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A group of eleven new board members posing in front of a Center for BrainHealth New Board Orientation banner.

New Advisory Board Members Unite Around a Shared Vision for Brain Health

Center for BrainHealth

As the need for lifelong brain health has never been more urgent, a new group of community leaders is stepping forward to expand awareness, engagement and impact across North Texas and beyond.Center for BrainHealth at UT Dallas has appointed new members to its 2026-27 Advisory Board, bringing together leaders from business, health care, science, technology, real estate and philanthropy who share a commitment to advancing brain health for all.United by the belief that brain health is essential to quality of life, these volunteer leaders will champion the center’s mission to transform the way people understand, protect and strengthen their brains throughout life. Through advocacy, partnership-building and community engagement, they will help connect more individuals, families and organizations to BrainHealth’s science-backed tools and strategies, empowering people to thrive at every age and stage of life.

New board members for 2026-27:

  • Col. David Bowers (Ret.) – Senior Army Account Executive, Google
  • Leonardo González Sangri – Partner & Global Practice Director, HKS, Inc.
  • Ben Green – Director, Fortress Investment Group
  • Tammy Hughes – President, Ultimate Longevity Centers
  • Tim Hughes – Founder & CEO, Falcon Realty Advisors, LLC
  • Kendra Karlock, JD – Attorney at Law
  • Abe Minkara – Founding Partner, Legacy Knight
  • Basil Mitchell – Managing Partner, Braveheartt Consulting, LLC
  • Sarah Pugh – Founder & Chief Designer, Studio Sarie
  • Theo Ross – Chief Development Officer, IDEAYA Biosciences
  • Jay Rosser – Director, Estate of T. Boone Pickens
  • Taylor Russ – Managing Director, Lument
  • Kamilia Smith, MD – Physician Owner, Charleston House Gynecology
  • Melissa Tidwell – Customer Success Leader, Edmentum
  • Alicia Weber – Board-Certified Holistic Nutritionist & Owner, Weber Therapeutic Nutrition
After serving as vice chair for the past two years, Craig Kennington, partner at Kennington Commercial, begins his two-year term as board chair, with longtime board member and BrainHealth advocate Andy Walsh serving as vice chair.Together, Craig and Andy are leading a vision centered on deepening community engagement and expanding access to brain health knowledge and resources. Under their leadership, the Advisory Board will focus on strengthening connections between the center and the communities it serves, inspiring more individuals, families and organizations to make brain health a lifelong priority.

About Center for BrainHealth

Center for BrainHealth®, part of The University of Texas at Dallas, is a nonprofit translational research institute committed to enhancing, preserving, and restoring brain health across the lifespan. Major research areas include the use of functional and structural neuroimaging techniques to better understand the neurobiology supporting the continual growth of cognition, well-being and social connections in health and disease. This leading-edge scientific exploration is translated quickly into practical innovations to improve how people think, work and live, empowering people of all ages to thrive and unlock their brain potential. Translational innovations leverage 1) the BrainHealth Index, a proprietary measure that uniquely charts one's upward (or downward) brain health trajectory whatever their starting level; and 2) Strategic Memory Advanced Reasoning Tactics (SMART™) brain health training, a strategy-based toolkit developed and tested by BrainHealth researchers and other teams over three decades. The center's landmark longitudinal study, The BrainHealth Project, launched in 2020 with the goal of identifying actionable strategies for optimizing brain health throughout life, uncovering the dynamic relationship between lifestyle factors, biological markers, brain training and cognitive performance. It is co-led by Dr. Sandi Chapman, Dr. Mark D'Esposito, Dr. Geoff Ling, Dr. Ian Robertson, Dr. Vince Calhoun and Tom Leppert, with Georgeann and Adm. William McRaven (ret.) serving as national spokespersons.

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Headshot of Craig Kennington, Limitless BrainHealth Campaign and BrainHealth Advisory Board. New board member spotlight, Q4 2021. Founder and CEO, Santa Regina.

Craig Kennington

Board Chair BrainHealth Champion

Andy Walsh, BrainHealth Advisory Board member.

Andy Walsh

Vice Board Chair BrainHealth Champion

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