Boards

Robert J. Appel is a philanthropist and private investor and financier with Appel Associates, a New York-based money management and investment firm that he established in 2005. Previously, he was Managing Director and a member of the Executive Committee of Neuberger Berman, LLC, an investment and securities brokerage firm for which he worked from 1972 to 2003. Prior to joining Neuberger Berman, Mr. Appel, who is also a CPA, served as an auditor with Arthur Anderson.

Mr. Appel is Trustee Emeritus and Presidential Councilor for his alma mater Cornell University and Vice Chair of the Overseers—Executive Committee and Chair of the Development Committee for Weill Cornell Medical College, where he recently established the Appel Institute for Alzheimer's Research with his wife, Helen. He is also Director-elect of New York Presbyterian Hospital and Chairman of the Board of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Mr. Appel serves as a trustee for several other organizations and is currently a Director and member of the Executive Committee of Ampco Pittsburgh Steel.

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, 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 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, 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 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 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 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 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 90 private companies. He serves on the board of directors of Promptu, and ShotSpotter. He is on the Technology Advisory Board of Liberty Global International and the Advisory Board of Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, a member of the Board of Governors of Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation 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. 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. 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.