Congratulations and Welcome to Our New Trustees

Stanley Chang, MD, is the K.K. Tse and Ku Teh Ying Professor of Ophthalmology at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Chang received a baccalaureate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed his medical education at the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University. After ophthalmology residency at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, he was a vitreoretinal fellow at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. After fellowship, Dr. Chang joined the faculty of Department of Ophthalmology at Cornell University Medical School, where he became Professor of Ophthalmology. In 1995, he was appointed the Edward S. Harkness Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Columbia Universtiy Medical Center. He served as director of the Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute until 2012. During his tenure, the department attracted a top-notch team of researchers and clinicians, developed new faculty practices in New York and New Jersey, more than doubled the number of surgical cases in the Eye Institute, and dramatically increased research funding. Dr. Chang has developed and pioneered several revolutionary surgical approaches to treat complicated forms of retinal detachment, improving outcomes for patients worldwide. Consistently named as one of America’s best doctors, he is the recipient of several honors including the Hermann Wacker Prize from the Club Jules Gonin, Helmerich Prize from the American Society of Retinal Specialists, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Secretariat Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Jackson Lecture and the Alcon Research Institute Award.

Dodge O. Dorland, CMT, is Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Landor & Fuest Capital Managers, LLC. His career started with Manufacturers Hanover Trust where he was in commercial lending and Trust and Wealth Management. Following Manufacturers Hanover, he was a merchant banker at Bank of Montreal and an investment banker for Lehman Brothers. He has covered world markets and provided market commentary for the U.S. (CNBC, Fox Broadcasting, Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg), Europe (CNBC), Asia (BFM Business Station, CNBC Singapore and Australia) and India (New Delhi Television and The Economic Times). He served on the Board of The New York Society of Security Analysts (including President for 2002–2006), The Market Technicians Association (including President for 1999–2000), and the Fordham School of Business Administration Finance Advisory Board (2007–2009). He holds a BA in Political Science from Colgate University and an MBA in Corporate Finance from New York University Graduate School of Business.

Steven G. Felsher is a Senior Advisor at Quadrangle Group LLC. Mr. Felsher currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Lumos Networks, NTELOS Holdings, PMC, Tower Vision and West Corporation. Mr. Felsher is an experienced executive with particular skills in finance, administration, governance, and other aspects of public and private company management. He spent most of his career at Grey Global Group Inc., a publicly-traded, global marketing services company. At Grey, Mr. Felsher was Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, and had responsibility for essentially all non-client/media facing activities including financial management, human resources, capital formation and corporate development, investor relations and acquisitions. Mr. Felsher was the point person on Grey's sale to a strategic acquirer, WPP via a robust auction process. He was designated the chief integration officer by Grey's Board of Directors to oversee Grey's merger into the acquirer's operations. Mr. Felsher left Grey in 2007 and since then has been involved in board, consulting and advisory assignments for a number of companies with particular emphasis in the services, technology and intellectual property fields. Mr. Felsher is a graduate of Dickinson College and Yale Law School, and was a Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellow.

Steven M. Safyer, MD, is President and CEO of Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Albert Einstein College of Medicine. During his 30-year tenure at Montefiore, he also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University, his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency in Social Medicine at Montefiore. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at Einstein. A Fellow of The New York Academy of Medicine, he is also a founding member of The Health Management Academy and a member of the Healthcare Institute. He has served as Secretary of the Executive Committee and Board of Governors for the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), Chair of the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes, and as a board member of the Hospital Association of New York State (HANYS). He has also been active on committees of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the New York State Council on Graduate Medical Education.

Melody Rollins Downes, CFA, is an Executive Vice President and client servicing account manager at PIMCO, one of the world's leading fixed income investment managers. She is the business leader of the corporate institutional client practice in New York. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2001, she held positions in debt capital markets at Salomon Brothers and Deutsche Bank. She has 17 years of investment experience and holds an MBA with a focus on financial engineering from the MIT Sloan School of Management. She received her undergraduate degree in Economics from Georgetown University.

Outside of work, Melody is very active in the New York community, as a mentor to high school students and a board member of Future Leaders Institute Charter School and the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem. Melody also currently serves on the Board of Regents of Georgetown University and is a founding member of the Council for Urban Professionals. Melody is an alumni of the SEO Career Program, Toigo Foundation Fellowship, and the Coro New York Leadership Program. 

Jack Watters, MD, is Pfizer’s Vice President for External Medical Affairs, responsible for relations with medical societies, academic institutions, and government health bodies around the globe. Dr. Watters has also represented Pfizer on matters of corporate responsibility and human rights, especially relating to raising political will for the plight of people with HIV/AIDS and the older citizen. He is frequently invited to speak on the issues of health disparities, capacity building, science education and public-private partnership. In a pharmaceutical career spanning over 30 years Dr. Watters has gained experience across all phases of research from the laboratory to the clinic. In recent years he has been active in raising the medical voice of the pharmaceutical industry in civil society. He was one of the architects of the landmark Diflucan Partnership Program with the government of South Africa. The program is now active in 60 of the world’s least developed countries. He serves on the boards of the American Federation for Aging Research and Research!America. He was recently appointed to the Board of Regents of the University of Edinburgh where he graduated in medicine in 1977.

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Posted on January 16, 2013

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