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Joseph A. Brzezinski IV, Ph.D.: Joe Brzezinski was appointed co-director of the Gates Summer Internship Program (GSIP) in December 2019 (see page 44), having been involved in this program as a mentor since 2016. Joe grew up in the Niagara Falls region of upstate New York and attended college at SUNY Fredonia, graduating with a B.S. in Recombinant Gene Technology. In 1999, he went to the University of Michigan for graduate school where he studied retinal development with Dr. Tom Glaser in the Department of Human Genetics. In 2006, he went to Northwestern to study cortical development with Dr. Anjen Chenn and subsequently joined Dr. Tom Reh’s lab at the University of Washington in 2007. There, he continued his studies of retinal development prior to joining the Department of Ophthalmology on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus
in 2012. He is now Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the CellSight Laboratory of Developmental Genetics. His goal is to understand how genetic programs control retinal development and to apply this knowledge to the production of cone receptors from stem cells, which may restore vision in patients with diseases like AMD (see CellSight). Joe is an active mentor in the Cell Biology, Stem Cells and Development (CSD) Graduate Program.
We are grateful to have someone of Joe’s experience, enthusiasm and dedication to help further the GSIP’s efforts to encourage outstanding undergraduates to consider careers in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.
Cathey McClain Finlon: Cathey Finlon joined the Gates Advisory Board on July 1, 2019 after several years of intense courtship.
Cathey retired as CEO/owner of 26-year-old McClain Finlon Advertising, ranked as one of the top independently owned advertising agencies in the U.S. and consistently ranked as a top woman-owned business. She served as President of the Denver Art Museum during an important transition period, and retired once again. She continues to serve on the board of the Denver Art Museum.
A community leader, she has chaired the boards of Children’s Hospital Colorado, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Rocky Mountain Junior Achievement, History Colorado, Denver Advertising Federation, and Denver Scholarship Foundation. Her past and present board service also includes Denver Public Schools Foundation, University of Denver Daniels College of Business Advisory Board, Colorado Outward Bound, National Repertory Orchestra
and the American Association of Advertising Agencies (NYC).
She was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame and has received many advertising awards but is proudest of the Del Hock Lifetime Achievement award from the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce and lifetime achievement awards from the Denver Advertising Federation and the Denver Art Museum.
She is an avid sportswoman who has cycled all over the world and has been married to Dick Finlon since 1978. Given her lifetime of professional accomplishment and service, we are particularly honored and grateful to have her join our Gates Center family.
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