FOUNDATION FIGHTING BLINDNESS TO HONOR
UBS VICE CHAIRMAN

AND COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER CHAIRMAN WITH VISIONARY AWARDS

Banking On A Cure Dinner January 19 to Support Sight-Saving Research

The Foundation Fighting Blindness (www.FightBlindness.org) will honor Aryeh B. Bourkoff, Vice Chairman, Global Head of Telecom, Media, and Technology Investment Banking, UBS Investment Bank; and Stanley Chang, M.D., Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Medical Center, with Visionary Awards at the Banking on a Cure Awards Dinner January 19 at The Plaza. The event will benefit the Foundation Fighting Blindness, whose urgent mission is driving the research that will provide preventions, treatments and cures for people affected with retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases.

·         Honoree Aryeh B. Bourkoff:  Recognized as one of Fortune’s 40 under 40 in 2010, Bourkoff made the rare jump from media analyst to investment banker. He has been at the forefront of numerous innovative arrangements involving Comcast, NBC, Charter Communications and Sirius XM Radio, among others, shaping the way the modern world communicates and consumes entertainment.

·         Honoree Dr. Stanley Chang: Consistently named as one of America’s best doctors, Dr. Chang has developed and pioneered several revolutionary surgical approaches to treat complicated forms of retinal detachment, improving outcomes for patients worldwide.

·         Dinner Trustee Chair Iris Spiegel and her daughter Tali: A Foundation Fighting Blindness National Trustee, Iris has worked to drive retinal research. Tali is affected with retinitis pigmentosa, but Foundation-funded researchers in Israel have identified her mutated gene, which opens the door for potential gene therapy and other treatments.

·         Dinner Co-Chairs: Daniel G. Bergstein, Foundation Fighting Blindness Board Member who has three generations of family members affected by vision-robbing diseases, and Ehren Stenzler, Joint Deputy Head of US Mergers & Acquisitions and Head of Telecom, Media, and Technology Mergers & Acquisitions at UBS.

The evening will include performances by Tali Spiegel, longtime singer, and Justin Kauflin, celebrated jazz pianist who suffers from an eye disease, as well as comedian Jake Johannsen, currently starring in his own Showtime comedy special. NBC News Correspondent Peter Alexander, whose sister is affected with Usher syndrome, will serve as emcee.