[34], In May 2017, the Grays announced they would be donating $21million to the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of Pennsylvania, bringing their total pledges to the initiative to $55million. Identified in the mid-1990s, mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can lead to drastically higher rates of breast and ovarian cancer in women, as well as elevated risk of prostate and pancreatic cancer. He is also the President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone, one of the world's leading investment firms. The new institute will look for innovative ways to detect and treat BRCA-related cancers before surgery, radiation or chemotherapy become the necessary treatment. Those who know me know I took this one to heart. [citation needed] In 2019, the Grays announced a $10 million gift to support first-generation, low-income students attending the University of Pennsylvania. . Women with a BRCA 1 mutation have a 60-80% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and a 20-45% lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy, and was a member of the Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel. Mr. Gray previously served as the firm's Global Head of Real Estate, which he helped to build into the largest real estate platform in the world. The value of his cash investments is based on an analysis of income, taxes and market performance. . His mother is a partner in Ferree-Florsheim Catering in Chicago. Women with BRCA 2 mutations have a 50-70% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and a 10-20% lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer. In May 2012, Gray and his wife, Mindy Gray, founded the Basser Research Center, named in honor of Mindy's sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer at age 44. Her father owns an advertising agency in Philadelphia that bears his name. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. [3][4] His father Allen Gray owned a small auto parts manufacturer on the West Side of Chicago (coincidentally named Blackstone Manufacturing); his mother Susan, remarried to his stepfather James Florsheim, ran a catering business. The money will support research on cancer "interception" detecting abnormal, cancerous cells at the earliest stages and disrupting their progress before the disease gets underway. 12/14/2012 | Mindy Gray was devastated by the passing of her beloved older sister, Faith Basser. At Jills suggestion, I reached out to OCRF to ask how I could get involved. Those who know me know I took this one to heart. Previously, Dana was a Vice President at Teach For America and a Vice President at Lazard Freres & Co. She also worked as a consultant at Bain & Company, as well as in the Venture Capital and Investment Banking Groups at Morgan Stanley. At Jills suggestion, I reached out to OCRF to ask how I could get involved. 50 insiders reveal how the superinvestor consolidated power, elbowed out rivals, and is remaking the firm in his golden-boy image", "Investment strategy: The new property barons", "Blackstone to Check Out of Hilton Investment", "Blackstone's Hilton Deal: Best Leveraged Buyout Ever - Bloomberg", "40 under 40 - Jonathan Gray (7) - FORTUNE", "Blackstone Exits Single-Family Rental Bet Slammed by Warren", "Wall Street as Landlord: Blackstone Going Public with a $10 Billion Bet on Foreclosed Homes", "Warren Calls Out Blackstone for "Shameless" Profies From Housing", "Blackstone's Homegrown Dealmaker Finally Makes It to the Top", "Opinion | Wall Street Courts Hong Kong Strongman John Lee", "Three Top Bankers Pull Out of Hong Kong's Global Finance Summit", "Trump Said to Discuss Treasury Post With Blackstone's Gray", "Blackstone executive Jonathan Gray won't serve as Treasury secretary", "The Wallets of Wall Street Are With Joe Biden, if Not the Hearts", "Private-Equity Leaders Place Their Presidential Bets", "Joe Biden's fundraiser list includes more than 30 executives with Wall Street ties", "Joe Biden to host more than 250 donors from Wall Street, big business at NYC fundraisers here's the guest list", "Blackstone COO Jonathan Gray On Giving To Education, Cancer Research", "Blackstone President Jonathan Gray Donates $25 Million To Tackle Deadly Breast Cancer Gene", "Basser Center for BRCA Abramson Cancer Center", "Blackstone's Gray Becomes Billionaire Amid Property Wager", "The 2013 Basser Global Prize - Bassser Research Center for BRCA -Penn Medicine", "Penn Medicine's Basser Research Center for BRCA Announces Additional $5 Million Gift from Mindy and Jon Gray to Fund External Research Grant Program", "The T&C 50: The Top Philanthropists of 2016", "Blackstone's Gray Gives $21 Million to Hit Cancer Close to Home", "$55 million gift to Penn is aimed at stopping breast cancer before it starts", "University Of Pennsylvania Receives $55 Million Gift To Study, Treat Hereditary Cancers", "Blackstone's Gray Gives UPenn $55 Million for Cancer Prevention", "New York Seeks to Jump-Start College Savings by Giving Cash to Kindergartners' Parents", "Blackstone's Gray Donates $10 Million for Financial Aid at UPenn", "Money for Kindergartners, Spendable on College", "WEDDINGS - Mindy Basser, Jonathan D. Gray", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jonathan_D._Gray&oldid=1139510621, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 14:27. His father worked in his family business, a maker of auto parts, while his mother ran a catering business, according to a 2011 profile of Gray in the New York Observer. In 1998, Pat joined the NIH to head a research laboratory focused on ovarian cancer. Jonathan D. Gray is married to Mindy Basser Gray. Partner Member Profile: Bright Pink. Graduates magna cum laude from University of Pennsylvania. Blackstone has $915 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2022, according to the company's website. 12/14/2012 | Mindy Gray was devastated by the passing of her beloved older sister, Faith Basser. The bride, 24, is a marketing executive at Edwin Schlossberg Inc., a design firm in New York. This month, the University of Pennsylvania announced a $10 million gift from the couple, . [6][16], Gray was scheduled to speak at the November 2022 Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, with the Hong Kong Democracy Council claiming that his presence, along with other financial executives, legitimizes the Hong Kong government's whitewashing of the erosion of freedoms in the city. our complete methodology , Design & development: Shari and her husband, Len Potter, created the Basser Global Prize initiative at the Center to fund BRCA research. The pandemic hasn't changed their philanthropic strategy, but rather has them doubling down, Jon Gray, Blackstone's. OCRF: Tell us about the path that led you and Jon to together create the Basser Research Center with a $25 million gift to the University of Pennsylvania. In 2012, Mindy and Jon Gray made a transformative gift to establish the Basser Center for BRCA at Penn Medicines Abramson Cancer Center and to date have given over $55 million towards its mission. In January 2014, the Basser Research Center announced an additional $5million gift from the couple to fund an external research grant program. Women with a BRCA 1 mutation have a 60-80% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and a 20-45% lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer. The aspirational goal would be to understand the process of cancer development early enough and then look at ways to intervene, hopefully eradicate, prevent the cancer from even developing., What we aspire to do is build a precancer atlas for BRCA, lay a road map for everyone in the world to use, continues Dang. She also previously directed the NYC Department of Educations Office of Strategic Partnerships, ran after-school and summer programs in the Bronx and Washington Heights, and taught English at Riverdale Country School. The gift comes after the couple poured $55 million in the past seven years into University of Pennsylvanias Basser Center for BRCA, the worlds first hub devoted to studying cancers related to BRCA mutations. My sister Faith was a serious discount shopper. 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Jonathan D. Gray (born February 4, 1970) is an American billionaire businessman and the president and chief operating officer of Blackstone Group, a New York-based asset management firm. Mindy Gray: Right now there is no viable tool for early detection of ovarian cancer. Read On, The ovarian cancer community needs you your support, your voice, your passion and commitment. Rabbi Ira F. Stone is to perform the ceremony at Temple Beth Zion Beth Israel in Philadelphia. Mindy Gray is a member of the Penn Medicine Board, Chair of the Basser Center Leadership Council, and a founding board member of New York City Kids RISE, a nonprofit organization focused on expanding economic opportunity by providing a scholarship and savings platform for families, schools, and communities. 1992 College graduate Mindy Gray and 1992 College and Wharton graduate Jonathan Gray made the donation to the Basser Center for BRCA, an institute they founded in 2012 with an earlier $25 million donation in honor of Mindy's sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer in 2002. Men and women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation are at increased risk for developing certain cancers including breast, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers. We know the pain of losing a loved one and dont want any other family to suffer the way we have. 2023 Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, Inc. A Personal Connection Becomes a Professional Mission. What came out of the meeting was there are still a lot of work to be done in the pre-cancer stage. Posted on December 14, 2012 in Community, Prev: A Personal Connection Becomes a Professional Mission, Next: Partner Member Profile: Bright Pink. With the leadership of Dr. Chi Dang, Director of the Abramson Cancer Center, and Dr. Susan Domchek, Executive Director of the Basser Research Center, we are confident that we can make huge progress towards this goal. Now, Domchek and her colleagues are taking aim at interception. Try telling this to a woman in her 20s who is BRCA-positive and not yet married. There are so many ways to lend a hand, to improve the lives of thousands of patients and their families, and get us one step closer to a cure. Previously, Charlotte was the Director of Public Programming at the Seleni Institute, a clinic and nonprofit foundation focused on reproductive and maternal mental health. [14] The firm would later come under criticism for its business model, and US Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Blackstone for "shamelessly" profiting from the 2008 housing crisis. Mindy Gray is the Co-Founder of the Gray Foundation. The donation was made to establish and fund the Cancer . [27], In February 2023, the Grays were named to The Chronicle of Philanthropys list of the 50 biggest donors in 2022. But she turned loss into legacy and hurt into hope this year when she and her husband Jon founded the Basser Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania in honor of her sister who succumbed to ovarian cancer at the age of 44. Previously, Mindy worked as an editor at Ziff Davis Publishing and as a marketing executive at Edwin Schlossberg, Inc. Mindy received her Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History from the University of Pennsylvania. Mindy Gray, Chair Mindy Gray is the Co-founder of the Gray Foundation, a private foundation committed to maximizing access to education, healthcare and opportunity for low-income children in New York. She is the Chair of the Basser Leadership Council and serves on the boards of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and NYC Kids RISE. 12/14/2012 | Mindy Gray was devastated by the passing of her beloved older sister, Faith Basser. Get email updates about research news, action alerts and ways to join the fight. The Gray Foundation also funds initiatives to advance the care of individuals living with BRCA mutations. We knew then that we did not want other families to ever suffer in the way that we had. The couple has supported the University throughout their 25 years since graduation. Formerly, Jon served as Blackstone's Global Head of Real Estate. Mindy and Jon Gray created the Basser Professorship of Oncology as part of their gift to establish the Basser Center for BRCA in 2012. Gift will support first-generation, low-income students, Grays also founded Basser Center for BRCA at their alma mater. The Grays donated $25million to create the Basser Research Center, which focuses on cancer prevention, treatment, and research of BRCA-related, genetically-inherited cancers. [33] Town & Country (magazine) noted this work in its "Top Philanthropists of 2016" feature, in which the Grays were included. [15], In February 2018, it was announced that Gray would become president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, replacing Hamilton "Tony" James. She served as the Executive Director of Teach For America - New York, and the Chief Operating Officer of ExpandED Schools. Mindy Gray is a member of the Penn Medicine Board, chair of the Basser Center Leadership Council and a founding board member of New York City Kids RISE, a nonprofit organization focused on expanding economic opportunity by providing a scholarship and savings platform for families, schools and communities. 284 subscribers The biennial Basser Jean Bash fundraiser in Manhattan on November 18, 2019, raised $9 million to support BRCA-related cancer research. Actress Angelina Jolie, who inherited these genetic mutations, made waves in 2013 for announcing that shed undergone a preventive double mastectomy to reduce the risk of getting breast cancer; she removed her ovaries two years later. [5] He was elected Phi Beta Kappa. Maximizing access to education, healthcare and opportunity for low-income youth in New York City. In February 2018, he was promoted to president and COO of Blackstone after 13 years as head of the firm's real estate business. My sister Faith was a serious discount shopper. With the Basser Research Center, we want to ensure that families affected by BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 gene mutations can get the support and genetic counseling that they need and understand their lifetime risk of developing cancer. Mindy Basser, a daughter of Pearl and Philip B. Basser of Philadelphia, is to be married this evening to Jonathan David Gray, a son of Susan Florsheim of Highland Park, Ill., and Allen Gray of Barrington, Ill. [28], The Grays have donated over $150 million to BRCA cancer research. [38], In November 2016, The New York Times reported on a $10million donation from the Grays to finance a pilot program that creates college savings accounts for thousands of New York City public school kindergartners. The Grays donated $25 million to create the Basser Research Center, which focuses on cancer prevention, treatment, and research of BRCA-related, genetically-inherited cancers.