ALS Alert Newsletter | December

Change in Command for Packard Leadership

Longtime friends take over leadership position on Packard’s Board of Governors.

Thornley Hart

Crandall Bowles

The November meeting of the Packard Center Board of Governors welcomed Thornley Hart and Crandall Bowles to the roles of co-chairs. Hart and Bowles are no strangers to the world of ALS nor to one another. Acquaintances for over 30 years, the two share many mutual friends and have socialized often on vacations throughout the years.

Hart, a financial advisor in the Baltimore office of Morgan Stanley, Smith Barney, joined the Packard Center Board of Governors in 2009. Hart was serving on the board of the William H. Adams Foundation, named for his close friend diagnosed with the disease in 2007. His role eventually grew into a liaison between the San Francisco-based Adams Foundation and the Packard Center, located in Hart’s hometown of Baltimore. Over the years, the Adams Foundation has generously supported the Packard Center.

This summer, when the Board was seeking new leadership, Hart seemed a natural choice. “The hardest part of this job is finding a replacement,” noted outgoing Board co-chair John Saer. “And fortunately, we had quite a few qualified people here on this board. I think we found dedicated members in Crandall and Thornley; we are deeply grateful and very excited to work with you,” Saer noted while presiding over his final meeting in November. When Hart was approached about leading the Board, he knew Bowles would make the perfect partner.

Bowles, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is the retired chairman of Springs Industries and currently serves as a director for several large corporations. A Packard board member since 2009, Bowles lost her father-in-law and sister-in-law to the familial strain of ALS. Bowles and her husband, Erskine, have a long history of public service. Mr. Bowles is the former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton and the President Emeritus of the University of North Carolina System. The couple was instrumental in the founding of the Neuromuscular/ALS Research Laboratory at the Carolinas Medical Center with the goal of advancing the diagnosis and treatment of ALS.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have two highly accomplished, creative and
energetic- and most importantly, committed new leaders for the board-
Crandall Bowles and Thornley Hart," noted Jeff Rothstein, Packard's director, as he welcomed the new co-chairs at a recent meeting.  "These are two superb members of our team, with great depth of leadership experience and detection to the cause of ALS.  I am deeply excited to have them on board," he went on to add.  "The ALS community will certainly benefit from their commitment to Packard."

Hart and Bowles have big plans for the Board. First, the duo intends to sit down and interview each Board member to gauge their interests and impressions. Next, they plan on leveraging these skills for committee work and focusing on growing the board in terms of size and productivity. “Really, our plan is to take the foundation that Tom (O’Neill) and John (Saer) have laid and take it to the next level,” notes Bowles. “My hope is that the Packard Center board will continue to provide strong leadership in the areas of fundraising and promoting the incredible research that Packard is doing. This is what the board exists for and Thornley and I plan to support it in a robust manner.”

Hart, too, is optimistic on his new role and the future of the Packard Board. “It’s hard not to be enthusiastic and committed to a great organization like Packard. We get to work with incredibly smart and committed scientists and staff.  I’m excited to see where this goes,” Hart noted with a smile.

Packard Center’s newest addition brings expertise and a keen passion for ALS research

Helene Ellison

Most of Helene Ellison’s career has been focused in the healthcare and pharmaceutical communications industry. As chair of Burson-Marsteller's Global Healthcare Practice, Ellison has more than thirty years of experience in corporate positioning, media relations, strategic alliance building and crisis management. This past November, Ellison brought this expertise to the Packard Center’s Board of Governors.

Introduced to the Center by former Packard board member Harold Burson, the founder and chair of Burson-Marsteller, Ellison had admired his positive experience serving on the Board. “His enthusiasm for the extraordinary leadership of Packard in advancing scientific progress in ALS and uniquely providing a forum for information exchange was very appealing to me,” noted Ellison. “I was delighted when he approached me about joining him on the board.”

Ellison has big plans for her venture and hopes to use her thirty years in healthcare public relations to expand awareness of the Packard Center. “I hope to help identify more individuals and organizations who want to support cutting edge research that is making tremendous progress in our understanding of ALS.”

Although she has only served on the board for a few short weeks, Ellison is already a familiar face. Thus far, she has met with fellow board members, participated in briefings with Packard communications and development staff, and attended her first board meeting. So far her impressions of the Center have been positive. “Those involved in the Packard Center are passionate, inspired and dedicated to unlocking answers to ALS – the most devastating of all diseases. It is a privilege to be among this group.”