeared in the New York Times and more than 100 other media outlets including ABC, CBS and Science Friday.
Nancy Corzine
President and CEO, Nancy Corzine Inc.
Nancy Corzine is one of America's leading furniture and textile designers. Among her prominent clientele are President Clinton, Donald Trump, Judith Ripka, Alec Baldwin, Madonna, Brad Pitt and Sharon Stone. Ms. Corzine has written a best-selling book, Nancy Corzine: Glamour at Home, published by Rizzoli International. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Traditional Home, House Beautiful, O at Home, House & Garden, Veranda, and Elle Decor.
Over the years, she single-handedly built her business as well as raised three children. After nursing her mother for nine years through Alzheimer's, Ms. Corzine has been devoted to the ADDF's mission to find effective drugs to prevent and treat the disease. She is also an advocate for animal welfare and education, having funded a teaching scholarship at UCLA and established a scholarship for deserving students at the Interior Design Institute in Orange County. Ms. Corzine divides her time between New York City and Los Angeles.
Lanny Edelsohn, MD
Director, Christiana Care Health Systems, Inc.
Lanny Edelsohn, MD, is a board certified neurologist with Christiana Care Health System. He is a clinical professor of neurology at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, where he also serves as the director of neurology. Dr. Edelsohn has served Christiana Care in multiple capacities, including leading the Stroke Task Force in 2000, a term as president of the Medical-Dental Staff, and many years on the executive committee of the staff and the Board of Directors of Christiana Hospital. In 2013, the Lanny Edelsohn M.D. Neuro Critical Care Unit was opened in honor of Dr. Edelsohn's contribution to stroke care.
Dr. Edelsohn is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and completed medical training at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. His medical internship was at Hahnemann Medical College Hospital in Philadelphia and his neurology residency was at Harvard Neurology (Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, the Beth Israel and Children's Hospital Medical Center), Boston.
Bonnie Pfeifer Evans
Senior Sales Associate, Corcoran Group Real Estate; Co-Trustee, The Charles Evans Foundation
Bonnie Pfeifer Evans is a real estate agent for Corcoran Group Real Estate; a small business owner of Healthy Chocolate NY, a distributor for Xocai Healthy Chocolates; and Co-Trustee of the Charles Evans Foundation, which honors the memory of her late husband.
Ms. Evans was the Founding Director of the DISHES Project for Pediatric AIDS, which merged in 1998 with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the nation's leading industry-related AIDS organization. She has received prestigious awards such as the Women's Theatre Project's "Women of Achievement" Award, Northern Lights Alternatives' "Vision Award," Little Flower Children's Services of New York's "Recognition Award," Youth EnterNet's "Issues Awareness Award," the "Manhattan Magazine Award," and Edwin Gould Services for Children & Families' "Humanitarian Award" and Honoree of their "Dream Extreme Kite Boarding Challenge" for battered families. She resides in New York where she continues to touch the lives of many and extends her helping hands to those in need.
Melvin R. Goodes*
Former Chairman and CEO, Warner-Lambert
Melvin R. Goodes joined Warner-Lambert Canada as manager of new product development in 1965 and quickly rose through the ranks to become CEO and Chairman Worldwide in 1991. He helped the pharmaceutical company become a major player in the prescription drug industry by bringing Lipitor to market in 1996. Lipitor had sales of $2.2 billion in 1998 and is one of the largest selling drugs in history.
Mr. Goodes earned his bachelors of commerce degree and was granted an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he was a Ford Foundation and Sears Roebuck fellow. In 2010, Mr. Goodes made headlines with a landmark speech revealing his early-stage Alzheimer's disease and pledging his all to speed the search for new therapies.
Nancy Goodes
Former Executive, Nazareth-Century Mills; Secretary, Melvin R. Goodes Family Foundation, Inc.
Nancy Goodes enjoyed a successful career in the fashion industry, primarily working for and with JCPenney for over 20 years. Beginning her tenure as a buyer for JCPenney, she eventually joined a wholesale company as a designer and merchandiser of children's clothing where she continued to do private label for JCPenney.
For her local philanthropy in Vero Beach, Ms. Goodes received the Indian River County Philanthropist of the Year. She manages the Goodes Family Foundation, which has supported the Goodes School of Business at Queens University in Canada. She and her husband, Melvin R. Goodes, have committed significant support and resources to the ADDF in an effort to speed the pace of drug discovery for Alzheimer's disease. In 2012, she and Mel Goodes were presented with the ADDF's Chairman's Award. She is a 1974 graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).
Gary Lauder
Managing Director, Lauder Partners LLC
Gary Lauder is the Managing Director of Lauder Partners LLC, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm investing primarily in information technologies. He has been a venture capitalist since 1985, investing in over 100 private companies. He serves on the Technology Advisory Board of Liberty Global International, the Advisory Board of Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, and on the Transportation Committee of the Town of Atherton. In the 1980s, he worked at the venture firms of Aetna, Jacobs & Ramo Technology Ventures, as well as Wolfensohn Associates. He holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, a BS in Economics from the Wharton School, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is the co-creator of the Aspen Institute's Socrates Society with Laura, his wife. He is a member of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute's Henry Crown Fellowship Program.
From time to time, he publicly advocates on subjects that are important, but misunderstood, primarily: 1) preserving and improving our patent system for the benefit of tech entrepreneurs who innovate in fields where patent protection matters, and 2) improving decision-making on transportation to alleviate traffic congestion. He has had a working cable modem (usually) in his home since 1994. He is co-inventor of 16 patents, has spoken at over 100 industry forums, and, since 1992, has published several articles about the future of the cable industry...that he still stands by.
Laurence C. Leeds, Jr.
Chairman, Buckingham Capital Management, Inc.
Laurence C. Leeds, Jr. is currently the Chairman of Buckingham Capital Management, Inc. He entered the investment industry in 1988 as an analyst for The Buckingham Research Group, Inc. Today he co-manages Buckingham's RAF fund, which invests primarily in retail, apparel, and footwear related equities. Leeds was previously Chairman and CEO of the Manhattan Shirt Company, which was founded by his great-grandfather in 1857. One of his notable success stories was his role in the discovery and launching of Perry Ellis.
Boards of the FIT Foundation, NYU Langone Medical Center, Prep for Prep, the New York Junior Tennis League, Phoenix House and Hudson Institute. He has two daughters, Ashley and Tracy Leeds, six grandchildren and was also the father of Cary Leeds, who passed away in 2003. He lives in New York with his wife, Dalia.
Bruce McEwen, PhD
Alfred E. Mirsky Professor, The Rockefeller University
Bruce S. McEwen, PhD, is the Alfred E. Mirsky Professor and head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University. He served as President of the Society for Neuroscience in 1997-98. Dr. McEwen is a member of the National Council on the Developing Child, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine.
He is the co-author of The End of Stress as We Know It (2002) with science writer Elizabeth Lasley and The Hostage Brain with Harold M. Schmeck, Jr., (1994). Dr. McEwen is the recipient of numerous awards including the Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience, Ipsen Foundation Prize in Neuronal Plasticity and the Gold Medal award from the Society for Biological Psychiatry. He earned his A.B. in chemistry from Oberlin College and his doctorate in cell biology from Rockefeller.
Thomas F. McWilliams
Managing Partner, Court Square Capital Partners
Thomas F. McWilliams has been a member of the Investment Team at Court Square and its predecessor, Citigroup Venture Capital, since 1983. Court Square is a private equity investment firm currently managing equity investments and commitments valued at approximately $6.6 billion. Prior to that, between 1978 and 1983, Mr. McWilliams was Vice President and then President of Shelter Resources Corporation. Earlier, he spent 10 years at Citibank, initially as a lending officer and then as the officer in charge of Citi's leveraged tax leasing business.
Mr. McWilliams received his A.B. from Brown University and his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. McWilliams is currently a director of Winthrop Realty Trust, Physiotherapy Associates and Strategic Industries. He previously served on the boards of numerous public and private companies.
Richard C. Mohs, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation; Vice President of Clinical Development, Agenebio, Inc.
Richard C. Mohs, PhD, is Vice President of Clinical Development at Agenebio. He also serves as Chief Scientific Officer for the Global Alzheimer's Platform (GAP) Foundation, which works to improve the speed and quality of drug development for Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Mohs retired in 2015 from Eli Lilly and Company, where he was Vice President for Neuroscience Early Clinical Development and Distinguished Research Fellow within Lilly Research Laboratories. From 2011 through 2015, he led a team of clinical scientists conducting first in humans through proof-of-concept studies of molecules being developed for the treatment of brain diseases, including Alzheimer's. Dr. Mohs joined Lilly in 2002, working initially in the early phase development group.
Dr. Mohs received his doctorate is psychology from Stanford University and completed postdoctoral training in pharmacology at the Stanford University Medical School. Before joining Eli Lilly in 2002, he spent 23 years with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine where he was professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the Bronx Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Steven Marc Paul, MD
President and Chief Executive Officer, Voyager Therapeutics, Inc.
Steven M. Paul, MD, is the President and CEO at Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. and Venture Partner at Third Rock Ventures. He was formerly the Founding Director of the Helen and Robert Appel Alzheimer's Disease Research Institute, the Burton P. and Judith B. Resnick Distinguished Professor in Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Professor of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Prior to his tenure at Weill Cornell, Dr. Paul was the Executive Vice President of Science and Technology and President of the Lilly Research Laboratories at Eli Lilly. He is a co-inventor of solanezumab, currently in late-stage clinical testing by Lilly as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's. He also served as Scientific Director of the National Institute of Mental Health.
Dr. Paul is the recipient of many honors, including The Distinguished Service Medal of the USPHS and the Chief Scientific Officer of the Year Award. In 1997, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, and in 2004 he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Alice Shure
Founder and Producer, AMICI Productions LLC; Co-Trustee, The Charles Evans Foundation
Alice Shure has worked in feature films for over 20 years. In 2007, she co-founded AMICI Productions with producer Janice Stanton to develop and create high-quality documentary films about contemporary artists and significant social issues. She previously formed Shurefire Productions in 1993. Ms. Shure began her career in film production working for Stanley Jaffe at Paramount Pictures and Jaffe Lansing Productions.
As a trustee of the Charles Evans Foundation, Ms. Shure has focused her philanthropy on Alzheimer's-related organizations, including the ADDF, the New York City chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, and the New York Stem Cell Foundation. She also is involved with New Yorkers for Children's Guardian Scholars Program, providing college tuition support for young women in foster care. Ms. Shure was born and raised in New York City and educated at the Fieldston School and Sarah Lawrence College. She is a widow with two adult sons. Her father was a victim of Alzheimer's disease.
Sally Susman*
Executive Vice President, Policy, External Affairs and Communications, Pfizer Inc
Sally Susman is Executive Vice President, Policy, External Affairs and Communications at Pfizer Inc., the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company. She is a member of Pfizer's Executive Leadership Team, chairs the company's Political Action Committee and is Vice Chair of The Pfizer Foundation. Ms. Susman also heads the firm's corporate responsibility group and plays a key role in shaping its policy initiatives.
Before joining Pfizer in 2007, Ms. Susman was Executive Vice President of Global Communications at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. She also held several high-level communications and government relations posts at American Express Company. She serves on the Board of The International Rescue Committee, for which she chairs the Health Subcommittee, and was appointed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to the New York City Commission on Women's Issues. Ms. Susman holds a bachelor of arts in government from Connecticut College and studied at the London School of Economics. She lives with her family in New York City.
David R. Weinreb
Chief Executive Officer, Weinreb Ventures
David R. Weinreb is the CEO and a Member of the Board of Directors of The Howard Hughes Corporation. Mr. Weinreb has directed the company's efforts since its inception in 2010, building a portfolio of some of the most sought-after real estate in the country. His vision, leadership, and acumen led him to be honored as the 2013 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award in Real Estate for the region. In 2012, he was named as one of the Top 200 CEOs in the U.S. by ExecRank, and he has been listed multiple times in the Commercial Observer Power 100.
A real estate industry veteran for over three decades, Mr. Weinreb spent 17 years as Chairman and CEO of TPMC Realty Corporation, a company he built into a multi-faceted investment firm prior to leading the emergence of The Howard Hughes Corporation as a publicly traded company.
Mr. Weinreb attended New York University and began his real estate career in the 1980s in New York City. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the Urban Land Institute. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at USC. Mr. Weinreb's deep commitment to philanthropy spans local and national organizations.
Paula Zahn
Host and Executive Producer, Discovery ID's "On the Case with Paula Zahn," and WNET's "NYC Arts"
Paula Zahn is a veteran news journalist who is currently the host and executive producer of Investigation Discovery ID's highly successful "On the Case with Paula Zahn." She is also the co-host of "Sunday Arts," WNET-TV's weekly program on culture and the arts. Prior to those assignments, Ms. Zahn worked at CNN for six years where she was anchor of both primetime and morning news shows.
Before joining CNN, Ms. Zahn was host of "The Edge with Paula Zahn" on Fox News Channel. She spent 10 years at CBS News, where she co-hosted CBS This Morning and anchored the CBS Evening News, Saturday Edition. During a stint at ABC News, Ms. Zahn served as co-anchor of World News This Morning and anchored news segments of Good Morning America. Ms. Zahn has won eight Emmy Awards, the National Commission of Working Women Broadcasting Award and seven Gracie Awards for her reporting on women's issues. In addition, she has been a longtime advocate for women's health and has received national recognition for her reporting on cancer.
* Denotes Honorary Members