Board of Directors

Jack Phillips became deeply engaged with CurePSP during his late wife’s courageous journey with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), which ended in 2023. Through this experience, he witnessed firsthand the challenges of navigating a complex and often underrecognized disease—ranging from delayed diagnosis and limited treatment options to the critical need for specialized care and clinical research. Determined to drive change, Jack has since dedicated himself to advancing CurePSP’s mission. As Board Chair, he plays a key role in guiding the organization’s strategic growth, expanding access to care, and fostering innovative research to improve outcomes for those affected by PSP, corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Jack holds a BSBA from Bucknell University and an MBA in International Business from George Washington University. His professional career included global leadership roles as Vice President at Owens Corning, where he led worldwide businesses. He lived ten years in Europe with postings in Athens and Brussels. Following his corporate tenure, he transitioned to entrepreneurship, co-founding and serving as COO of Wind Energy Corporation.

Amy worked for over 28 years in the Banking, Financial Markets, and Insurance sectors chiefly as Director of Global Accounts with SunGard Data Systems and with Computer Sciences Corporation, as head of Business Development for the Disaster Recovery Division.  She has served on the board of several not-for-profit organizations, including Ronald McDonald House, Kids Helping Kids Art Auction (North Carolina). Amy holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.  “The opportunity to serve CurePSP is one I welcome. It is not often that time and circumstance permit giving back and making a contribution with a disease that hits close to home. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from my mother and stepfather; her with Alzheimer’s Disease, him with PSP. For my parents and for the parents and spouses and families of others; I am honored to support the mission of CurePSP.”

Justin is a Principal at Hammes Partners, a private equity platform focused on the U.S. healthcare market, where he is primarily involved in the firm’s investment activities and is a member of its Investment Committee. Prior to joining Hammes, Justin worked with the Acquisition and Asset Management groups at Greenfield Partners, a global real estate investment firm, where he was responsible for acquisition and management activities across various real estate sectors, including healthcare, hospitality, distressed debt, and land, overseeing over $500 million in equity investments. Previously, he worked with Robert W. Baird & Co. in its Investment Banking Group. Justin graduated with honors from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, earning a B.S. in Accountancy and a B.S. in Real Estate Finance. He has been involved with CurePSP since his father was diagnosed with the disease in 2009 and currently serves as a Member of the Board, the Executive Committee, and as Chair of the Finance Committee.

During Steve’s career of over 40 years in investment management, he served as an analyst, portfolio manager, and the senior executive responsible for major global investment management businesses. Following his retirement as Vice-Chairman of Mellon Financial Corporation and Chief Executive of The Dreyfus Corporation, Steve has served as a Managing Director of Zephyr Management, L.P., a firm focused on early-stage investment opportunities in India and Africa.

Steve has been a director or trustee of several non-profit organizations including Tuskegee University and The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Steve earned his A.B. in Economics from Cornell University and M.B.A. from Columbia University.

“During the course of my wife’s battle with PSP, I and our children affirmed a strong commitment to increase awareness of this disease and support research to quicken the pace toward its earlier diagnosis, effective treatments, and a cure. My service on the Board honors PSP patients, their care partners and families. It is a privilege to serve and an opportunity to leverage my experience and broaden and deepen the impact of my personal commitment.”

Jim graduated from the University of Houston Bauer College of Business, class of 1979.  Jim began his CPA practice in 1983, James G. McClellan CPA, in Sugar Land, Texas. His over 40 years of business includes the practice of public accounting, financial and estate planning, business consulting and as a state registered investment advisor in Texas and is a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner and Personal Financial Specialist (CPA/PFS).

Currently as President and Trustee of the Fred and Mabel R. Parks Foundation, the Foundation is active in making grants primarily in the area of higher education, medical research and services, and in support of social services for the disadvantaged.

Mr. McClellan currently serves on various other non-profit boards including Child Advocates of Fort Bend, Director and Past-President and Blue Cure Foundation, Director and Treasurer.

Lawrence I. Golbe, MD is Emeritus Professor of Neurology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ. He was Acting Chair of his department at Rutgers from 2000 to 2003, Director of its Division of Movement Disorders from 2012 to 2020 and Program Director of its neurology residency from 2003 to 2018.

His research has focused on the clinical genetics, clinimetrics and epidemiology of the Parkinsonian disorders. In 1988 he co-led the first studies of the prevalence and risk factors for PSP and published the first PSP diagnostic criteria. He led the clinical portion of the project that in 1997 identified the first known Mendelian mutation causing Parkinson’s disease in the gene for alpha-synuclein. He developed and validated the PSP Rating Scale, which since its 2007 publication has become the standard clinical measure and treatment outcome marker for PSP world-wide. He is the author of A Clinician’s Guide to Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (Rutgers University Press, 2018) and maintains psp-blog.org. 

He has worked for and volunteered with CurePSP since 1990. He's currently the chair of the Scientific Advisory Board and member of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Steering Committee of its Centers of Care network.

Paul Freeman is a Miami-based attorney and real estate developer. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1969 with a BA in Accounting and Finance, and from the University of Miami Law School with a JD in 1973 and an LLM in Taxation in 1976. Paul has been a Florida licensed CPA and Attorney since 1973. He started his career as a tax attorney before transitioning to a real estate-based practice. Since the mid-1980s, Paul has been involved in real estate and citrus business in Florida, and his company remains active in real estate development in Southwest Florida.  Paul became involved with CurePSP after his wife, Eva, was diagnosed with PSP in 2000 and he became her primary caregiver. He joined the organization’s Board of Directors in 2006 after Eva’s passing. He has served as the Treasurer for CurePSP and was an honorary Board Member. In 2022, he rejoined the board. He has also moderated the Southeast Florida Support Group, which serves patients and caregivers dealing with PSP, CBD, and MSA since 2009. Paul has also been involved with many charitable and civic organizations over his career.

Louis is a Portfolio Manager at Focus Partners Wealth and co-manages more than $1 billion of assets under management.

Louis received a B.A. in Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University, where he also completed the Entrepreneurship & Management program. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Louis previously worked in the Baseball Operations department of the Baltimore Orioles.

Louis joined CurePSP in 2021 after his father’s battle with the disease.  His father dedicated his life to medicine, and Louis aims to mirror that dedication in his service to CurePSP, where he currently serves on the Finance and Investment Committees.

Alexander Pantelyat, MD, FAAN is an associate professor of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is the director of the Johns Hopkins Atypical Parkinsonism Center and the co-Founder and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine. Dr. Pantelyat's research is focused on the diagnosis and treatment of atypical parkinsonian disorders, such as dementia with Lewy bodies, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal syndrome/degeneration and multiple system atrophy; cognitive aspects of movement disorders; and music-based rehabilitation of neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Pantelyat earned his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, where he was elected a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and received the Matthew T. Moore Prize in Neurology. He completed his residency training in Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Pennsylvania/Philadelphia VA Medical Center. He is a 2013 American Academy of Neurology Palatucci Advocacy Leader and grant recipient, a 2014-15 American Academy of Neurology Emerging Leader, and a 2014 Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Osler Attending Program inductee.

Ileen Watson McFarland has been a CurePSP Board Member, Support Group Facilitator and Peer Volunteer since 2013. Her late husband was misdiagnosed in 2006 with Parkinson Disease, which several months later changed to a PSP diagnosis. As his sole caregiver, she experienced the numerous challenges caregivers are confronted with as the disease progresses. At that time CurePSP provided few resources to guide caregivers through their journey and virtually no financial support. As a CurePSP Board Member, Ileen served as the first Chair and now a member of the Patient & Carepartner Advocacy Committee, which has been instrumental in providing support and resources to care partners, patients, and their family members. This committee oversees patient and caregiver resources, volunteer recruitment, development and training, peer-organization collaborations, national and international leadership conferences focused on caregiving. Ileen was also the first Chair, and now a member, of the Respite Care Grant Committee which oversees the Respite Grant Program, reviews applications, and awards grants to families in need of the Respite Care Grant. While caring for her late husband, Ileen was unable to hire professional caregivers and learned from personal experience how important it was for the caregivers to get rest and a break. As a result of her personal experience and other care providers she met in support groups, Ileen proposed that the CurePSP Board of Directors establish a respite grant fund. Since inception, the Respite Grant Fund has provided thousands of dollars in grants to hundreds of families. Ileen has also been active in organizing an annual CurePSP fundraising campaign which has benefited the Respite Care Grant Program. She is very active in her community seeking out resources, collaborating with organizations that provide home care, palliative care, and Hospice care. Additionally, she attends local and national events that focus on rare neurological disorders. Compassion, understanding and the willingness to share experiences with people who are dealing with these diseases and provide them with hope and support when all is lost is Ileen’s primary mission.