Board of Directors

Ms. Brooks worked on the trading floor of the Philadelphia Stock Exhange for eight years. Shortly after leaving she turned her interest towards health and fitness taking health classes at Temple University and becoming a certified personal trainer in 1991.

In 2003, after taking a break from training clients to raise her two children, Donna opened a personal training and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu facility in Bryn Mawr PA. She managed the business and worked as a trainer for six years. Donna is grateful to be a part of the Minding Your Mind organization.

Dr. Foster received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA and performed postgraduate work at Columbia University in New York City. After graduation, Dr. Foster worked in clinical research and oversaw the development and implementation of clinical protocols at Sloan-Kettering Hospital, The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, and Rockefeller University Hospital in New York City. She was also very active in the private sector as a clinical consultant.

Dr. Foster attended the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, NJ and after graduation was accepted into a psychiatric residency program at St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Foster was the delegate for the Committee for Interns and Residents and was instrumental in unionizing house staff physicians. She also served on the Core Curriculum and Accreditation Council for the General Medical Education Committees and on The American Psychiatric Association’s New York Legislative Branch Committee on Women.

Charles P. O’Brien, a native of New Orleans, earned M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Tulane University. His residency training was in internal medicine, neurology and psychiatry at Harvard, Tulane, University of London, and the University of Pennsylvania. He is board certified in neurology, psychiatry and addiction psychiatry.

During his tenure as Chief of Psychiatry at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center (9,000 patients), he also founded a clinical research program including both VA and University of Pennsylvania scientists. This research group has continued for 43 years and has been supported primarily by competitive NIH funding. The group’s findings have had a major impact on the treatment of addictive disorders. Their findings have resulted in numerous discoveries described in over 500 publications:

• Discovered basic information on the biology of addiction
• Showed that brain changes are created during addiction that persist and later can produce relapse to compulsive drug taking
• Improved results of treatment for addictive disorders
• Developed new medications for the prevention of relapse, such as naltrexone for alcoholism
• Developed instruments for measuring the severity of addictive disorders
• Conducted trials on preventing relapse by combining medication with behavioral treatments
• Led the discovery that alcohol stimulates the endogenous opioid system, leading to a completely new treatment for alcoholism
• Discovered a genetic mutation in some alcoholics that produces better results for naltrexone treatment of alcoholism
• These discoveries are now utilized in common practice for the treatment of addictive disorders throughout the world.

Recognition and Awards:

• Elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1991
• Received numerous research and teaching awards:
  • Received the Nathan B. Eddy award for research on addiction from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence in 2003
  • American Psychiatric Association Research Award in 2000
  • 2010 Gold Medal for Research from the Society on Biological Psychiatry
  • Sarnat International Prize for Mental Health from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science
  • 2012 the Jellinek International Award for Alcoholism Research
  • 2012 Isaacson Award for Alcoholism Research
• Was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bordeaux France in 1994
• Since the 1970s, he has been an adviser on drug policy to local and to the national governments of Germany, France, England and the World Health Organization and he has chaired or served as member of numerous U.S. Institute of Medicine committees dealing with science and drug abuse policy matters.
• From 2007-13 he served as chairman of the Substance Use Disorders Committee for the American Psychiatric Association. This is the revised classification of mental illness, also known as DSM-5.
• O’Brien is past president of the American College of Neuro-psychopharmacology and of the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease.
• In October 2013 the French government awarded him the medal of Knight Chevalier of the Legion of Honor of the Republic of France for his achievements in the science of addiction and for his contributions to French-American research collaborations. For video click here.

Ms. Thomas is a partner in the Business and Finance Department and a member of the Family Wealth Management Group at the Philadelphia law firm of Ballard Spahr. She has served as Chair of the Probate and Trust law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association and is on the Pennsylvania Honor Roll of Women. In addition, Ms. Thomas is recognized by Bloomberg Personal Finance as among the top four trusts and estates lawyers in Philadelphia, and has been cited in The Best Lawyers in America from 1987-2010. Ms. Thomas graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa from Connecticut College and received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

Dr. Piltch has a Bachelors degree from Williams College. He majored in psychology and earned two Masters degrees in education; one in counseling and consulting psychology and the other in educational administration, in addition to a Doctorate in Education from Harvard University. Dr. Piltch has taught in public and independent schools and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He has coached a number of sports, most notably, the Harvard squash teams, leading them to six national championships. Dr. Piltch has been the Head, The Shipley School since 1992. He has served on numerous boards including the Gladwyne Montessori School, Wyndcroft School, Starfinder Foundation, ADVIS, and PAIS. Currently he is on the boards of the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives, Gesu School, Montgomery School, Girard College, among others. He is an avid sportsman and enjoys his time spent with his family.

Wendi Platt graduated magna cum laude from American University in Washington, DC with degrees in economics and finance. Ms. Platt worked as a CPA and foreign exchange trader before her current position as a marketing consultant to Virgo III. Ms. Platt has been involved with many non-profits in the Philadelphia area, including Project H.O.M.E., the Salvation Army, and the Support Center for Child Advocates. Most recently, she has joined advisory boards at the Agnes Irwin School and the Lower Merion Youth Coalition. An avid runner, Ms. Platt was responsible for establishing the first Run/Walk for Minding Your Mind last year. Ms. Platt lives in Wynnewood with her husband and three children.

With over 40 years of experience in the packaging industry, Mr. Zuckerman is the President of Zuckerman Honickman, Inc., a leading packaging distribution company. He also oversees its wholly owned subsidiary, Delta Industries International, Inc., the largest supplier of reusable trigger spray bottles in the United States. He is a long standing member of the John D. Lankeau Society at Lankenau Hospital. In addition, Mr. Zuckerman, along with his wife Meryl, established the Zuckerman Family Autoimmune Disorder Research Fund to support the revolutionary efforts of the scientists at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research and the clinicians of Lankenau Hospital. He supports a number of Philadelphia area institutions and actively fundraises for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and for the MS Society.