Staff

Mark Roithmayr is an admired nonprofit leader with four decades of experience in both start-ups and mature organizations. As Chief Executive Officer of the ADDF, Mr. Roithmayr is responsible for steering the Foundation’s overall strategy, focus, and business operations. Since joining the ADDF in 2017, the organization has transformed dramatically in impact, scale, presence, and brand. Under his leadership, the ADDF’s revenue has increased five-fold from $17M to an excess of $90M and mission related investing has grown over 100%.

As such, Mr. Roithmayr sets the strategic vision of the ADDF and works in partnership with the Co-Founder and CSO, Howard Fillit, MD, Executive Leadership, and the Board of Governors and Overseers to advance and execute the Foundation’s mission of accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat, and cure Alzeimer’s disease and related dementias. His areas of expertise and focus include venture philanthropy, strategic planning, volunteer development, and brand-building. One of Mr. Roithmayr’s milestone accomplishments was securing Bill Gates, as well as Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott, as donors to further the Foundation’s venture philanthropy efforts. Additionally, he secured a 10-figure gift from the families of Leonard and Ronald Lauder, ensuring all overhead costs will be covered at the ADDF for the next two decades.

Mr. Roithmayr actively participates in the Milken Institute’s LeadersLink Program, where he serves as seasoned mentor and advisor to emerging executive leaders. Additionally, he is routinely asked to guest lecture on the topic of non-profit leadership at Columbia University, Harvard School of Business, New York University, and Yale University. In 2019, Mr. Roithmayr was published in a Health Administration Press textbook “The Healthcare Nonprofit: Keys to Effective Management” in which he authored a chapter titled “Managing Volunteers.”

Prior to joining the ADDF, Mr. Roithmayr was Chief Relationship Officer at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There, he helped launch its venture philanthropy initiative, directed its 56 national chapters, and led annual fundraising of over $200 million. Prior his time at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, he served for seven years as president of Autism Speaks. As that organization's first president, he shepherded its growth from a start-up into the world's largest autism research and advocacy organization. Earlier in his career, Mr. Roithmayr held several executive positions, spanning two decades, with the March of Dimes. He earned a bachelor's degree in communications at Rowan University.

Laura Nisenbaum, PhD, is a proven scientific leader with over 30 years of biotechnology, industry, and academia experience. As Executive Director of Drug Development at the ADDF, she oversees the Therapeutics, Biomarkers/Diagnostics Accelerator, and Prevention science units.

Most recently, Dr. Nisenbaum served as Senior Director of Aducanumab Biomarkers and Diagnostic Pathways at Biogen, where she led the biomarker strategy for Aducanumab as well as the Diagnostics Pathway group within the Biomarker Organization.

Her time at Biogen followed 20 years of experience at Eli Lilly and Company where she served as Asset Manager for Chorus, an autonomous early-phase clinical development organization within Lilly.  Dr. Nisenbaum also served as Research Fellow and neuroscience lead in tailored therapeutics, translational medicine and preclinical drug discovery. 

Prior to joining the biotechnology field, Dr. Nisenbaum received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Cologne, Germany. She then completed her PhD in neuroscience in at the University of Pittsburgh and transitioned to industry after completing postdoctoral training at NIH, the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, and a faculty position in Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut.

Throughout her career, Dr. Nisenbaum has contributed to the discovery and development of more than 15 novel therapeutics bringing three molecules for FDA approval. 

Jane McIntosh is a nonprofit executive with extensive experience leading multi-million-dollar fundraising, marketing, communications programs for some of New York City’s most iconic cultural institutions. In her current role, she directs fundraising and external affairs for the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), a venture philanthropy, founded by Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder. Prior to joining the ADDF, she held senior roles at Central Park Conservancy, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and four boutique museums.

Jane earned her BA in English from Binghamton University and an MA in Arts Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she taught core courses in the program for nine years. Most recently, McIntosh was an adjunct lecturer for the Theater Arts Program at Marymount Manhattan and the CUNY Executive Education in Urban Park Management. Jane is on the Board of Riverside Park Conservancy and co-led the search for the organization’s current CEO. She also serves on the Development and Nominating Committees.

Karen Harris is a member of the ADDF’s executive team and serves as its Chief Financial Officer and Head of Mission Related Investments.

With a CFO background that spans both non-profits and investment banking, Ms. Harris is committed to increasing transparency and accessibility of complex financial information and heightening organizational effectiveness with robust financial governance, strategic planning, policies, controls, and training. She regularly presents to the ADDF’s Boards of Governors and Overseers, launched a board-level Finance and Audit Committee, and oversees the organization’s banking relationships. As Head of Mission Related Investments, Ms. Harris has also structured and stewarded dozens of venture-based investments for the ADDF, and she manages and monitors its extensive portfolio of securities and royalty arrangements with universities and biotech companies.

Previously, Ms. Harris served as Chief Financial Officer for the East Harlem Tutorial Program and Director of Development at Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center. She also led a career in the financial sector for 20+ years prior to her transition to non-profit leadership. Among other roles, Ms. Harris served as Global COO for global equity capital markets, a $1 billion dollar division with 190 bankers at UBS, and as a Director and investment banker at Merrill Lynch. She earned an MBA in Finance from Stanford Graduate School of Business, graduating first in her class, and a BA in Economics from Columbia University.

Kathryn Carnazza, PhD, is a member of the ADDF's Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention program. She critically evaluates the scientific evidence regarding prospective therapies to promote brain health and/or prevent Alzheimer's disease, and contributes to CognitiveVitality.org.

Dr. Carnazza earned a doctorate in neuroscience at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, where she studied the molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease. She also founded and organized a graduate school course on neurodegeneration at Weill Cornell. Dr. Carnazza obtained her bachelor's degree in biology from Tufts University.

Yuko Hara, PhD, is a member of the ADDF’s Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention team. In this capacity, she critically evaluates the scientific evidence behind therapies to promote brain health and/or prevent Alzheimer's disease. She also investigates potential risk factors as well as research proposals on prevention therapies.

Dr. Hara was previously an Assistant Professor in Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she remains an adjunct faculty member. Her research focused on brain aging, specifically how estrogens and reproductive aging influence the aging brain’s synapses and mitochondria. She earned a doctorate in neurology and neuroscience at Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University and a bachelor's degree in biology from Cornell University, with additional study at Keio University in Japan. Dr. Hara has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, including articles in PNAS and Journal of Neuroscience.

Betsy Mills, PhD, is a member of the ADDF's Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention program. She critically evaluates the scientific evidence regarding prospective therapies to promote brain health and/or prevent Alzheimer's disease, and contributes to CognitiveVitality.org.

Dr. Mills came to the ADDF from the University of Michigan, where she served as the grant writing manager for a clinical laboratory specializing in neuroautoimmune diseases. She also completed a Postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, where she worked to uncover genes that could promote retina regeneration. She earned her doctorate in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she studied the role of glial cells in the optic nerve, and their contribution to neurodegeneration in glaucoma. She obtained her bachelor's degree in biology from the College of the Holy Cross. Dr. Mills has a strong passion for community outreach, and has served as program presenter with the Michigan Great Lakes Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association to promote dementia awareness.

Meriel Owen, PhD, is a member of the ADDF's Scientific Affairs team. She supports the scientific portfolio through strategic review and program management.

Dr. Owen earned her doctorate in neuroscience from Northwestern University, where she used neuroimaging and robotic techniques to better understand the neural mechanisms underlying motor impairment after stroke. She received a MSc from University College London in clinical neuroscience and a bachelor's degree in cognitive science from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Owen is also interested in the intersection between neuroscience and entrepreneurship. During her graduate studies, she completed the Kellogg Management Program for scientists and engineers, was selected as a Northwestern Leadership Fellow, and co-founded a startup company that won the Neuro Startup Challenge.