CEP is extremely pleased to announce that Michael J. Fox will speaking at our May 10-11 conference in Boston. The press release is below.
March 9, 2011
For Immediate Release
MICHAEL J. FOX TO SPEAK AT CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPY’S (CEP) MAY 10-11 CONFERENCE
Acclaimed Parkinson’s Disease Research Leader, Actor, and Author to Address Fellow Foundation Leaders
Cambridge, MA – Michael J. Fox, founder of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, acclaimed television and film actor and bestselling author, will be among the speakers at CEP’s May 10-11, 2011 conference in Boston. The conference, Better Philanthropy: From Data to Impact, is exclusively for CEOs, senior executives, and trustees of large foundations.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has funded over $230 million in research to speed development of breakthrough treatments and a cure for Parkinson’s disease. It was founded by Fox in 2000 following the 1998 public disclosure of his diagnosis, in 1991 at age 30, with young-onset Parkinson’s disease.
The Foundation has forged a new model for driving research that pushes basic discoveries closer to the clinic, with an urgent focus on outcomes, collaboration and open-source science, and a mandate to continually identify, prioritize and develop the high-priority research targets most critical to therapeutic relevance for patients. Business and philanthropy leaders have taken notice, and the Foundation has been held up as an exemplar of the new breed of nimble, strategic and fast-moving disease research funders. In a 2008 profile, The New York Times called The Michael J. Fox Foundation “the most credible voice on Parkinson’s research in the world.” The Foundation is also among those highlighted in the forthcoming book by Tom Tierney and Joel Fleishman, Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gets Results.
“Michael J. Fox will share with our audience his passion, personal commitment, and data-driven, results-oriented approach to philanthropy,” said CEP President Phil Buchanan. “We are absolutely delighted that our conference will be the venue for him to connect with his fellow foundation leaders.”
“Over the years, many of us have watched him on TV and in the movies, admiring his tremendous talent as an actor,” said Buchanan. “Today, we also admire his bold and unwavering commitment to medical research that has the potential to benefit millions.”
Fox will address conference attendees at a dinner on May 10 celebrating CEP’s 10-year anniversary. Other speakers at that dinner include William and Flora Hewlett Foundation President Paul Brest and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President Risa Lavizzo-Mourey.
More information about CEP’s conference is available here.
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPY
The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) is a nonprofit organization with the mission is to provide data and create insight so philanthropic funders can better define, assess, and improve their effectiveness – and, as a result, their intended impact. This mission is based on a vision of a world in which pressing social needs are more effectively addressed. It stems from a belief that improved effectiveness of philanthropic funders can have a profoundly positive impact on nonprofit organizations and the people and communities they serve. CEP received initial funding in 2001 and has offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and San Francisco, California. For more information on CEP’s work, including its research, publications, and assessment tools, see www.cep.org.
ABOUT THE MICHAEL J. FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON’S RESEARCH
The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today. The Foundation has funded more than $230 million in research to date. For more information, see www.michaeljfox.org.
Alyse d’Amico is Vice President – Programming, Communications, and Development at the Center for Effective Philanthropy.
