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The Foundation Announces Six New National Trustees
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August 4, 2011 - The Foundation has named six new national trustees in recognition of these leaders’ commitment to driving retinal research and strong support of FFB. They include Aryeh Bourkoff, Dr. David Detrisac, Dr. Gil Kliman, Dr. Jack Nudel, and Dale and Nancy Pollak. These dedicated individuals and their families have been active volunteers and inspiring advocates for FFB’s work. Aryeh Bourkoff, head of investment banking for the Americas at UBS, was given a Visionary Award for his success in investment banking and his commitment to the retinal-research community, at the Banking on a Cure Awards Dinner January 19 in New York City. Recognized as one of Fortune magazine’s “40 under 40” in 2010, he has helped broker numerous innovative arrangements involving Comcast, NBC, Charter Communications and Sirius XM Radio, among others, shaping the way people communicate and consume entertainment.When Dr. David Detrisac’s 25-year-old son, Bill, was diagnosed with Stargardt disease in 2006, David, an orthopedic surgeon at the East Lansing Orthopedic Association, contacted FFB’s Eastern Michigan Chapter to say he wanted to help fight blindness. Since then, he and his wife, Sandra, have donated their own money and raised additional funds, through various events, for the Foundation. David is also an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Surgery at Michigan State University. He and Sandra also have another son and a daughter. Dr. Gil Kliman, a former practicing ophthalmologist, is on the life sciences team at InterWest Partners, a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. He served as a member of the 2011 San Francisco Dinner Committee and was a member of the 2009 and 2011 Orange County Dining in the Dark Corporate Fundraising Committees. He helped secure InterWest Partners' sponsorships of the San Francisco and Orange County Dinners in 2011. He also sits on the boards of numerous biotechnology companies. President of the Foundation’s South Florida chapter, Dr. Jack Nudel is a retired gastroenterologist who has family members who have Best disease, an inherited form of macular degeneration. Jack, who has donated generously to the Foundation, has a great interest in science and research. He’s attended the annual Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) conferences over the past several years. Dale and Nancy Pollak have been involved with the Foundation since the mid-2000s, with Nancy serving on the Chicagoland VisionWalk committee in 2006, as a co-chair in 2007 and chair in 2008. Nancy also served on the Chicago Chapter Board for two years, and created and co-chaired a tennis event in part to benefit FFB. Both Dale, who was diagnosed with Stargardt disease as a child, and Nancy were co-chairs of the 2010 Chicago Visions Ball. Dale is the founder of vAuto, Inc., a software company focused on providing retail auto dealerships with means for appraising, managing and pricing pre-owned inventory. The Foundation commends these 2011 national trustees for their ongoing support in propelling FFB toward preventions, treatments and cures for retinal degenerations. |
