National Parkinson Foundation Welcomes New Board Leadership and Four New Members

MIAMI, Feb. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) announced the election of a new Chairman of the Board, John W. Kozyak, Esq., and four new members to its Board of Directors: Patricia de Stacy Harrison, Alessandro Di Rocco, M.D., Timothy Martorella and Roberto L. Palenzuela.

"NPF is honored to have John Kozyak as our new Chairman of the Board and to welcome its new members. Each one provides diverse perspectives, reflective of our national footprint, and shows a commitment to helping people with Parkinson's live better lives," said Joyce Oberdorf, NPF's President and CEO. "In addition, we are deeply indebted to Dr. Fogel for his tireless and exemplary service to the Parkinson's community."

John W. Kozyak, Esq., has served on the board as a member of the Executive Committee for five years.  Both of Mr. Kozyak's parents are living with Parkinson's disease.  Kozyak is a founding partner of Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton, a commercial litigation and bankruptcy law firm in Miami, Florida. Mr. Kozyak is a passionate advocate for better care and support services for families affected by a Parkinson's diagnosis. He believes strongly in NPF's historic commitment that all people with Parkinson's deserve access to expert care and information. He established the Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation to fulfill his lifelong commitment to minorities and the underserved.

Bernard J. Fogel, M.D., has been a member of the NPF board since 2007 and chairman since 2008 and is now retiring as Chairman of the Board.  Dr. Fogel has a personal interest in Parkinson's—his own father struggled with the disease for decades.  Under his leadership, NPF launched a pioneer research study, the Parkinson's Outcomes Project, which has the potential to improve the quality of care for everyone living with Parkinson's. Dr. Fogel was also instrumental in launching NPF's signature event, Moving Day®, a Walk for Parkinson's, which has raised nationwide awareness of the disease and millions of dollars for the cause.

The four new members bring deep and wide-ranging philanthropic experience to NPF's board and are reflective of our national strategy to increase board diversity:

Patricia de Stacy Harrison is president and chief executive officer of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the leading funder of public radio and public television programming for the American people. Ms. Harrison established the first Diversity and Innovation Fund for public media—radio, television, online and mobile.  Ms. Harrison is chairman of the Leadership Council of Women and Girls Lead, an innovative public media initiative designed to focus, educate and connect women, girls and their allies across the globe.  In 2012, she was included on the Forbes list of "Women Changing the World in Media" for establishing Women and Girls Lead. She also sits on the boards of the National Italian American Foundation and the Meridian International Center.

Alessandro Di Rocco, M.D., is Chief of the Division of Movement Disorders, the Director of the NYU Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Center, an NPF Center of Excellence, at NYU Langone Medical Center, and Professor of Neurology at the NYU School of Medicine. Formerly, he was the director of movement disorders at Beth Israel Medical Center and the director at the Parkinson's disease & movement disorders clinic at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Di Rocco's main academic interest is in developing more effective treatments for Parkinson's disease and its motor, cognitive, and neuropsychological complications.

Timothy Martorella is the founding principal of Madison Capital Group, a real estate investment and advisory firm based in Miami. He has led Madison since its founding in 1998. Mr. Martorella was previously a partner at Boston Financial and a director with the firm's Investment Banking Group.  Mr. Martorella was a principal and founding partner of Alliance Realty Capital, a real estate investment banking firm. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Carrfour Supportive Housing and is a licensed real estate broker in Florida and New York.

Roberto L. Palenzuela has been providing legal insight and regulatory guidance to both private and public companies in the healthcare industry for over 25 years. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Community Medical Group (CMG). Prior to his tenure at CMG, he was General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer for Florida-based Metropolitan Health Networks, Inc.  Mr. Palenzuela served on the founding Board of Directors of CareCloud Corporation. Presently, he serves on the Board of Directors of Christopher Columbus High School and of Medi-Home, Inc.

In addition, the following members serve as officers: Andrew B. Albert, Managing Director and Operating Partner of Svoboda Capital Partners, LLC, was elected Vice Chairman; E. Richard Alhadeff, Esq., retired member of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, PA, was elected Vice Chairman, Secretary; Paul F. Oreffice, former Chairman of Dow Chemical Company, will serve as Chairman Emeritus; and Martin L. Solomon will continue to serve as Treasurer.

This year, NPF created a new Emeritus Board of Directors and its first members are as follows: Edythe Kay-Marsa, Harold P. Kravitz, Esq., Jo Ann Pepper Oreffice, and Robert H. Traurig, Esq. The foundation is grateful for their longtime commitment to the organization and their contributions to the tremendous strides NPF has made in the ensuing years in fulfilling its mission.

For a complete list of the NPF Board of Directors, visit www.parkinson.org.

About Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Affecting an estimated one million Americans and four to six million worldwide, PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's and is the 14th leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression) as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for PD and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.

About the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF)
Founded in 1957, the National Parkinson Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of care for people with Parkinson's disease through research, education and outreach. NPF has funded more than $180 million in care, research and support services. For more information about NPF, visit www.parkinson.org, or call the NPF Helpline at 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636).

Media Contact:
Leilani Pearl
305-537-9907
[email protected]

SOURCE National Parkinson Foundation