# BrightFocus Foundation

BrightFocus Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in Clarksburg, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Clarksburg, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 22512 Gateway Center Drive, Clarksburg, MD 20871, United States
- **Founded:** 1973
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** brightfocus.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/brightfocus-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

BrightFocus Foundation was founded in 1973 to fund research on diseases of the brain and eye. President and CEO Stacy Pagos Haller oversees a dual structure: a grantmaking engine that backs labs worldwide and an investment portfolio that includes a headquarters building at 22512 Gateway Center Drive and an additional commercial rental property, both in Clarksburg, Maryland. The foundation deploys capital through three research programs — Alzheimer's Disease Research, Macular Degeneration Research, and National Glaucoma Research. Its investment vehicle mix spans private equity, private credit, and private real estate funds. The board includes practicing capital allocators: Herbert L. Drayton III, Managing Partner of HI Mark Capital, and Dale Young, Chairman and CEO of Summit Financial Group. Honorary board member Stanley B. Prusiner won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of prions. The organization participates in the Corporate & Foundation Circle alongside partners Biogen, Eisai, Genentech, Eli Lilly, and Regeneron. It also maintains an ambassador role in the National Eye Health Education Program. No team headcount or recent fundraising event is publicly available. BrightFocus is a rare hybrid: a disease foundation acting as a direct real estate owner and limited partner across multiple private-market strategies. Its board blends scientific prestige — a Nobel laureate — with active private-market allocators, making it closer in structure to a small endowment than a typical grantmaking charity.

## Sectors

- Healthcare Services

## People

- Stacy Pagos Haller — President and CEO
- Patricia McGlothlin Stewart — Chair of the Board
- Herbert L. Drayton III — Board Member
- Dale Young — Board Member
- Stanley B. Prusiner, MD — Honorary Board Member

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at BrightFocus Foundation?

President and CEO Stacy Pagos Haller oversees strategy and operations. The board includes Herbert L. Drayton III of HI Mark Capital and Dale Young of Summit Financial Group, both active private-market investors. Day-to-day management of the commercial properties and fund commitments is handled internally.

### How is BrightFocus structured as an asset owner?

It operates as a not-for-profit foundation with a direct commercial real estate portfolio in Clarksburg, Maryland, alongside private equity, private credit, and private real estate fund commitments. This places it closer to a small endowment than a grantmaking charity that outsources everything.

### Which diseases does BrightFocus fund research for?

The foundation runs three named programs: Alzheimer's Disease Research, Macular Degeneration Research, and National Glaucoma Research. Grants support labs and researchers worldwide.

### Does BrightFocus take co-investment or direct private equity stakes?

Available information shows fund commitments across private equity, credit, and real estate. There is no public evidence of direct co-investment or SPV-level participation.

### Is BrightFocus purely a grantmaker, or does it manage a proprietary investment portfolio?

It manages a proprietary investment portfolio that includes commercial real estate in Maryland and limited-partner interests in private-market funds. Grantmaking runs alongside these holdings.

## Related profiles

- [Assurant Inc. Retirement Health Benefits Plan](https://altss.com/profile/assurant-inc-retirement-health-benefits-plan)
- [Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/charlotte-w-newcombe-foundation)

---

Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/brightfocus-foundation

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology