Hope For Vision Announces Board of Directors and Board of Advisors

Chairman and President: Isaac J. Lidsky. Mr. Lidsky is a lawyer for the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. He is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Thomas Ambro of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Before law school, Isaac founded Poindexter Systems, a now thriving Internet advertising company in Manhattan. Isaac has been involved in raising awareness and funding for vision research for many years. He has organized several fundraising events, has appeared in the national media to promote awareness of the cause, has testified about the need for scientific funding before Congressional bodies on numerous occasions, and has served as a mentor to younger individuals afflicted with eye diseases. He has retinitis pigmentosa.

Vice President and Secretary: Erich Wasserman. Mr. Wasserman is a graduate of the University of Virginia where he concentrated in political theory, philosophy, and classical piano. Erich’s work on issues of student rights during college and his completion of a thesis analyzing the University’s student justice system led to his four-year tenure at the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). FIRE is a national civil liberties and civil rights organization devoted to public advocacy on behalf of First Amendment rights on America’s college and university campuses. At FIRE, Erich served as director of development and then as executive director. In those capacities, he oversaw the vast expansion and rollout of fundraising, public advocacy, programmatic, and technology operations. Erich currently lives in New York, where he manages business development for Poindexter Systems, an online marketing technology company.

Treasurer: Zac Merriman. Mr. Merriman is a partner with Integral Capital Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm based in Menlo Park, California. Prior to working at Integral Capital, Zac was an analyst with Silver Lake Partners, a tech-focused leveraged buyout firm. He graduated from Harvard College with an honors degree in Government. In addition to his work with Hope for Vision, Zac is also an adviser to a non-profit, documentary film production company.

Board of Directors Member: Dorothy J. Lidsky. Ms. Lidsky is a graduate of Harvard College where she concentrated in art history. After graduation, she worked in the development office of the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In this capacity she managed hundreds of volunteers, overseeing dozens of fundraising events. She has spent the last year at Winterthur Museum, a decorative arts museum in Wilmington, Delaware, working in their curatorial and development offices. Dorothy became involved in raising funds for vision research through her husband, Isaac, and his family.

Board of Directors Member: Paul Nathanson. Mr. Nathanson is a law clerk to a federal appellate judge in Washington, D.C. He is an honors graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School, and has served as a law clerk to the Honorable Paul V. Niemeyer, a federal appellate judge with chambers in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to law school, Paul was an associate at the Quadrangle Group, a newly-formed media and communications-focused private investment firm in New York City, and prior to that, he was an analyst in mergers and acquisitions at New York investment bank Lazard Freres & Co.

Members of the Board of Advisors are:
· Adrienne Arsht, Chairman, Total Bank
· Alex Campos, Chairman, PC Group Holdings
· Doctor Jaime Edelstein, MD
· The Honorable Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart
· The Honorable Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart
· David Humphrey, Associate, Bain Capital
· Betti Lidsky, Founder, Hope For Vision’s Heart Sight Miami
· Carlos Lidsky, Managing Partner, Lidsky, Vaccaro & Montes
· Ann Rasch, Founder, Hope For Vision’s Greater Chicago Community of Hope
· The Honorable Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
· The Honorable Congressman Pete Sessions
· Michael Veeck, President, Goldklang Group

“The commitment of our advisors emboldens our Hope For Vision,” said Board of Directors Member Dorothy Lidsky. “The support of such remarkable and distinguished individuals—from members of Congress to business leaders and community role models—will help us brings sight to millions.”

Tens of millions of Americans lose of vision every day, ultimately facing total blindness. This means that almost everyone in America has a friend, relative, neighbor or colleague facing some form of this problem. Hope For Vision operates to benefit research efforts in the field, helping persons coping with vision loss, and assisting fundraising efforts.

“The support of our advisors and directors is a true cause for hope,” said Chairman and President Isaac Lidsky. “Together we will educate and inspire a movement of supporters who will make the promise of Hope For Vision a reality.”

Announcements of the initial programs will follow in the coming months.
More information is available on the Hope For Vision website at www.hopeforvision.org.

About HOPE FOR VISION
Hope For Vision is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of retinal degenerative and other blinding diseases, to providing information and community tools to help those coping with vision loss, and to developing the tools required to support a grassroots movement to raise urgently needed funding for scientific research. More information can be found at www.HopeForVision.org.

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