Lynn A. Bernard, Jr.

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2012-present

Education: BA Vanderbilt University 1976; MBA University of Texas 1978

Career: Invesco Ltd., Manager of Investment Services, 2001 to present; Pinnacle Management & Trust, Chief Investment Officer, 1997-2001; L. A. Bernard & Associates, founder & chief investment officer, 1990-1997; Goldman, Sachs & Co., 1978-1990

Affiliations / Memberships: St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, life-member and former 20+ year committeeman of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, Houston Country Club, Thunderbird Hunting Club

Patricia K. Boyd

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2020–present, Fund Drive Chair 2022-2023

Education: BBA, The University of Texas at Austin

Affiliations / Memberships: The University of Texas – President’s Associates, Chancellor’s Council, Littlefield Society, Hill Society; M.D. Anderson President’s Circle; Houston Methodist: The Society for Leading Medicine; The Houston Symphony; Ima Hogg Ceramic Circle; The Blue Bird Circle; Zeta Tau Alpha

Personal: A fifth-generation Texan, born and raised in Tyler, Texas; married Don R. Boyd, another Tylerite and UT grad, in 1957; moved to Corpus Christi in 1959; a full-time mother and community volunteer; after Don’s death in 2000, moved to Houston in 2004; three children and seven grandchildren including one granddaughter who has Stargardt Disease; a lifelong Methodist, now a member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston; has had a family ranch in Goliad County, Texas, for 50 years – a working and hunting ranch, plus a wonderful family spot. Other interests are travel, reading, Mah Jongg, theater, golf, and music.

Petros E. Carvounis, MD

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2014–present

Education: University of Cambridge (BA, MA) and the University of Oxford (medical degree-2000). Specialty training at the Mayo Clinic (internship), George Washington University (residency) and Baylor College of Medicine (fellowship).

Career: He currently has a busy retina practice, Macula Vitreous Retina Physicians & Surgeons, and serves as clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine, UTMB and as clinical professor of ophthalmology at the George Washington University. Dr. Carvounis has authored over 60 papers and book chapters and has given over 100 presentations and courses at meetings.

Awards: American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award (2014), American Society of Retina Specialists Honor Award (2013), voted one of the top 40 ophthalmologists under 40 internationally (2015), voted annually as one of the Best Doctors in America 2009–2016, received a top doctors award from Houstonia magazine (2016).

Rosanette (Rose) S. Cullen

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2018–present, Fund Drive Chair 2021

Education: Rose attended the University of Houston, where she is now a member of the Corbin J. Roberston Society and contributor to Cougar Pride.

Memberships and Civic Work: Mrs. Cullen is a member of the Board of Directors of Retina Research Foundation, Houston Ballet Foundation, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Bayou Bend, Rienzi, Visitors Board of MD Anderson, Salvation Army, and UNICEF. She graduated from St. Agnes Academy and is a member of St. Michael Catholic Church. She is dedicated to her Catholic upbringing.

Personal: Mrs. Cullen was born in Houston, and she has lived in this city she loves for over eighty years. Rose and her husband, Harry Holmes Cullen, were married for sixty­-two years. She is proud to be a member of the Hugh Roy Cullen family. Because of their generosity, she has spent her life giving her time to help and encourage others to give for the betterment of all. Her social life is centered around her family, being together at their ranch in South Texas or the River House in New Braunfels. She belongs to several clubs for entertainment and to be with friends—the River Oaks Country Club, the Forest Club, the Garden Club of Houston, and Chi Omega Sorority.

John C. Dawson, Jr.     CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF DIRECTORS

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 1995-present; Executive Committee 1995-present; Legal Committee 1995-present; Fund Drive Chair 1996

Education: Attended Washington & Lee University; BA and LLB from the University of Texas

Career: Partner, Vinson & Elkins (now retired); Chancellor, Episcopal Diocese of Texas; Director, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital System.

Memberships: State Bar of Texas, Lifetime Fellow American Bar Association, Order of the Coif, Houston Country Club, The Club at Crested Butte, St. Charles Bay Hunting Club

Personal: His father was one of the founders of RRF.

Ronald G. Girotto     VICE PRESIDENT and CHAIR, BOARD OF ADVISORY TRUSTEES

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2016–present, Chair, Investment Committee 2017-present, Executive Committee 2018-present

Education: BS, BA Pittsburg State University (1964); MS Kansas University (1968); Southwestern Graduate School of Banking (1975)

Career: President and chief executive officer, Houston Methodist Hospital; EVP, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, Houston Methodist Hospital; administrator, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Baylor College of Medicine; VP, Secretary-Treasurer, First/Second Baldwin Bankshares, Inc.; Manager, Financial Services, Southwest Division, Phillips Petroleum Company; U.S. Army, Signal Corps.

Memberships/Affiliations: Saint Vincent De Paul Catholic Church; Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre; Faith in Practice, Executive Council; Amazing Place, Board member; Jesse H. Jones School of Management, Rice University, Council of Overseers.

Lewis H. Gissel, III

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2022-present, Board of Advisory Trustees 2018-2022

Education: B.B.A, University of Mississippi, Marketing

Career:   As Executive Vice President for Texas Regional Bank, Mr. Gissel is responsible for all commercial banking activities for the Houston Region. Spanning nearly three decades, his banking and finance experience includes expertise in the non-profit, health care, franchise, commercial and industrial sectors.

Memberships and Civic Work: The Forest Club, St. Martin’s Church and Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Past President of The Forest Club and Spring Branch Memorial Sports Association. Currently serves as Co-Chair of the Oversight Committee for the Spring Branch Independent School District’s 2017 Bond.

Personal:  He is a third generation patient of Dr. McPherson and son of deceased RRF Board Member, L. Henry Gissel, Jr.

Nancy F. Japhet

RRF Board Service:  Board of Managing Directors 1989-present; Fund Drive Chair 1990.

Education:  Economics degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Career:  Assistant to Economist, Texas National Bank of Commerce (now Chase Bank).

Memberships:  St. John The Divine Church; River Oaks Garden Club; Bayou Bend Board of Trustees; Bayou Bend Garden Advisory.

Affiliations:  Pi Beta Phi Sorority; Garden Club of America, Episcopal Church Women.  Past President of River Oaks Garden Club, The Bayou Bend Garden Endowment, and the Bayou Bend Board of Trustees.

Personal:  She is the daughter-in-law of deceased RRF Board member, E. C. Japhet.

W. Mac Jensen

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2023–present, Board of Advisory Trustees 2020–2023

Education: University of Tulsa (BS), University of Kansas (MBA)

Career: Current role as Senior Advisor with Post Oak Energy Capital. Prior to that, thirty years in the oil and gas industry as a public company executive officer for EPL Oil & Gas, Inc., start-up principal and investment banker. He has served in various leadership capacities including head of corporate development, chief financial officer and managing director.

Memberships and Civic Work: Chairman, West University United Methodist Church Foundation; Previous member of the Church Board of Stewards and the City of West U Zoning and Planning Commission; Briar Club member, previously serving on the Finance Committee.

James E. Key, MD

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2008–present

Education: University of Texas, graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He completed all of his medical training at Baylor College of Medicine, interrupted only by two years of active duty during the Vietnam War. Dr. Key began ophthalmology practice in the Texas Medical Center in 1976, and has been on the clinical faculty at Baylor since that time, having taught both cataract surgery and contact lenses. He was Chief of Ophthalmology at St. Luke’s Hospital for 20 years and currently is a member of Houston Methodist Eye Associates.

Awards: He received Baylor’s Outstanding Alumni Award in 2006 and the Honor Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 1990.

Personal: He was an Eagle Scout as well as a National Merit Finalist in High School. Dr. Key and wife Betty are engaged in a wide range of church and community affairs.

Bettie Harding Lee      SECRETARY

RRF Board Service:  Board of Managing Directors 2002-present; Fund Drive Chair 2001; Executive Committee 2009-present

Education:  Converse College, Spartanburg, SC – BA 1968

Career:  A member of the travel industry since 1978.  Owner of Woodlake Travel Services, Inc., a luxury leisure company from 1980 until its recent acquisition by Global Travel Collective.  Throughout Mrs. Lee’s ownership, the company was know as one of the largest women owned businesses in Houston.

Memberships:  St. Martins Episcopal Church, River Oaks Country Club, Houston Country Club

Bruce B. Mack

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 1997–present; Treasurer 1999–2015; Fund Drive Chair 1998; Member, Audit Committee; Member, Legal Committee

Education: Law degree from Georgetown University.

Career: CEO and owner of the tax law firm, Bruce B. Mack & Associates; Attorney for the IRS in the Trial Section, Peat Marwick

Alice R. McPherson, MD     FOUNDER

(1926-2023)

In 1969 Dr. McPherson founded the Retina Research Foundation (RRF), one of the nation’s leading eye research organizations, dedicated to promote understanding, prevention and treatment of retinal diseases.  To accomplish this, in 1973 the RRF started to fund pilot research studies and in 1976 began collaborating with outstanding organizations to support variety of programs in retina research around the world.

Dr. Alice McPherson peacefully passed away on January 16, 2023.  She was an accomplished teacher, scholar, leader and pioneer dedicated to the study and treatment of retinal diseases. She received her baccalaureate and medical degrees and took her ophthalmology residency at the University of Wisconsin. She completed a retina fellowship with Dr. Charles Schepens at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.  Dr. McPherson was a professor of ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine specializing in macular degeneration and vitreoretinal diseases and surgery.  She was a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the International College of Surgeons. Dr. McPherson’s scientific contributions to ophthalmology began with pioneering scleral buckling procedures, cryotherapy and xenon arc and laser photocoagulation in the treatment of retinal diseases.  She was an early and vigorous advocate of photocoagulation in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.  This was initially a controversial position, later proven correct by the large, randomized prospective National Eye Institute Diabetic Retinopathy Study.

In addition to founding RRF, Dr. McPherson was instrumental to the establishment of another institute dedicated to vision research, which in 2012 was named in her honor, the McPherson Eye Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Benjamin F. Orman, MD

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2010–present

Education: Graduated from Rice University, received his MD from Duke University, and completed his residency training at George Washington University Hospital and then at Baylor-affiliated hospitals, followed by a pulmonary fellowship at Baylor. He served in the U.S. Army in Germany as captain in the Medical Corps.

Career: Dr. Orman is board certified in both internal medicine and pulmonary disease. He was in private practice for over 30 years and has served as president of Methodist Hospital Medical Staff and Chairman of Clinical Practice Organization at Methodist. He was a partner at the Medical Clinic of Houston and for a decade served as medical director at Methodist Wellness Services, Dr. Orman served as medical director at Aramco Medical Clinic for 15 years until he retired in 2016.

Personal: Dr. Orman and wife Janet Ford Orman traveled for many years to Guatemalan Villages with a medical relief organizations, Faith in Practice.

Katharine W. Orton

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2021–present

Education: BA, cum laude, Sweet Briar College, politics and economics

Career:   Mrs. Orton’s banking and finance experience spans four decades and includes positions as Senior Vice President and Regional Manager, Wells Fargo Bank, Chairman and CEO of Texas Commerce Medical Bank, an acknowledged leader in the Texas Medical Center,  and Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Memberships and Civic Work: Member Board of Directors, Executive Committee of Alley Theatre, Development Board Member, Executive Committee of The University of Texas Health Science Center. Mrs. Orton is a highly respected leader in the Houston community and is also active with the United Way, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and has previously served as a board member with numerous other Houston health care, arts, and charitable organizations.

Joseph (Joe) W. Royce

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2022-present

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Southwestern University, Law degree from the University of Texas

Career: Senior Counsel, Gray Reed & McGraw LLP, Trustee, Ralph H. and Ruth J. McCullough Foundation; Trustee, Phi Delta Theta Foundation; Trustee, William A. and Madeline Welder Smith Foundation; Member of Advisory Council, Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas

Personal: Surviving husband of Jacque Royce, a longtime member of the RRF Board of Managing Directors.

H. Richard Walton   TREASURER

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2009–present; Treasurer 2016–present

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Westminster College in economics and business administration.

Career: Chief financial officer emeritus of Flotek Industries, Inc., a public, technology-driven company that develops and supplies energy chemistries and oilfield products, services, and equipment. Prior to joining Flotek, Mr. Walton spent his entire 30-year career in public accounting, including 20 years as an audit partner at KPMG LLP. His experience includes financial statement audits and registration of securities with the SEC. Mr. Walton is a certified public accountant and has served as an officer in the United States Army.

Memberships and Civic Work: Member of the board of directors of DePelchin Children’s Center and Pennies for Education and Health. He also serves on the audit and finance committee of Houston Hospice.

Lawrence P. Washington

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2023–present; Board of Advisory Directors 1996-2023; Board of Managing Directors 1993-1996; Treasurer 1994-1996

Education: BBA degree in accounting and economics from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Career: Managing Director and Operating Committee member at Bank of America. Former Chairman/CEO of Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust, FSB and Merrill Lynch Credit Corp. Held senior roles at Citi, Golden State Bancorp, and First Gibraltar Bank.  Served on the Residential Board of Governors of the Mortgage Bankers Association; Fannie Mae National Advisory Council; Board of Directors MERSCORP; Urban Institute’s Mortgage Servicing Collaborative and was chairman of the Texas Society of CPAs State Banking Committee. Began career at KPMG as a CPA.

Awards: First recipient of Bank of America’s “Adelante Award” for executive leadership of Hispanic/Latino advancement – served on Global Diversity and Inclusion Council and was Executive Sponsor of the Hispanic/Latino Leadership Council.  RRF Service Award, Mortgage Bankers Association Legion.

Personal:  Larry and his wife Jackie have three children and eight grandchildren.

Arthur W. Willis, Jr., MD      PRESIDENT

RRF Board Service: Board of Scientific Advisors 1976–1997; Board of Managing Directors 2002–present; Fund Drive Chair 2003, 2019-2020

Education: Undergraduate and medical degrees from Indiana University. Ophthalmology residency at Medical College of Georgia; retinal specialty training at Baylor College of Medicine under Dr. Alice McPherson.

Career: Captain in the U.S. Air Force in the Vietnam War. He began his career as a vitreoretinal surgeon with McPherson Retina Associates at Baylor College of Medicine in 1973. In 1998 he joined the Retina and Vitreous of Texas practice; clinical associate professor of ophthalmology at Baylor.

Memberships: AAO, AMA, Harris Country Medical Society, Texas Medical Association, Texas Society for the Prevention of Blindness, American Board of Ophthalmology, Fellow of American College of Surgeons, American Society of Retina Specialists

Affiliations: Baylor College of Medicine, Methodist Hospital, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Ben Taub General Hospital, VA Medical Center, Memorial Hermann Hospital, Gramercy Outpatient Surgery Center

Personal: A licensed pilot, he has used his own aircraft to aid the Air Life Line of Texas in bringing patients to and from the Texas Medical Center.

R. Malcolm Wooley

RRF Board Service: Board of Managing Directors 2000–present; Fund Drive Chair 2000

Education: Graduated from Baylor University, where he attended on a tennis scholarship.

Career: After serving in the Air Force Medical Corps, he entered the financial services field. With over 50 years of experience, he has published articles and spoken on various financial issues to employees of major corporations, members of foreign stock exchanges, and universities in the United States and Asia. He was selected as the Executive in Residence (Adjunct Professor) in the University of North Carolina system, where he taught finance and participated in academic studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Mr. Wooley has been an Investment Advisor Representative with three different Fortune 500 companies throughout his investment career.

Community Involvement: He has served on the Board of Directors of a Houston bank as well as various church committees. He has been a volunteer tennis coach at two different high schools.