Children's Brain Tumor Foundation Honors Leaders Fighting for Children's Health

Online, June 1, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Bonnie Hunt served as Mistress of Ceremonies at this year's 8th Annual Dream & Promise Awards Gala, held this evening at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square to support the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation, a New York-based 501(c)(3) working nationwide to help children with brain and spinal cord tumors and cancer.

The evening also honored Khalid bin Jabor Al-Thani, M.D., MSHA, Founder, Chairman and President of the Qatar National Cancer Society, Vice Chairman, National Health Authority, Qatar, and Chairman, Gulf Union Against Cancer; Jeffrey H. Wisoff, M.D., Director, Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at New York University Langone Medical Center; and Hadley Ford, Chief Executive Officer of ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc.

Ms. Hunt is a versatile and accomplished writer, director and producer, and she is an Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominated actress, earning critical acclaim in film, television and theater. In addition to her varied work in the entertainment world, Ms. Hunt spent many years as an oncology nurse at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. She pursued an acting career with the famous Second City improvisational theater while continuing to work as an oncology nurse.

Ms. Hunt made television history when she became the first person to write, produce and star in a prime time series. Ms. Hunt went on to create three critically acclaimed series - writing, producing, directing and starring in The Building and The Bonnie Hunt Show for CBS, and Life with Bonnie for ABC, for which she earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Her film roles include Tom Cruises' scrutinizing sister-in-law in Jerry Maguire, Tom Hanks' wife in The Green Mile, Robin Williams' love interest in Jumanji, Random Hearts with Harrison Ford, Norman Jewison's Only You, Cheaper By The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2 with Steve Martin, and the family hits, Beethoven and Beethoven's 2nd as well as starring roles in the animated hits A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., and Cars.

Despite her busy career, Ms. Hunt has always made sure to be deeply involved in charitable work. Her commitment to raising funds to sponsor medical research is remarkable. The funds she has raised have gone to many foundations close to her own heart, including the Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, American Veterans, The Arthritis Foundation, ALS, and The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Jeffrey H. Wisoff, M.D., this evening's recipient of the Pioneer Award for Pediatric Neurosurgery is currently the Director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Associate Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics at the New York University Langone Medical Center.

Dr. Wisoff was a found¬ing member of the NYU Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery in 1985, and he assumed its Directorship in 1996. During the past twenty-five years, he has made major innovative contribu¬tions to the surgical treatment of neurological disorders in children and congenital problems in adults, in particular to the treatment of brain tumors.

He is the immediate past-Chairman of the Joint Section of Pediatric Neurosurgery of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and is a member of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery and the International Society of Pediatric Neurosurgery. He also serves on the medical advisory boards of the Israel Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and the Hydrocephalus Association.

Dr. Khalid is the Founder and President of the Qatar National Cancer Society, and he has served as its Chairman since its inception in 1997. He has also served as Chairman of the Gulf Union Against Cancer since 2000. Dr. Khalid also served as the Vice Chairman of the National Health Authority, which replaced the Ministry of Public Health in Qatar. Dr. Khalid graduated from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with a Masters of Health Care Administration. His focus was in both planning and budgeting. He received his medical degree from from King Faisal University (Saudi Arabia).

He is currently on the Board of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, which is Chaired by HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Misnad, and he serves as Chairman of the Elderly Committee. Additionally, Dr. Khalid is Vice Chairman of the Permanent Election Committee. As Vice Chairman, he plays a major role in empowering women, and he encourages public awareness and participation in the municipal council and in the parliamentary elections, which took place for the first time in the State of Qatar in 1989.

Dr. Khalid also serves on the board of the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs and is in charge of its Genetic Center. Furthermore, he heads the steering committee of the new Hospital for Children with Special Needs and is a board member and the Managing Director of the Qatar Technical Inspection Company.

Hadley Ford left a career in finance to lead ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc., a company founded to improve the lives of patients with cancer by increasing access to proton therapy. Under Mr. Ford's leadership, ProCure is working to develop a network of proton centers, and it is the only organization in the world with a proton therapy center open and treating patients, two under construction, and three more in development. With only a handful of centers now open in the United States, Mr. Ford and ProCure are dedicated to opening centers until every patient who can benefit from protons has access to the therapy.

Mr. Ford has been involved in ProCure's development since its founding in 2005, and has led the company into collaborative relationships with some of the nation's leading radiation oncologists and hospitals. Mr. Ford and his colleagues at ProCure are particularly committed to making proton therapy more available to children. In January of 2010, just six months after opening, the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City started treating pediatric cancer patients. Children are more sensitive to the undesirable effects of radiation, and the precision of proton therapy can reduce the risk of growth and developmental problems as well as the occurrence of a secondary tumor later on in life.

Before joining ProCure, Mr. Ford headed up the East Coast Technology Group and was Managing Director at Banc of America Securities. Mr. Ford also served as CFO of Clearway Technologies and as Vice President of the Communications, Media and Entertainment Group at Goldman Sachs. He graduated summa cum laude from Boston University with B.S. and B.A. degrees, and he received his M.B.A. degree from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.

The Children's Brain Tumor Foundation (CBTF) was founded in 1988 by a group of parents, physicians and friends to improve the treatment, quality of life, and the long term outlook for children with brain and spinal cord tumors through research support, education, and advocacy to families and survivors.

Now in our 22nd year, we serve children and families nationwide affected by brain and spinal cord tumors. We provide support to families in the form of information delivered online and via our toll-free line by social workers. We help parents network via our Family 2 Family Network of peer mentors and our online Jenna's Community groups. In addition, the organization underwrites camps for families and pediatric brain tumor survivors in Maine, Wisconsin, and Montana. We also fund research including support for the Children's Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium.

The 8th Annual Dream & Promise Gala, produced by Charlotte Simon Productions, is the signature fundraising event for Children's Brain Tumor Foundation.

For further information contact Joe Fay, Executive Director, Children's Brain Tumor Foundation at jfay@cbtf.org , 212-448-9494 or 917-279-1370. Please visit our website at http://www.cbtf.org