SPECIAL FEATURE | THE PHILANTHROPIC
JAMES A MACCUTCHEON
BRET AND AMY BAIER The FOX 5 “Special Report” anchor and his wife, along with her parents Paul and Barbara Hills, donated $1 million to Children’s National Medical Center where their son Paul has had several open heart surgeries and angioplasties.The donation led to the opening of the Paul Francis Baier Comprehensive Media Room which allows critical care staff to have access and review diagnostic images and tests in one place.
STEVE AND DIANE GOLDBERG Generous donors to Children’s National Medical Center, the couple made philanthropic headlines in 2008 when their giving to the Center surpassed $50 million. Longtime supporters of children’s and health causes, they also give to the Children’s Law Center, The American Red Cross, Washington AIDS Partnership, B’Nai Israel, and the Wiezmann Institute of Science.
BOB AND PAULA HISAOKA When his sister Joan lost her battle with cancer, Bob Hisaoka vowed to keep her memory alive by working to assist those living with the disease. Through the $700,000 raised by the Joan Hisaoka Gala in both 2008 and 2009, they have worked to support the Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts, which provides retreats, workshops, and a healing arts gallery for cancer patients.
SHEILA JOHNSON The BET-TV co-founder has dedicated both time and dollars to the fight against HIV/AIDS. This year, she produced “The Other City,” a documentary about the AIDS epidemic in Washington. She has said that the fight against HIV gripped her in part because it is disproportionately affecting women. A seven-figure donor to the New School, U-Va., and CARE, Johnson’s “I am Powerful” challenge for CARE raised $4 million as a matching gift to the $4 million she donated in 2007.
Joe Robert
WA S H I N G T O N L I F E
Serving as director of Comstock Homebuilding Companies Inc. since 2004 and president and CEO of Sunburst Hospitality Corporation since 2000, MacCutcheon, who resides in Virginia, has amassed a fortune which he has been quietly giving away to health causes. He sits on the board of the Children’s Hospital Foundation, and last year made a seven-figure donation to Children’s National Medical Center. His family’s foundation, The MacCutcheon Family Foundation, sponsored this year’s Leukemia Ball.
JOHN M MCMAHAN Often recognized as a “CEO you need to know,” the chairman of Miller & Long Concrete Construction in Bethesda donated $2 million to the Suburban Hospital Foundation in March 2009. McMahan announced that his financial contribution was in recognition of the doctors and staff who saved his life during a heart attack by performing cardiac bypass surgery.
on Women’s Health’s Heart Attack Campaign Expert Panel, and Howard University’s Women’s Health Institute Advisory Committee.
JOE ROBERT JR Currently fighting his own battle with cancer, Robert has long supported causes that benefit children’s health care and education. His organization Fight for Children has raised more than $105 million to support more than 150 youth-oriented organizations in the area. In a cause close to his heart, Robert was chairman of the $300-million Comprehensive Campaign at Children’s National Medical Center, which led to the establishment of the Joseph E. Robert Jr. Center for Surgical Care there. To help see it through, he gave a personal gift of $25 million and was a driving force in the $150 million gift from the government of Abu Dhabi to create the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation. Recently, Robert said au revoir to his locks and raised $100,000 for the first Be Brave & Shave event benefiting the cancer programs at Children’s.
CONNIE MILSTEIN Milstein, principal and co-founder of Ogden CAP Properties, LLC, recently directed the reconstruction of the historic Jefferson Hotel. Philanthropically, she has long been a supporter of medical research and serves on the board of CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy), a non-profit dedicated to finding a cure for the disease. Milstein is a supporter of the American Heart Association, and is the founder and a current board member of Medical Missions for Children. A sevenfigure donor to her alma mater, New York University, Milstein is also an advocate of military service and is a board member of Blue Star Families. Locally, she supports the National Symphony Orchestra and Refugees International.
IRENE POLLIN Irene and her late husband Abe Pollin, have helped shape the face of our city by sparking the surge in neighborhood development with the construction of the Verizon Center. With Abe’s passing, Irene continues to carry the torch. She established the annual Pollin Prize for Pediatric Research in 2002 and founded Sister to Sister, the women’s heart health foundation. She is a member of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Round Table, the DHHS Office
Amy and Bret Baier
| J U N E | washingtonlife.com
Sheila Johnson
Jeanne Ruesch
JEANNE RUESCH Well known for her arts philanthropy, particularly with regard to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Ruesch also gives generously to the field of medicine. Most recently she gave a $6.75 million gift in memory of her husband Otto, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2004. The Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers will fund gastrointestinal cancer research, drug discovery and patient advocacy efforts at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Ruesch also supports the National Rehabilitation Hospital and Sibley Hospital.
TOM AND RACHEL SULLIVAN The Sullivan family’s personal experience with breast cancer provided the inspiration for Sibley Hospital’s first Celebration of Hope & Progress gala, now in its tenth year. The evolving groundswell of support for the hospital’s cancer programs and services has had an impact upon thousands of Washington area patients and their loved ones. Mr. Sullivan, who serves as a member of Sibley’s board of trustees, has also helped to establish Sibley’s Sullivan Center for Breast Health, which has emerged as a national model in providing expert medical care.
Diane and Steve Goldberg
Bob and Paula Hisaoka
47