WASHINGTON, DC, May 25, 2016—Adding to its cadre of influential and highly-regarded Alzheimer’s leaders, today UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2) announced that Karen Segal, who founded the North Shore Medical Research Junior Board for Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago in 1995, will be joining its board of directors.
Segal, who in addition to her work in children’s health has been a fierce advocate for Alzheimer’s, has a host of attributes that will complement UsA2’s mission to stop Alzheimer’s by 2020. During her career, she has displayed philanthropic expertise that will prove critical for the organization, helping the North Shore Medical Research Junior Board raise $4 million for neuroblastoma research over 21 years.
Since 2002, when her mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Segal focused her attention on building awareness and fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association. She has been an active board member of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Chicago Rita Hayworth Gala Committee and co-chaired the 2014 Chicago Gala.
Segal now joins UsAgainstAlzheimer’s to concentrate on advocating for increased attention on Alzheimer’s prevention.
“I am attracted by the collaborative and entrepreneurial spirit of the entire UsAgainstAlzheimer’s organization. As there is no treatment or cure for Alzheimer’s disease at this time, we need to focus on studying family members of patients and tracking the changes at the earliest stages,” Segal said. “I am encouraged that by leveraging the determination of the board and UsA2 staff already committed to this cause, we can push for greater urgency to defeat this devastating disease.”
“We are honored and excited to add such a passionate voice and committed philanthropist to our already strong board of directors,” said George Vradenburg, co-founder and chairman of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “Karen’s leadership will add to our fierce commitment to catalyze the movement needed to drive solutions for the prevention and treatment of this damned disease, which threatens to touch virtually every American family in the coming years.”
The following is a full list of UsA2 board members:
- George Vradenburg, Co-Founder and Chairman
- Trish Vradenburg, Co-Founder and Vice Chair
- Jill Lesser, Secretary
- Shawn Taylor, Treasurer
- Meryl Comer, Board Member
- Stanley Prusiner, M.D., Board Member
- Peter L. Levin, Board Member
- Karen Segal, Board Member
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UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2) is an innovative non-profit organization demanding – and delivering – a solution to Alzheimer’s. Driven by the suffering of millions of families, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s presses for greater urgency from government, industry and the scientific community in the quest for an Alzheimer's cure – accomplishing this through effective leadership, collaborative advocacy, and strategic investments.
Founded in 2010, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s has worked across sectors to: (1) secure the national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025 and help secure nearly $500 million in additional public funding for Alzheimer’s research over the past few years; (2) drive global efforts that resulted in the leaders of the world’s most powerful nations, the G7 group, to embrace a similar 2025 goal and to call for greater levels of research investment and collaboration; and (3) forge industry commitments to improve efficiencies for an expedited drug discovery and approval process.
Contact: Tim Tassa
Phone: 202-263-2580
Email: [email protected]