Deborah Brooks Tu'86, CEO and president of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, has been named one of America's top businesswomen by PINK magazine and the Fort Foundation. The list, "Game Changers: America's Top Women in Business," features 15 women innovators in the business world.
PINK, which covers topics related to women in business, along with the Forte Foundation, a non-profit organization that encourages women to become trailblazers in the business community, recognized Brooks for her work with the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
Brooks, who has been with the MJFF since its inception in 2000, said that she was flattered by the recognition and also grateful that PINK is highlighting the alternative approaches of many businesswomen.
"It was nice to see that PINK magazine was zeroing in on businesswomen who were going about things in a different way," Brooks said. "I was excited that the magazine recognized the Michael J. Fox Foundation -- it was a great opportunity to draw attention to the innovative work of the foundation."
Brooks has brought her business experience to her work at the MJFF, something relatively unique for a director in the non-profit sector. After graduating from the College of William and Mary with a degree in economics, Brooks went on to receive an MBA from the Tuck School of Business and received an masters of science in marital and family therapy from Northwestern University.
Before being chosen as founding director of the MJFF, Brooks worked as vice president in the Fixed Income and Asset Management division of Goldman Sachs for nine years. She eventually switched to the non-profit sector, leading the Harvard Eating Disorders Center and working as a manager for a dance company.
Brooks said that although her experience at Goldman Sachs was rewarding and stimulating, she felt a need to perform a community service though which she could bring something new to the non-profit sector.
"It is not very common that people in the non-profit sector come from a business background," said Brooks. "My business experience and training has served as a powerful tool for launching a startup non-profit."
Brooks also said that her success at Goldman Sachs led her to realize that being a player in the business world and being of service to the community were not mutually exclusive and that she could do both.
She said that when Michael J. Fox contacted her she felt an immediate connection to the project and the possibilities such an opportunity would offer.
"As I explored the possibility of working with Michael J. Fox, I thought, what an incredible opportunity,'" Brooks said. "I had had some experience with startup non-profits and I thought it would be a fantastic challenge. My gut feeling was that this was something I wanted and needed to do."
Brooks said that she and Fox share a similar vision and were both undaunted by the large task of building a foundation.
When asked what advice she would impart to young women hoping to make a mark on the business world, Brooks cited the importance of questioning and a hunger to learn.
"I think it is important to face every opportunity assuming there is more to learn," she said. "If I had to describe myself, I would say I'm a passionate problem-solver. And I believe, to be an effective problem solver, you have to be passionately curious."
