The Texas Lyceum - Spindletop Capitalspindletopcapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/...The Honorable James C. Greenwood, President and CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)

The Texas LyceumThe Texas Lyceum’s 26th Public Conference

Healthcare Innovation: The Next Spindletop for Texas?~

Houston, TexasOctober 18-20, 2012

Welcome to The Texas Lyceum’s 26th Public Conference – “Healthcare Innovation: The Next Spindletop for Texas?”

As you know, healthcare is a timely topic. While much of the

recent attention in the healthcare arena has been on the Affordable Care Act, our focus today is on innovation and its impact on the delivery of healthcare services.

The discovery of oil at Spindletop in nearby Beaumont in 1901 led to a frenzy of oil exploration and economic development known as the Texas Oil Boom. In 2012, Texas’ greatest assets are no longer in the ground, but in the halls of our academic institutions. Each day, thousands of Texas scientists and entrepreneurs are “drilling” for the next Spindletop in medicine.

Texas has been a pioneer in many medical innovations. Some of the first heart valves, stents and grafts were developed in Houston which is home to the largest medical center in the world. Texas also has bragging rights to the largest military medical center within

the Department of Defense and several of the leading biodefense facilities in the country.

Healthcare innovation can improve clinical outcomes and lower costs. Innovation developed in Texas today benefits not only Texans but the entire world. Some say that what starts in Texas changes the world—in healthcare that is absolutely true. For this conference, we have some of the best and brightest minds from academia, medicine, business and the public sector to share insights and raise awareness about a number of issues including the importance of recruiting and retaining physicians and academicians, funding of their research, and commercialization of viable discoveries which will improve and save lives.

Thank you for your attendance today.

Evan Melrose, M.D. Marjana Lindsey Roach Conference Co-Chairman Conference Co-Chairman

Welcome to Houston and the Texas Lyceum’s 2012 Public Conference!

For years, Texas has enjoyed a worldwide reputation as an oil and gas titan, a ranching and agriculture leader, and a state better known for cowboys than cancer research. That has all

changed over the last several decades as healthcare innovation has transformed the Lone Star State into one of the global centers of health research, development, commercialization and innovation. Healthcare and medical device research now register as one of the cornerstones of our ever-evolving economy.

The Texas Lyceum’s 2012 Public Conference features an in-depth discussion on the topic of healthcare innovation and its impact on the economy of our state. The Lyceum could not be hosted in a better location. Houston’s Texas Medical Center is the largest

concentration of hospital systems in the world. Patients travel from all corners of the world for treatment at the Medical Center’s many care facilities. What these facilities all have in common is innovation – through cutting edge research, patient care is improved.

Please join us for a day of conversation and analysis regarding the status of healthcare innovation in Texas. All of us will reap the benefits as new drugs or medical procedures become mainstream – improving our lives and providing comfort for those that need better medical care the most.

John B. Dickson, CISSP

FROM THE PRESIDENT...

FROM THE MEETING CHAIRMEN...

2012TexasLyceum•Houston,Texas2

ChairmanDathan C. Voelter

PresidentJohn B. Dickson, CISSP

President-electCollin J. Cox

Vice President-LeadershipJane Cummins

Vice President-RecruitingBrian Feld

Immediate Past ChairmanJohn H. James

Alumni Newsletter PublisherPatrick Keel

Vice President-MembershipAlicia Oliva Knight

Public Conference Co-ChairmanEvan S. Melrose, MD, MBA

Vice President-MediaTracy LaQuey Parker

Public Conference Co-ChairmanMarjana Lindsey Roach

Vice President-DevelopmentRico Reyes

Vice President-Strategic PlanningBryan B. Sánchez

Vice President-MarketingDave Shaw

Vice President-PollDennis D. Speight

Alumni LiaisonJohnny Sutton

Vice President-FinanceFrank J. Urbanek

Administrator/SecretaryKathryne Hillier

2012 TExAS LyCEuMExECuTIvE COMMITTEE

Farha AhmedSandra Almanzan J.D. AngleGeorge Antuna, Jr.Christian Archer Trent AshbyJ.J. BaskinStuart BernsteinAndrew BiarKrys BoydSteve BrownKimberly M. Bursey-ReeceNeal D. CarlsonEdmundo C. CastanedaJade ChangPaul Daniel ChapaJacqueline Baly ChaumetteCraig CherryBrad ChevesCollin J. CoxJane CumminsAlistair B. DawsonJohn B. Dickson, CISSPTieman Dippel IIIAnna C. DragsbaekLuis Elizondo-ThomsonLaura EnriquezEstrella EscobarSonia A. FalconMike FeinbergBrian FeldGregorio Flores III

Russ FrankTodd FrazierTeclo J. GarciaRamiro Garza, Jr., CEcDMichael G. GerberDave GillesAyda GonzalezSofia M. HernandezJon Gary HerreraWinell HerronAngela HuntMeredith Stewart IlerAmy E. JaspersonRenard U. JohnsonJeb JonesRobert E. JonesAlicia Oliva KnightJohn KrollJonathan H. LackGregory LaMantia, Jr.Antonio LealJenny LigonJennifer Keating LittonCara L. MagraneArt Martinez de VaraWalt MasseyEvan S. Melrose, MD, MBAMike MicallefJuan MuñozRoy NietoDouglas K. O’ConnellTracy LaQuey Parker

Mark PlunkettHeather Wagner ReedHolly ReedRico ReyesMarjana Lindsey RoachMargaret Vaughan RobinsonA.J. RodriguezWynn RosserBryan B. SánchezAmanda W. SchnetzerPaul R. SchulzeRoberta Levy SchwartzJoey SeeberDave ShawNancy ShellhorseEvan SmithHeidi Marquez SmithVeronica R. Soto, AICPDennis D. SpeightJohn D. SteinmetzJennifer StevensLisa TurnerFrank J. UrbanekSusan D. ValverdeLeigh Oliver VickeryDathan C. VoelterMonique Michelle WedderburnMarlen D. WhitleySonya Medina WilliamsPhil WilsonKen WiseAndréa Young

2012 TExAS LyCEuM BOARD OF DIRECTORS

2012TexasLyceum•Houston,Texas 3

Thank you to the

Planning Team

Evan Melrose, M.D.Marjana Lindsey Roach

Co-ChairmenJebJones

FundraisingChairman

AndrewBiarCraigCherryCollinCoxTeeDippelRussFrankToddFrazierTecloGarcia

SofiaHernandezJohnKroll

JenniferLitton,M.D.CaraMagraneRicoReyesDaveShawEvanSmithVéroSoto

DathanVoelter


Mission of The Texas Lyceum

The Texas Lyceum is an association of Texans whose purposes are:

1) to identify and develop the next generation of top leadership in the State of Texas;

2) to educate its Directors by identifying and exploring the interrelationships of the major issues facing Texas;

3) to help bring a better understanding of these issues to the state’s key decision makers; and

4) to promote an appreciation of the responsibilities of stewardship of the values, traditions, and resources of Texas.


Thursday, October 18 Attire: Business5:00–7:00pm AdvisoryCouncilMeeting7:00pm ExecutiveCommittee/PlanningTeam/AdvisoryCouncilReceptionandDinner Location: The Coronado Club, 919 Milam Street, Suite 500

Friday, October 19 Attire: BusinessLocation: Shell Auditorium in McNair Hall, Rice University 7:30am Registrationandcontinentalbreakfast8:00am Welcomeremarks JohnB.Dickson,CISSP,President,TheTexasLyceum EvanS.Melrose,M.D.,MBA,TexasLyceumConferenceCo-Chair DavidW.Leebron,President,RiceUniversity8:15am FramingtheIssue–WhereareWeTodayandWhatareTomorrow’sChallenges? Speaker: Jennifer Keating Litton, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Lyceum Class of 20128:30 am Innovation Insight CancerImmunologyBreakthroughs–Dr. Patrick Hwu, Department Chair, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center8:45 am Educating,Recruiting&RetainingTalent Moderator: Amir Halevy, M.D., J.D., Baker Botts, former Director of Residency Programs in Internal Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine and Lyceum Class of 1996 Panelists: Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Executive Vice Chancellor, The Office of Health Affairs,The University of Texas System; T. Samuel Shomaker, M.D., J.D., The Jean and Thomas McMullin Dean of Medicine and Vice President for Clinical Affairs, The Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine(TAMHSC); Paul Klotman, M.D., President and CEO, Baylor College of Medicine; Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D., President, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center 9:45 am Innovation Insight ElPasoPsychologyInternshipConsortium-John S. Wiebe, Ph.D., Associate Provost, The University of Texas at El Paso10:00 am Innovation Insight Nanotechnology-Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D, President and CEO, Ernest Cockrell, Jr. Distinguished Endowed Chair, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and President, The Alliance for NanoHealth, Houston and Professor of Internal Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York 10:15am Morningbreak10:30 am Innovation Insight PreventingRareChildhoodDiseaseswithNexGenSequencing–T. Craig Benson, President, Myriad RBM and Founder, Beyond Batten Disease Foundation10:45am TheFutureofCancerMedicineinTexas Moderator: Bill Gimson, Executive Director, Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Panelists: Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., President, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Malcolm Brenner, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and The Methodist Hospital, and Professor, Baylor College of Medicine; Steven Weitman, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Institute for Drug Development, Cancer Therapy & Research Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

AGENDA...


11:45 am Innovation Insight miRNA–ASuccessStory:ReagentstoPersonalizedMedicine-Matt Winkler, Ph.D., CEO, Asuragen, Inc.12:00pm Innovation Insight EmergingDNATechnology-Lynda Chin, M.D., Department Chair, Department of Genomic Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center12:20pm Lunch&KeynoteSpeaker The Honorable James C. Greenwood, President and CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)1:15pm MoneyMatters:FillingtheGapandFindingtheFundsforCommercialization Moderator: Evan S. Melrose, M.D., MBA, Managing Director, Spindletop Capital Management, and Lyceum Class of 2011 Panelists: Martin Sutter, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and 1998 Texas Lyceum Chairman; Leo Linbeck III, President and CEO, Aquinas Companies LLC; Jerry DeVries, Managing Partner, TEXO Ventures2:15pm TechnologyInnovations:RevolutionizingPatientHealthcareImprovement Moderator: John B. Dickson, CISSP, Principal, Denim Group, and 2012 Lyceum President Panelists: Tobias Samo, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Lead of Clinical Solutions for Hospital and Healthcare Systems, Allscripts Corp.; David Bradshaw, Chief Information, Planning and Marketing Officer, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System; Gerry Lewis, Regional CIO, Ascension Health Information Services and CIO and Vice President, Seton Healthcare Family; William Hill, Vice President Solution Engineering, Optum 3:15pm Innovation Insight Perspectiveson21stCenturyTechnology:TheNano-Bio-InfoConvergence–Malcolm Gillis, Zingler Professor of Economics, Rice University3:30pm HealthcareInnovation–ALegislativePerspective Moderator: Roberta Levy Schwartz, Executive Vice President, The Methodist Hospital and Lyceum Class of 2008 Panelists: Chris Traylor, Chief Deputy Commissioner, Texas Health and Human Services; State Representative John Zerwas, M.D.; State Representative Carol Alvarado4:30pm ClosingRemarks6:00pm BusdepartsHotelIcon6:30pm ReceptionandFiresideChatDinner(Attire:Business) Moderator: Evan Smith, CEO, The Texas Tribune and Lyceum Class of 2011 Speaker: United States Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health Location: The Federal Reserve Bank-Houston Branch, 1801 Allen Parkway

Saturday, October 20 Attire: Casual

8:00am ExecutiveCommitteeMeeting Location: The Loft, Hotel Icon, above reception10:00am BoardofDirectorsMeeting Location: 14th Court of Appeals Courtroom, 301 Fannin Street (the courtroom is a short walk from the Hotel Icon)Afternoon Enjoycollegefootball,contemporaryartand/oragoodol’fashionedpubcrawloverthecourse oftheafternoon.WinddownwithyourLyceumbuddies!6:30pm TheweekendwillclosewithalovelyeveningintheCox’snewhome!

Location: Home of Jacquelyn and Collin Cox, 6412 WakeforestN.B. Transportation is on your own


David W. Leebron has served as Rice University’s seventh president since 2004. A native of Philadelphia, Leebron is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Following a judicial clerkship on the U. S.

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, he taught at the UCLA School of Law, worked two years in private practice, and taught at the NYU School of Law. In 1989, Leebron joined the faculty of Columbia Law School, where in 1996 he was appointed dean and served in that position until coming to Rice. He serves on the boards of the KIPP Foundation, the Greater Houston Partnership, and BioHouston among others. He and his wife Y. Ping Sun have two children, Daniel and Merissa.

Jenni fer Kea t ing L i t ton, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology as well as a faculty member in Clinical Cancer Genetics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and

in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health. She attended Duke University with degrees in English and in History and then attended the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She completed an Internal Medicine Residency at Baylor College of Medicine and served as the Chief Medical Resident. She then completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her research interests center around the treatment of young breast cancer patients including the treatment of breast cancer during pregnancy, infertility and hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndromes. She serves as a member of the National Cancer Center Network National Guidelines Panel for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndromes. She has authored multiple abstracts, peer-reviewed journal articles, and book chapters and has served as a reviewer for multiple scientific journals.

SPEAKERS... Patrick Hwu, MD is the Associate Director of the Center for Cancer Immunology Research and Chair of the Departments of Melanoma Medical Oncology and Sarcoma Medica l Oncology at the University

of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. He has over 20 years of experience in the field of tumor immunology and concept-to-clinic studies. He received training in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and National Cancer Institute, respectively. For more than 10 years, he was a Senior Investigator at the National Cancer Institute, and performed novel clinical and laboratory studies of cancer immunotherapies. He has taken a number of concepts from the laboratory to the clinic including studies of vaccines and adoptive T-cell therapies. Throughout the years he has trained numerous doctors, scientists, and medical students who are currently pursuing careers in academic medicine.

While his area of specialty is melanoma, Dr. Hwu’s pioneering work in immunotherapy has exciting implications for other cancers types. His research includes cutting edge research on cancer vaccines and T-cell therapy. He is focused on applying basic immunological concepts from the lab to cancer patients, while continually looking at new ways to stimulate the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

Amir Halevy, M.D., J.D. is an Associate with the firm of Baker Botts in Houston. Amir is in the litigation practice with concentrations in pharmaceutical, products liability and commercial litigation. Amir earned a

B.A. in natural sciences from Johns Hopkins University, an M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 2008. Prior to attending law school, Amir served on the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine where he was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Center for Medical Ethics

and Health Policy. He also served as Director of the Residency Programs in Internal Medicine. Amir is married to Amy Halevy, a partner with Bracewell Giuliani, and has two sons.

In 2003, Kenneth I. Shine, MD, joined The University of Texas System as Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. He is responsible for the six UT System health components a n d t h e i r a g g r e g a t e

operating budget of almost $8.4 billion.Dr. Shine was President of the Institute of

Medicine (IOM), from 1992-2002. IOM reports on quality of care and patient safety, bringing heightened national awareness of these issues.

Dr. Shine was the founding Director of the RAND Center for Domestic and International Health Security. He led the Center’s efforts to make health a central component of U.S. foreign policy and guide the Center’s evolving research agenda.

Dr. Shine is Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine. A cardiologist and physiologist, he received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1961. Before becoming president of the IOM, he was Dean and Provost for Medical Sciences at UCLA.

Dr. Shine is a member of many honorary and academic societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, Master of the American College of Physicians, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1988. He served as Chairman of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges from 1991-1992, and was President of the American Heart Association from 1985-1986.

Dr. Sam Shomaker currently serves as The Jean and Thomas McMullin Dean of Medicine and Vice President for Clinical Affairs with the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. In addition, Dr.

Shomaker has an appointment as tenured professor in the department of Anesthesiology.


Previously, Dr. Shomaker was professor of anesthesiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Chancellor’s Health Fellow at the University of Texas System. He served as Dean of Austin Programs for UTMB, Vice Dean and Interim Dean of the University of Hawaii School of Medicine and Interim Dean and Senior Associate Dean of the University of Utah College of Medicine.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University, a law degree from Georgetown University and an MD from the University of Hawaii. He completed residency training in anesthesiology at the University of Utah and the University of Florida. His research interest is health policy.

Dr. Shomaker is married to Dr. Suzanne Yandow, a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon. They have three children, Simone, Dylan and Garrett.

Paul Klotman, M.D., has served as President and CEO of Baylor College of Medicine since September 1, 2010. He received a bachelor’s of science degree from the University of Michigan in 1972 and a medical degree

from Indiana University in 1976. He completed medicine and nephrology training at Duke University Medical Center. He stayed at Duke as a faculty member, rising to the rank of Associate Professor of Medicine before moving to the NIH in 1988 where he became Chief of the Molecular Medicine Section in the Laboratory of Developmental Biology.

In 1993, he became Chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory in the NIDR/NIH. In 1994, he moved to Mt. Sinai School of Medicine as the Irene and Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Professor of Medicine and the Chief, Division of Nephrology. In 2001, he was selected to be the Chairman of the Samuel Bronfman Department of Medicine. Dr. Klotman is a noted scientist whose work has included both basic and clinical research in molecular virology and AIDS pathogenesis. He has been an active clinician, teacher, and mentor. He has trained over 50 clinical fellows, postdoctoral fellows, and students in his laboratory since 1984 most

of whom are independently funded. Four of his mentees are now Chairs of Medicine and four others lead major institutes or centers. He has been listed in both Castle Connelly and New York Magazine as one of the region’s Best Doctors and he was named Physician of the Year by Mt. Sinai nurses.

Dr. Tedd Mitchell is the eighth President of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Mitchell served as the president and chief executive officer of the

Cooper Clinic in Dallas and McKinney, an internationally recognized center of excellence in preventive medicine. Dr. Mitchell attended medical school at The University of Texas Medical Branch from 1983-1987. After graduation he pursued training in internal medicine. Dr. Mitchell is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and has subspecialty certification in sports medicine. He also holds fellowship status with the American College of Physicians and the American College of Sports Medicine. From 1988 to 1996, he served as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves (Medical Corps). He was the contributing health editor and a weekly columnist for USA Weekend from 1998 to September 2010. Dr. Mitchell’s love of writing has led to collaborative efforts with other health experts, culminating in the publication of the books Fit to Lead (2004 St. Martin’s press) and Move Yourself (2008 Wiley Press). He also has enjoyed a role in developing public policy regarding health and fitness by serving on the President’s Council for Physical Fitness and Sports (to which he was appointed in 2002 by President George W. Bush) as well as a member of the Board of Trustees for the American College of Sports Medicine in 2007.

Dr. John Wiebe is a clinical health psychologist who has served as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas

at El Paso for the past fourteen years. Now serving as Associate Provost at UTEP, he helps coordinate and promote research, scholarship, and community engagement efforts at an institutional level. His own research involves the treatment of depression and medication nonadherence in people living with chronic illness, and he works simultaneously to advance scientific knowledge about mental health while training students in minority health research and psychotherapy, and providing treatment services to patients who could not otherwise afford them. In his former role as President of the El Paso County Psychological Society, Dr. Wiebe wrote grant proposals to the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health and the Paso del Norte Health Foundation to fund the El Paso Psychology Internship Consortium, and he currently serves as the Consortium’s Project Director.

Dr. Mauro Ferrari serves as President and CEO of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and holds the Ernest Cockrell Jr. Distinguished Endowed Chair. He is also professor of biomedical

engineering medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, president of the Alliance for NanoHealth in Houston, and holds professorships at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rice University, The Tecnologico de Monterrey School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Monterrey, Mexico, and the University of Naples “Federico II” in Naples, Italy.

Dr. Ferrari is a founder of biomedical nano/microtechnology, especially in their applications to drug delivery, cell transplantation, implantable bioreactors, and other innovative therapeutic modalities. He has published more than 200 peer reviewed journal articles and books and has invented more than 30 issued patents. His contributions have been recognized with a variety of accolades, such as the Presidential Young Investigator Award of the National Science Foundation and the Shannon Directors


Award of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Ferrari began his academic career at the University of California, Berkeley, where he tenured in material science, civil engineering, and bioengineering. Upon recruitment to the Ohio State University, he served as the Edgar Hendrickson Professor of Biomedical Engineering and held numerous other positions in the fields of internal medicine, mechanical engineering, materials science, and health sciences technology and commercialization. He was also associate director of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute and director of the Biomedical Engineering Center. Dr. Ferrari also served as Special Expert on Nanotechnology at the National Cancer Institute from 2003 to 2005, providing leadership into the formulation, refinement, and approval of the NCI’s Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, currently the world’s largest program in medical nanotechnology.

T. Craig Benson, and his wife, Charlotte, of Austin, established the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation (BBDF) in August 2008 after their five-year-old daughter, Christiane, was diagnosed with Batten disease – a

rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no treatment or cure. The mission of the BBDF is to eradicate the disease. The Foundation is working to accomplish this goal in two ways: first, through identifying and funding research programs for treatments and cures; and secondly by developing a low-cost comprehensive carrier screening test to detect the gene mutations for Batten disease and over 600 other rare devastating genetic diseases that affect children. The test utilizes advanced next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics and was developed in partnership with the National Center for Genome Resources and Children’s Mercy Hospital. The BBDF is planning the commercial launch of the test through healthcare providers later this year.

Craig brings an entrepreneurial perspective to the BBDF through his experience in the biotechnology industry and business. Since 2002, he has served as President and CEO of

Rules-Based Medicine, Inc., now MyriadRBM, Inc., which is a leader in the development and commercialization of life-sciences research and diagnostic biomarker products and services. From 2000 to 2004, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Equity Resource Partners, LLC, a private investment company. From 1987 to 2000 he held various senior executive management positions with Service Corporation International (NYSE:SRV), including President of its international holding company and President of its private equity investment company. Craig has served on the board of directors of numerous publicly held companies as well as worked with many non-profit organizations. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University in 1984.

As CPRIT’s Executive

Director, Bill Gimson brings 35 years of program and administrative experience with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, from where he retired as the

Chief Operating Officer. At the CDC, Mr. Gimson had oversight for more than 15,000 employees and an annual budget in excess of $10 billion and worked in partnership with the CDC director and executive leadership to implement a number of strategic initiatives, including re-engineering CDC’s administrative and organizational structure.

Mr. Gimson served as a member of a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Iraq for five months in 2008 as a Department of State volunteer. He led the health section of the PRT in the Salah Al-Din province based out of Tikrit, Iraq where, among other accomplishments, he helped sponsor a first-of-its-kind United & Healthy conference, spearheaded the opening of a new clinic in Ad Dawr, Iraq, and was instrumental in the establishment of a Provincial Safe Water Working Group focused on cholera prevention.

Mr. Gimson has received the HHS Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service from Secretary Tommy G. Thompson, the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award – awarded to the top 3% of the federal workforce, the Presidential

Distinguished Rank Award – awarded to the top 1%, and the Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership by American University in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes public servants in the federal government whose careers are marked by extraordinary effectiveness. Mr. Gimson, who spent his formative years in Texas, holds a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He joined CPRIT in March of 2009.

Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., is President of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. His research program has focused on the molecular underpinnings of cancer, aging and degenerative

disorders and the translation of such knowledge into clinical advances. Dr. DePinho’s independent scientific career began at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he was the Feinberg Senior Scholar in Cancer Research. He then joined the Department of Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine and Genetics at the Harvard Medical School. At Harvard, he was the founding Director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a Professor of Medicine and Genetics at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. DePinho is a former member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research, and has served on numerous advisory boards in the public and private sectors including co-chair of advisory boards for the NCI Mouse Models of Human Cancer Consortium and for the Human Cancer Genome Altas Project. Dr. DePinho studied biology at Fordham University, where he graduated class salutatorian, and received his M.D. degree with distinction in microbiology and immunology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

For his fundamental contributions to cancer and aging, he has received numerous honors and awards including the 2002 American Society for Clinical Investigation Award, the


2007 Helsinki Medal, and the 2009 Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Prize. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2010, Dr. DePinho was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2012, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is a founder of Aveo Pharmaceuticals and a number of biopharmaceutical companies focused on cancer therapy and diagnostics.

Dr. Malcolm Brenner, M.D., Ph.D., is Director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Texas Children’s Hospital and The Methodist Hospital. He serves as a professor in the

Departments of Pediatrics and of Medicine at BCM. Brenner received his medical degree and subsequent Ph.D. from Cambridge University, England. Brenner’s clinical research interests span many aspects of stem cell transplantation, using genetic manipulation of cultured cells to obtain therapeutic effects. Efforts in Brenner’s laboratory to analyze the cell of origin when relapse occurs in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia led Brenner’s team to be the first to label autologous bone marrow cells genetically after purging, prior to being reintroduced to the patient. He is studying the effects of gene transfer into autologous neuroblastoma cells and the use of gene-modified EBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyctes for prevention and treatment of lymphoproliferative disorders, Hodgkin’s disease, lung cancer and neuroblastoma. His group recently pioneered the first clinical use of a new safety switch for cellular therapy. Brenner is Editor in Chief of “Molecular Therapy” and a former President of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT) and the International Society for Cell Therapy. He has won many awards for his work and in 2011 these included the ASGCT Outstanding Achievement Award and the American Society of Hematology Mentor Award.

Steven D. Weitman, MD, PhD obtained his MD and PhD at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He is a Pediatric Hematology/Oncologist with about 20 years of experience in cancer drug development.

Steve is currently Professor and Director of the Institute for Drug Development as well as the AT&T Distinguished Chair for Drug Development at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He was previously Chief Medical Officer, Senior Vice President, and Member of the Executive Committee at ILEX Oncology where he led ILEX’s successful development of clofarabine (Clolar™) and guided that product through a successful ODAC and FDA approval. He also worked on the FDA approval of pralatrexate and romidepsin as well as the post-approval commitments for campath. Steve is inventor on numerous patents and author of over 200 papers, abstracts and chapters in the medical literature. Steve is also a consultant to various biotech and pharmaceutical companies, past Associate Editor of Investigational New Drugs and reviewer for multiple journals including the American Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, Cancer Research and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Matt Winkler is CEO of Asuragen and Chairman of Mirna Therapeutics. He received a B.S. degree in Genetics and a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of California at Berkeley. He joined the Zoology

Department of the University of Texas in 1983. In 1988, as an Associate Professor, he started Ambion, Inc. a molecular biology “tool” company. Ambion became the preeminent “molecular biology tools company” focused on RNA with about 400 employees located in Austin, Cambridge, England and Tokyo, Japan. In March of 2006, he sold the research products division of Ambion to Applied Biosystems and with about 100 employees started Asuragen, an oncology-centric, molecular diagnostics

company with a strong focus around RNA. Since its founding, Asuragen has generally been the number one recipient of National Institutes of Health, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards in Texas. Asuragen has a number of oncology focused products and has recently launched through its CLIA lab pancreas and thyroid cancer tests. It is also a complete “companion diagnostic” partner for a number of pharma companies. In December of 2007, Asuragen created Mirna Therapeutics, as a “carve out of Asuragen” to develop cancer therapeutics based on miRNA. Mirna has been the recipient of significant Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) and CPRIT awards and is advancing its miRNA liver cancer therapeutic to Phase I clinical trials early in 2013. He is the author of over 30 publications and has 19 issued patents.

Dr. Lynda Chin received

her M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1993, and is a board-certified dermatologist. She conducted her clinical and scientific training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center

and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she was appointed Chief Resident of Dermatology. For the first 14 years of her independent career, she was Professor of Dermatology at the Harvard Medical School, member of the Department of Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and a Senior Associate Member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Chin was the founding Scientific Director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In 2011, Dr. Chin joined The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center where she launched and chairs the Department of Genomic Medicine, in addition to serving as the Scientific Director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science. Dr. Chin is actively involved in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). In addition to being PI and co-PI, respectively, in two TCGA centers (the Genome Data Analysis Center at the Broad and the Genome Characterization Center at HMS), Dr. Chin also serves on its Executive Subcommittee and chairs the Analysis Working Groups in GBM and Melanoma. She is also a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of


the International Cancer Genome Consortium. Dr. Chin co-founded AVEO Pharmaceuticals in 2002, a cancer biotechnology company that emphasizes cancer biology and genetics to identify new cancer targets with tumor maintenance roles. More recently, Dr. Chin also founded Metamark Genetic, a cancer diagnostic company that will develop function-based prognostic determinants that can guide customized management of early-staged cancer patients including melanoma and prostate cancer. Dr. Chin has three young children, ages 11, 10 and 8.

James C. Greenwood is President and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) in Washington, D.C., which represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions,

state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. Mr. Greenwood represented Pennsylvania’s Eighth District in the U.S. House of Representatives for twelve years. A senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, he was widely viewed as a leader on health care and the environment. From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Greenwood served as Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. Prior to his election to Congress, Mr. Greenwood served twelve years in the Pennsylvania state legislature.

Evan Melrose, M.D., MBA is founding Managing Director of Spindletop Capital where he leverages over two decades of extensive operating, clinical, and investment experience to provide pivotal expansion

capital for commercial stage healthcare companies. Prior to Spindletop, he was Founding Managing Director of PTV Sciences (a Texas based venture capital firm) and a Director with Burrill & Company (a San Francisco based life science investment firm). Dr. Melrose has deep public board and operating experience including

partnerships, IPOs, and proxy contests. Current and prior board membership include Bioventus, IntersectENT, BioForm Medical (Nasdaq: BFRM), Biomimetic Therapeutics (Nasdaq: BMTI), and Inhibitex (Nasdaq: INHX). Dr. Melrose is also a Director in the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation, a member of YPO-Austin, and has held leadership roles within the AMA, AAMC, and American Academy of Family Physicians. His experience includes: NIH funded medical device and biotechnology research; HMO and private practice medicine; and health policy/Medicare reform work as the AMA health policy fellow on Capitol Hill. Dr. Melrose held faculty appointments at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and currently Baylor College of Medicine. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, M.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine, and received his M.B.A. from The Wharton School.

Martin Sut ter i s Founder and Managing Director of Essex Woodlands, one of the oldest and one of the largest life sciences/healthcare focused venture c a p i t a l f i r m s . E s s e x Woodlands manages over

$2.5 billion of capital, and currently is investing Essex Woodlands Fund VIII, a $900 million fund focused on growth equity and select venture capital investments. Essex Woodlands has offices in New York, London, Palo Alto, Houston and Shanghai. Mr. Sutter has founded a number of successful healthcare and biotechnology companies originating from institutions of the world renowned Texas Medical Center. He has served on numerous past Boards of Directors of public and private companies including ATS Medical which was acquired by Medtronic, Inc., BioForm Medical which was acquired by Merz GmbH & Co KGaA, Lifecell which was acquired by Kinetic Concepts, Inc., St. Francis Medical which was acquired by Kyphon, Inc./Medtronic, Inc., Confluent Surgical which was acquired by Tyco International and Rinat Neurosciences which was acquired by Pfizer, Inc. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Abiomed (Nasdaq: “ABMD”), QSpex Technologies and Bioventus.

Leo Linbeck, III is a husband, father of five and President and CEO of Aquinas Companies, LLC, which has three main business lines: construction management, life science technology development,

and real estate development.In addition, Leo teaches MBAs as an adjunct

professor at both the Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business where he serves as Lecturer.

Leo graduated from University of Notre Dame. He also has a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Leo is very involved with PreK- 12 education reform, especially the expansion of high- performing charter schools serving low- income communities.

Jerry DeVries is a co-founder and managing director of TEXO Ventures, an early stage healthcare venture capital company that works alongside entrepreneurs helping them to accelerate the launch of their companies.

As a general partner and founding member of Path4 Ventures, Jerry helped to organize a joint effort with Austin Ventures in 2004 to co-invest in Spinal Restoration and LDR Spine, both of which are now successful and growing companies. At Path4 Ventures, Jerry pioneered the kind of early-stage, hands-on focus expanded on at TEXO Ventures.

Jerry DeVries has over 20 years of health care experience and was formerly the Vice President of U.S. Marketing for Centerpulse Orthopedics and Sulzer Medica, acquired by Zimmer in 2003. DeVries was a member of the executive team responsible for the turnaround of Centerpulse Orthopedics as it rebounded from the largest product recall ever in orthopaedic devices. Jerry introduced an innovative legal strategy and championed the approach, resulting in a successful recovery for Centerpulse. Mr. DeVries sits on the boards of Spinal Restoration, Intercede Health, Waldo TeleHealth and Ortho


In addition to the Information Systems division, David manages the Marketing and Planning division across the system, overseeing brand marketing, call centers, and field marketing programs, as well as leading system-wide strategic planning.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University, is married and has three active boys.

Gerry Lewis is the Regional Chief Information Officer (RCIO) for the West region of Ascension Health Information Services (AHIS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ascension Health that is dedicated to providing

information technology to the organization’s hospitals and System Office. Mr. Lewis is responsible for the West Region which is made up of four Health Ministries (hospitals and health systems) including: Seton Healthcare Family in Austin, Texas; Health Ministries in in Tucson, Arizona; Waco, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Community Health Centers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Maryland and Texas.

Mr. Lewis is responsible for providing local and System-level IT leadership at these sites – selecting, implementing and evaluating the IT solutions required to advance Ascension Health’s Strategic Direction. As Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Seton Healthcare Family, he is responsible for managing the Health Ministry’s technology vision including operations, finances, and technology procurement and implementation, while serving as the Health Ministry’s service and delivery escalation point. He also manages local vendor relationships and governance models. Previous to his current appointment, Mr. Lewis served in various leadership roles at Dell, Inc. and Compaq Computer Corporation and he was an analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Lewis possesses a master’s degree in business administration from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas and a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin.

Kinematics. Prior to joining Zimmer, he worked for Texas Instruments in a variety of engineering and supervisory positions.

Jerry DeVries serves on the Board at the Busby Foundation, an organization focused on helping Central Texas ALS patients and their families as they fight this disease. Jerry has also worked with the Texas Medical Association in creating new strategies for their innovative “2010 Vision” program.

Mr. DeVries has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University and an M.B.A. from Baylor University.

John Dickson, CISSP, is a Principal at Denim Group. His technical background includes hands-on experience with intrusion detection systems, network security, and software security. He helps CSOs of Fortune 500

and federal organizations launch and expand software initiatives.

John is a former U.S. Air Force officer and is currently the honorary commander of the 67th

Network Warfare Wing, which trains and equips cyberspace forces to conduct network defense, attack and exploitation. He joined Denim Group after holding several leadership positions at high profile organizations, including Regional Vice President of International Operations and Director of Consulting at SecureLogix Corporation and Manager at KPMG’s Information Risk Management consulting practice.

John is a founder and past president of the Alamo Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, a past Co-Chair of the Texas Regional Infrastructure Security Conference, and currently serves on the Founders Board for the Institute for Cyber Security at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is also an ISSA Senior Member. He is a founder and former chairman of the San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative, and a Past Chair of the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

John holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University, a Master of Science degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Toby C. Samo, MD, FACP is the Chief Medical Officer and Lead, Clinical Solut ions Hospita l and H e a l t h S y s t e m s f o r Allscripts. He helps establish long-term clinical strategy and short-term priorities

for Allscripts solutions, and is responsible for executive-level and physician sales support.

Toby has been a consultant in healthcare information technology since 2005. He was Medical Director of Information Technology at The Methodist Hospital in Houston and Vice President of Medical Informatics at Physia Corporation.

Toby has had a long career in private practice as an Infectious Disease physician. In 1982, he began his solo practice and built Infectious Diseases Associates of Houston which now consists of five physicians and performs more than 2,500 consults per year plus has an active clinical research program.

Toby is a Clinical Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine Section of Infectious Diseases at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.

After completing his undergraduate work at Rutgers College (New Brunswick, NJ) and medical school at Chicago Medical School (Chicago, IL), Toby performed his residency in Internal Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, later receiving his Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Baylor as well. More recently, he obtained a certificate from Rice University in the area of Medical and Healthcare Management.

Toby is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and in the subspecialty of Infectious Diseases.

David F. Bradshaw joined Memorial Hermann as Chief Information Officer (CIO) in 1998 after a 14-year career at IBM. In his 14th year at Memorial Hermann as CIO, David has responsibility for the information systems function

across the healthcare system, which includes 11 hospitals, 132 outpatient locations, an insurance company and a network of more than 5,000 physicians. Memorial Hermann is an aggressive utilizer of information systems and an eight-time Most Wired organization.


Chris Traylor was selected by Governor Rick Perry to serve as the Texas Health and Human Services chief deputy commissioner effective September 1, 2012. Traylor recently served as the commissioner of

the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. He will work with the executive commissioner in assisting with the operations of the five health and human services agencies and programs.

Traylor previously held positions at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, including associate commissioner for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, chief of staff and deputy commissioner of governmental relations. In 2004, he helped oversee the consolidation of the 15 health and human services agencies into the current five.

Traylor is a graduate of Texas Tech University.

Representative John Zerwas, M.D. has proudly represented Texas House District 28 since 2007. Representa t i ve Zer wa s currently serves on the House Appropriations Committee a s Cha i r ma n o f t he

Subcommittee for Health and Human Services. He also sits on the Public Health Committee and the Calendars Committee. As a member of the Appropriations committee, Representative Zerwas ensured that Texas citizens received the largest property tax cut in the history of the state. He also worked to increase transparency for health consumers and sought to save lives by updating organ donation laws. In June 2011, Representative Zerwas passed legislation designed to save Texas more than $400 million over the 2012-2013 biennium by making Medicaid more cost-effective and expanding Medicaid managed care. Texas Monthly has twice named Representative Zerwas as one of the “Ten Best Legislators” in Texas for his work during the 81st and 82nd Legislative Sessions.

A physician for more than 30 years, Representative Zerwas is one of three physicians serving in the Texas House. Dr. Zerwas was recently installed as the President of the

Gillis served as a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1998 to 2004 and is a life member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. He chaired the Vietnam Education Foundation from 2005-2008, and is a trustee of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, which opened in 2010. He served as chair of BioHouston from 2006-2009. He is the founder (2001) of the Texas/UK research collaborative on NanoTechnology and BioTechnology, and co-founder of the Boniuk Center for the Study of Religious Tolerance. In 2008, he was appointed by the Governor of Texas to the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Oversight Committee, and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board until 2011.

Malcolm Gillis and his spouse Elizabeth recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Roberta Levy Schwartz currently holds the position of executive vice president of The Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, responsible for overseeing all operations at the 840+ bed hospital in Houston.

Roberta has held a variety of executive positions since joining Methodist in 2001.

Prior to joining Methodist, Roberta worked as director of Business Development for Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and as a consultant and project manager to a number of academic medical centers for APM/Computer Sciences Corporation.

Roberta earned a Masters in Health Science from Johns Hopkins University and an honors undergraduate degree from Barnard College at Columbia University. She is currently a candidate for her Ph.D. at the University of Texas School of Public Health. Roberta has received many honors and awards, including the national Jill Ireland Award for Voluntarism, Houston Hadassah “Women of Courage” award, Houston’s “Women on the Move” award, “Yoplait Champions” for 2008, and Houston’s Top 50 women in 2009. Roberta cofounded the Young Survivor’s Coalition as a resource for young women with breast cancer.

Roberta lives in Houston with her husband and three children.


Bill Hill is Vice President of Sales Support at Optum. He has 16 years of healthcare IT experience and 20 years of IT experience helping employers and health providers streamline processes and implement

strategies for change. Prior to Optum, he worked at Lawson Software in a global leadership role selling and consulting on healthcare technology and trends in Europe and the Middle East. Bill was a speaker on Efficiency and Clinical Outcomes at the inaugural HIMSS Middle East in Manama, Bahrain in 2009. Bill has a BA in Psychology from Baylor University and an MA in History and Philosophy from Wheaton College.

Bill lives in Overland Park, Kansas with his wife and two kids.

Malcolm Gillis was President of Rice University from 1993-2004. He is now University Professor and the Ervin Kenneth Zingler Professor of Economics at Rice University. He received a BS/BA degree at the

University of Florida and his PhD in Economics from the University of Illinois. His first academic position was as an assistant professor of economics at Duke University. From 1969-1984 he taught at Harvard. He returned to Duke in 1984 as Professor of Public Policy and Economics where he also served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1991-1993 and as Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School from 1986-1991.

His research and teaching fall into three broad categories: fiscal economics, environmental policy and 21st Century technology. He has published more than 70 journal and book articles. He is author, co-author, and editor of eight books including a widely acclaimed 1988 publication, Public Policies and the Misuse of Forest Resources. He was principal author of the leading textbook in the field for two decades, Economics of Development (5th edition, 2002), now available in five languages.


the Tribune, Evan spent nearly 18 years at Texas Monthly, including eight years as Editor and a year as President and Editor in Chief. On his watch, Texas Monthly twice won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence.

After spending nearly three decades practicing medicine in North Texas, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. first ran for Congress in 2002, and continues to serve the constituents of the 26th District. Dr. Burgess serves

on the prestigious House Energy and Commerce Committee and is the Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health. In addition, Dr. Burgess is also a member of the bicameral Joint Economic Committee. In 2009, Dr. Burgess founded and currently serves as Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus.

Because of his medical background, Dr. Burgess has been a strong advocate for health care legislation aimed at reducing health care costs, improving choices, reforming liability laws to put the needs of patients first, and ensuring there are enough doctors in the public and private sector to care for America’s patients and veterans.

While in the House of Representatives, Dr. Burgess has received several awards, including the 2008 House Legislator of the Year from the Multiple Sclerosis Society; 2005 Legislator of the Year by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners; and the Taxpayer Hero award from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, among others.

Today, Dr. Burgess represents the majority of Denton County, Cooke County, and parts of suburban Dallas and Fort Worth. He was raised in Denton, and attended The Selwyn School, graduating in 1968 as valedictorian. Dr. Burgess graduated with both an undergraduate and a master’s degree from The University of North Texas. He received his M.D. from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, and completed his residency programs at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

Dr. Burgess also received a master’s degree in Medical Management from the University of Texas at Dallas, and in May of 2009 was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center. Dr. Burgess has been married to his wife, Laura, for over 35 years. They have three children and two grandsons.

American Society of Anesthesiology and currently practices at Greater Houston Anesthesiology, a group practice he helped start over 10 years ago. He previously served as the President of the Memorial Hermann Health Network Providers and Chief Medical Officer of the Memorial Hermann Hospital System.

Representative Zerwas, and his wife Cindy, graduated from Bellaire High School in 1973. After graduating from the University of Houston, he earned his Doctorate of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in 1980. John and Cindy have four children and two grandchildren.

State Representative Carol Alvarado is a native Houstonian and a lifetime resident of Houston’s East End. Before being elected to the State House, she served on the Houston City Council from 2002 – 2008 and as

Mayor Pro Tem from 2004-2006. Representative Alvarado sits on the House Public Health Committee and is a fierce advocate for healthy living initiatives that will cut the health risks Texans face. She was appointed as Vice-Chair of the House Urban Affairs Committee and serves on the House Redistricting Committee, which is responsible for the redrawing of all Federal and State legislative boundaries in Texas.

Evan Smith is the Editor in Chief and CEO of The Texas Tribune, a non-profit, non-partisan digital news organization based in Austin. The Tribune’s deep coverage of Texas politics and public policy can be found at

its website, texastribune.org, in the pages of the New York Times and in newspapers and on TV and radio stations across the state. In not quite three years in operation, the Tribune has won four Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, a Sigma Delta Chi award for excellence in journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists, a general excellence award from the Online News Association and a Knight-Batten award for innovations in journalism. Before co-founding

Politics and the Press:Media in the 21st Century

February 8-9, 2013Since before the birth of our nation, a

free press has played an important role in supporting democracy. So important, that the first amendment to our Constitution specifically protects it. We count on a free press to deliver information and analysis about politics and policy, and to hold elected officials accountable to voters. A free press demands transparency from government and arms citizens with the information they need to cast their votes on Election Day. A free press contributes to an informed electorate that cannot be told what to think by government, and without it, we risk the very ideals of American democracy.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the press was often inflammatory, full of polemics as much as reporting, and even influential in stirring up a war. In the 20th century, the press was marked by the advent of radio and TV. Newsrooms flourished after the groundbreaking investigative reporting of Watergate, and one anchorman was even referred to as the most trusted man in America.

Now, in the 21st century, the landscape looks much different. News breaks constantly via social media on mobile devices. Traditional newsrooms are shrinking as bloggers exert their influence. We’re seeing the partisanship of news organizations with unprecedented reach through technology, the power of talk radio to influence elections, and the growth of news satire serving for some as a primary source of information.

How does this changing media landscape impact our ability to have an informed electorate? How are citizens getting the information and analysis they need to make good decisions about elected leaders and the institutions of government? Does the journalistic ideal of objectivity in reporting really exist in a meaningful way? What is the influence of news satire shows on national debate? With the power of social media, how do we define reporters and news reporting?

The Texas Lyceum plans to answer these questions and more at our quarterly conference in Waco hosted on the campus of Baylor University. We have invited reporters, editors, bloggers, news comedy writers and elected officials for a thoughtful discussion about the state of the American free press in the 21st Century. We’ll explore how well the Fourth Estate is upholding its responsibility to the American electorate.


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Documents

The Texas Lyceum - Spindletop Capitalspindletopcapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/...The Honorable James C. Greenwood, President and CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)