The Role of Philanthropy in Innovation: Dr. Bennett Nemser, Chief Program Officer at the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation

“I think philanthropy’s role oftentimes is to come in and be the innovator,” says Dr. Bennett Nemser who is in a good position to do that as chief program officer at the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation managing its health portfolios. Perhaps the best example of this is its involvement in psychedelic research where the Foundation is one of the largest private funders in the country including being a major backer of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine. While he is excited about the progress being made in that space, Nemser says the Foundation is intent on ensuring equitable access to any new therapies that emerge, one of the organization’s chief overall aims. “We need to get the price point down so that we can make sure we have access to a lot more people that can benefit from this.” As Nemser tells Raise the Line host Shiv Gaglani, the Foundation is seeking to have similar impact in other critical areas. “We’ve provided over a billion dollars in charitable support to underserved communities, children's health and education, the arts, Lyme and tick-borne disease, psychedelics, veterans services and sustainability.” Don’t miss this expansive look at philanthropy’s change-making potential.

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