Entertainment industry executives Randall M. Katz and Jay Sures have been named chair and vice chair of the board of directors for the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation (JCCF), the fundraising arm of UCLA�s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Katz and Sures succeed past chair William M. Bitting and past vice chair Kurt Kamm, who will remain on the JCCF board of directors.
Katz, who has served on the JCCF board since 2007, is a generous supporter of cancer research at the Jonsson Cancer Center through the Ron and Maddie Katz Family Foundation, where he serves as a director. The president of Milestone Entertainment, Katz earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University and currently serves on the external board of advisors for the Yale Center on Environmental Law and Policy.
Sures is a board member
and partner at United Talent Agency and the 2007 recipient of the JCCF�s Gil Nickel Humanitarian Award. A JCCF board member since 2008, Sures also co-chaired the 2008 and 2009 dinner committees for Taste for a Cure, the JCCF�s signature fund-raising event. Sures also serves as treasurer of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a charitable organization of the entertainment industry Sures holds a bachelor�s degree in economics from UCLA.
Other 2009-2010 JCCF board officers include treasurer Jonathan Davidson. Davidson, a partner at Westridge Capital LLC, has served as the organization�s treasurer since 2007. He earned two degrees from UCLA, a bachelor�s degree in economics in 1987 and a master�s degree in business administration through the Anderson School at UCLA in 1994.
�We are gratified that such ou
tstanding volunteers are leading the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation board of directors at this critical juncture,� said Judith C. Gasson, the cancer center�s director. �Philanthropic support is a powerful and essential force in moving our cancer research efforts forward. We welcome the leadership of Randy Katz and Jay Sures and the continuing commitment of Jonathan Davidson to raising funds that further our mission of ending cancer through research.�
Gasson also serves as president of the JCCF board of directors. Leonard Rome, senior associate dean for research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the cancer center�s deputy director for strategic planning and partnerships, serves as the board�s secretary.
The JCCF also welcomed David Kramer, a board member and partner at United Talent Agency, as a new member of its board on July 1, 2009. Kramer earned his bachelor�s degree from the University of Georgia and master�s degree from University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.
The Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation, founded in 1945, is the single most important vehicle for raising private funds for cancer research at UCLA. It supports a number of high priority cancer research efforts, focused on converting laboratory discoveries into more effective and less toxic therapies for cancer patients. UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has more than 240 dedicated researchers who are internationally renowned for finding new and better ways to prevent, detect and treat cancer. In July 2009, the Jonsson Cancer Center was named among the top 12 cancer centers nationwide by U.S. News & World Report, a ranking it has held for 10 consecutive years. For more information, visit http://www.cancer.ucla.edu.
