JDRF International President & CEO
Mr. Brewer, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, has been a passionate JDRF volunteer and donor for the past eight years, playing a key leadership role in the organization's research activities. He became involved with JDRF since soon after his son, Sean, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2002. He has served as a director of JDRF's International Board since 2004, is a reviewer on JDRF's Lay Review Committee (which judges the potential of diabetes research from the perspective of people impacted by diabetes), and has been an active member and donor for the foundation's New York Chapter.
"Jeffrey Brewer has all the qualities we were looking for in a leader for JDRF: experience in managing large and growing organizations, a detailed understanding of diabetes research, and a track record of success," said Frank Ingrassia, Chairman of the JDRF Board of Directors. "When you add to that a drive and passion for finding a cure, based on his own family experience with diabetes and the people around the world he has met in his years as a volunteer with JDRF, that's a terrific combination to help us speed progress towards the cure."
Mr. Brewer is the founder and a former senior executive of two successful internet businesses: Overture Services, which was acquired by Yahoo, where he served as CEO; and CitySearch, which is now a division of USA Interactive, where he was Chief Technology Officer. Since 2003, Mr. Brewer has served as Executive Chairman of Kickstart International, an award-winning non-profit organization providing poverty-stricken populations, primarily in Africa, with a revolutionary approach to becoming self-sufficient.
As a JDRF volunteer, he has been particularly involved in leading the organization's Artificial Pancreas Project, which over the past four years has significantly accelerated both academic and industry research leading to the development of automated systems to better control diabetes in children, teens, and adults. In addition to improving the lives of people with type 1 diabetes, the improved control that these systems can provide will lower the risk of dangerous low-blood sugar emergencies, reduce the risk of long-term complications, and potentially improve the efficacy of cures and treatments as they become available.
"As a volunteer, it is so humbling and rewarding to work side by side with our passionate volunteers and our impressive staff in our collective effort to advance the pace of research leading to better treatments and cures for people with diabetes," Mr. Brewer said. "I feel we are on the cusp of exciting research progress that can make a real difference in the lives of people living with this terrible disease - including some tangible advances delivered to patients in the not-too-distant future. I'm honored to become a full-time part of driving us towards our goals, and helping us translate research into drugs and devices that will help people with type 1 diabetes live better, longer and healthier, and ultimately to remove this disease from people's lives forever."
Mr. Brewer was co-founder of Overture Services, formerly known as GoTo.com, in 1998; he also served as CEO and a director. GoTo.com was the first pay-for-placement and pay-for-click search advertising system, and set the standard for the current model of search advertising. After going public in 1999,, the company was acquired by Yahoo in 2002.
Previously, he co-founded CitySearch in 1995, where he was a director, Chief Technology Officer, and Vice President of Development. CitySearch was the first online city guide providing current localized information and recommendations for arts and entertainment events, community activities, shopping and services. It went public in 1998.
Mr. Brewer has a degree in Economics from Southern Methodist University. He and his wife Deborah live in New York City with their daughter, Katherine, and son, Sean.
To help you better understand what is involved in participating in a clinical trial, and to simplify the process of finding trials that are of interest to you (or your child), JDRF has created an online customized clinical trials listing service - the JDRF Clinical Trials Connection.
JDRF offers a variety of local and national e-publications to help you stay connected to the information you care about.
As the leading charitable funder of diabetes research worldwide, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International offers a wide variety of grants and fellowships to qualified diabetes researchers.
Visit the JDRF International website to learn more.
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