Founding Story & Leadership

Mr. Bobins serves as Vice President and Co-Chair of Outreach and Development. As one of the founding members of the Children’s Brain Research Foundation prior to its merger with the Brain Research Foundation, Mr. Bobins is particularly interested in the study of neurological diseases and disorders that affect children. Mr. Bobins is vice chairman, CIBC US Region. He is founder and chief executive of Norman Bobins Consulting LLC. In addition, Mr. Bobins serves on a wide array of boards and charitable organizations.

James A. Byrd, Jr. is a Senior Vice President at The Northern Trust Company in Chicago. He serves as the Trust Team Lead and Senior Trust Advisor in the Private Client Advisory Services Segment of Wealth Management. James oversees a team of trust professionals and is responsible for the administration of complex trusts for individuals, large families, and tax entities. James is a member of The Chicago Estate Planning Council.  He also serves as a Board Member for Family Focus, formerly known as Chicago Child Care Society.  He is a volunteer at the Hessed House Shelter in Aurora, IL and is an active member at The Cathedral of Grace, St. John. James earned a B.A. from Aurora University and an MBA from Aurora University’s Dunham School of Business.

Gail M. Elden is a seasoned clinical psychiatric social worker/therapist with over 25 years of practice. She was a clinical social work fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at Michael Reese Hospital, received her master’s degree in Social Services from the University of Chicago. Gail is currently in private practice. Her areas of treatment include trauma and crisis intervention. She offers aid in divorce, depression, vocational choices, grief counseling, and coping with stress and anxiety. Gail studied with Heinz Kohut in Self Psychology.

Her father, a physician, sowed the seeds of Gail’s interest in the medical field. Interest in the mind was the foundation of Gail’s career. Her passion for brain research grew when doctors diagnosed her late husband, Dick, with melanoma, which later spread to the brain.

As Head of Business Development at Adams Street Partners, Gary focuses on the development of institutional client and consultant relationships, working with other members of the Client Service team to serve the needs of their clients. As a member of the Executive Committee, he is also involved in prioritizing the strategic initiatives of the firm.

Mr. Fishburn serves as Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee, as well as a member of the Executive Committee. He is a retired partner of Accenture where he specialized in consulting on business strategy, acquisitions and marketing strategy. He joined the Board nearly 30 years ago.

Dave’s family has been touched by several neurological diseases and he felt that he could help fund and provide professional support to the many worthy research projects which the BRF funds annually.

In 2018 Dave was incapacitated by Guillain-Barre syndrome (a rare neurological disorder). He was able to fully recover thanks to the protocol developed by someone’s research. He is pleased to serve a charitable organization that is positioned to contribute 100% of its annual donations to innovative neurological research projects.

Marshall Front is Chairman and the Chief Investment Officer of Front Barnett Associates LLC, a Chicago-Based investment counseling firm he co-founded in 1994 after serving for nearly thirty years at Stein Roe & Farnham Inc. as an adviser to high net worth individuals and institutions. At Stein Roe, Mr. Front was also President of the firm’s Family of no-load mutual funds as well as President of its Investment Counseling Division and a director of the Stein Roe & Farnham Foundation.

Mr. Front serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of several Chicago area institutions including The Field Museum, The Latin School where he was Board President from 1992-1998, WTTW/WFMW and The Museum of Contemporary Art. He also advises Columbia College Chicago and the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago on the investment of their Endowments. Previously, Mr. Front was a member of the Board of Visitors of Columbia College (New York) President of the No-Load Mutual Fund Association, a Trustee of Illinois Institute of Technology and General Chairman of the Columbia College Fund.

Marshall Front received an AB degree in history from Columbia College in 1958 and an MBA from the Columbia Graduate School of Business in 1961. He is the recipient of an honorary PhD from St. Xavier University (Chicago) for Distinguished Public Service and was awarded the John Jay Award for professional accomplishment and The Alumni Gold Medal from Columbia University.

Bill Gantz is the President and CEO of PathoCapital, LLC. an investor in healthcare companies. He has three companies that have successfully developed drugs approved by the FDA. He was President of Baxter International and held a number of senior leadership positions during his 25-year career.

Bill Gantz has been impressed by the commitment of researchers and their willingness to propose inventive new projects that would be funded by the Brain Research Foundation. They have presented a wide variety of important issues for the foundation to select the very best to work on. These are important steps in research and allow these top researchers to gain the experience and know how to make progress in this field.

Mr. Hansen is a Managing Director with PwC, one of the world’s largest professional services firms. He focuses his work on helping to improve the operations of pharmaceutical and medical products companies. Having a long-standing commitment to the Chicago community, Mr. Hansen has been looking to channel energies back to the local community in order to make a difference.

Mr. Hansen’s family, like many others, has been touched by brain-related illness, including severe chronic depression, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease. These personal connections, combined with a professional passion for the life sciences, made Brain Research Foundation a natural place for Mr. Hansen to get involved. He has served on our Board of Trustees since 2005 and is currently serving as the Chair of the Outreach and Development Committee.

Mr. Kohn is the Founder and Senior Partner of the Chicago law firm Goldberg Kohn, specializing in commercial finance. He joined the Brain Research Foundation during the merger with the Children’s Brain Research Foundation.

Mr. Kohn also serves on the Board of CJE SeniorLife, and previously served as Chairman of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and President of Anshe Emet Synagogue.

Dr. Leventhal serves as the Chair of the Research Committee for Brain Research Foundation. As one of the founding members of the Children’s Brain Research Foundation prior to its merger with the Brain Research Foundation, Dr. Leventhal is an accomplished clinician, educator and investigator who has a particular interest in neurodevelopmental disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dr. Leventhal is an internationally renowned psychiatrist who has held academic appointments at the several leading medical schools and leadership positions in State, National and International professional societies and agencies.

Dr. Leventhal is currently Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco. He is also the Irving B. Harris Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Emeritus, at the University of Chicago.

As a young man, John Mabie, decided that he should “give back” through some type of charity work. At that time, he was working for his father, William Mabie. William Mabie had recently received a letter that he forwarded to John. It was the Brain Research Foundation’s annual appeal letter, the Fay/Frank Year-End Letter. 

 The letter told of the family’s similar tragedies – daughters that were afflicted with epilepsy. The letter was very personal and had such great impact on John that he asked his father to contact Bill Fay on his behalf. 

John met with Bill Fay to express his willingness to help but explained his lack of financial capability. John joined the BRF Board in 1960 and has been active ever since, donating time and financial support. 

In the 60s, the BRF adopted the phrase, “No family left untouched.” Now this phrase is so appropriate, with studies showing that approximately 1 out of 5 Americans suffer from a neurological disorder. When John became involved with the BRF his family was “untouched,” but in July 1984, his involvement took a personal turn. His father died of Parkinson’s disease at the age of 82.

Dr. Robert C. Malenka is the Pritzker Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Director of the Nancy Pritzker Laboratory at Stanford University and Deputy Director of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute. Dr. Malenka received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University and then completed a residency in psychiatry at Stanford. He has been a world leader in elucidating the mechanisms underlying the action of neurotransmitters in the mammalian brain and the molecular mechanisms by which neural circuits are reorganized by experience.

His many contributions over the last 25 years have laid the groundwork for a much more sophisticated understanding of the mechanisms by which neurons communicate and the adaptations in synaptic communication which underlie all forms of normal and pathological behavior. Because of his training as both a clinical psychiatrist and cellular neurobiologist, he has been at the forefront of helping to apply the knowledge gained from basic neuroscience research to the treatment and prevention of major neuropsychiatric disorders.

David Olson is the Chairman and CEO of Wind River Capital LLC (Jackson, WY), a boutique merchant bank serving financial institutions. Previously, he was the Vice Chairman of the Financial Institutions Group (FIG) at Piper Jaffray & Co. (PJC). Olson has extensive experience in investment banking and private equity.

Olson came to PJC with over 25 years of experience on Wall Street in management positions. He was Credit Suisse First Boston’s Chairman of Investment Banking for the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to CSFB’s merger with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, he held a number of senior executive positions at DLJ, most recently serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the firm’s Asia-Pacific region. During the 1990s, he was co-head of DLJ’s financial institutions group and the firm’s Chicago investment banking office.

Olson holds a JD from Northwestern University School of Law, where he is a Life Trustee, and a BA degree from Wesleyan University, where he is a Trustee Emeritus. Additionally, Olson was a long-serving board member for the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago). 

Olson’s interests in brain research stems from family experience with dementia and stroke. He believes supporting scientific research is a primary means to advancing breakthroughs that will transform lives.

Mr. David P. Purcell is the founder and the Managing Partner of Continental Advisors LLC.

Dave got involved with the BRF because his extended family has one of just about every “brain challenge” the BRF funds research toward. He believes in the concept of providing venture capital seed grants to young neuroscientists in the hope they can leverage their initial findings into major grants from larger organizations. Dave hopes better understanding of the brain will facilitate new treatments and cures for a host of brain-related illnesses. He believes innovation often begins at the front-end of the research process, which is the BRF’s focus. He also believes there can be benefits to collaboration and cross-pollination along the brain research pipeline that can be facilitated by an organization with a broader brain mandate, like the BRF.

Mr. Pond has a particular interest in the neurological aspects of aging and assists the Brain Research Foundation with a wide range of financial matters. This interest developed as a result of his mother’s Parkinson’s disease. 

Peter is the Chairman of the NYSE traded public company, Maximus, Inc. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Field Museum, WTTW and as an investment committee member for The Night Ministry. Mr. Pond graduated from Williams College with a BA in Economics and from the University of Chicago with an MBA in Finance.

Mr. Reynolds is a member of the Finance Committee. He is an attorney with Winston & Strawn, LLP. He is Vice Chair of the Georgetown University Board of Directors and Vice Chair of the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab Board of Directors.

Mrs. Smart has a specific interest in dementia, schizophrenia, and Lewy Body disease which have afflicted some family members. In addition to her work for the Brain Research Foundation, Mrs. Smart is also a past President and current member of the Woman’s Board of Rush University Medical Center as well as a past President and sustaining member of the Junior League of Chicago.

Dr. Rudolph Tanzi is the Director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Co-Director of the McCance Center for Brain Health, Co-Director of the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, and Vice-Chair of Neurology (Research), at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also the Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. 

Dr. Tanzi discovered several Alzheimer’s disease genes, including all three early-onset familial Alzheimer’s genes, and serves as director of the Alzheimer’s Genome Project, which identified the first innate immune AD gene, CD33. He is also developing therapies for treating and preventing AD using human brain organoid models of the disease. More recently, Dr. Tanzi introduced the “anti-microbial protection” hypothesis of AD implicating infection in the disease process. 

Dr. Tanzi has published roughly 600 papers, has received numerous awards including the Metropolitan Life Award, Potamkin Prize, Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award, and was on the 2015 TIME100 Most Influential People in the World list. Dr. Tanzi is a New York Times bestselling author, who has co-authored “Decoding Darkness” and three bestsellers with Deepak Chopra: “Super Brain”, “Super Genes”, and “The Healing Self”. He has hosted his three Public Television shows, appeared on numerous TV news shows, and in his spare time, plays keyboards for Joe Perry, Aerosmith and other musicians.

Doug specializes in corporate and investment structuring and tax law, with a current emphasis on the health care sector. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1963 and a JD from the Harvard Law School in 1966. He also attended London School of Economics in 1967.

From 1967 to 1988 Doug was an Associate and then a Partner at Bell, Boyd & Lloyd in Chicago. He then became a Partner at Jones Day in Chicago from 1988 to 1999, and later a Consultant in 2000 and 2001. While in active legal practice, he was a member of the University of Chicago Tax Conference Planning Committee for many years and wrote numerous articles in the area of tax law and corporate structuring. Currently, Doug is very active with a private pharmaceutical company, Housey Pharmaceuticals, with responsibilities for law and strategy. 

Doug and his wife, Pam, have been involved with numerous charitable activities. These include serving on the Steering Committee of Founders’ Council of the Field Museum of Natural History; Former co-President of Founders’ Council and ex-officio member of Board of Field Museum and a long-time board member of Chicago Community in Schools.