Event Recap: An Evening of Exploration, October 14, 2021
An Evening of Exploration welcomed 150 live and approximately 300 virtual guests to Northmoor Country Club in Highland Park to enjoy the evening, update supporters, and raise funds relating to the GPF Foundation’s (GPFF) mission.
Emceed by WGN Morning News anchor Larry Potash, the event provided the crowd with an overview of the Foundation’s current initiatives and an opportunity to hear from a range of GPFF stakeholders, including its founders, interns, fellows, board of directors, and medical professionals involved in its work, most notably Dr. Jerrold B. Leiken, the recipient of the GPF Foundation Harm Reduction Award.
The highlight of the evening was the keynote address given by acclaimed astronaut, astrophysicist, former NASA Chief Scientist and Highland Park native son John Grunsfeld. Dr. Grunsfeld shared with the audience anecdotes and photos of his amazing career, which included five missions, eight spacewalks and groundbreaking work on the Hubble telescope.
Representing Chicago School of Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University, Lexie Kessler (a fourth-year medical student), Alex Woods (a fourth-year medical student) and Dagmara Zajac (a third-year pharmacy student) spoke about their experiences developing, piloting and now studying the efficacy of the peer-to-peer presentation model that forms the core of the GPF Foundation’s Education Initiative. GPFF is proud to facilitate opportunities for collaborative practice among this next generation of medical professionals.
Master illusionist and Foundation friend Dan White (Magician at the Nomad) brought the night to a close with a magical revelation of one simple and meaningful word: “Thanks.” With the 2021 event now ended and preparations for programmatic growth in 2022 underway, the GPF Foundation takes this opportunity to repeat its message again, simply, powerfully, and directly to every person who supported An Evening of Exploration: Thank you!
All funds raised through An Evening of Exploration will be utilized for GPFF’s mission to support education, appropriate treatment and overall awareness of the dangers related to recreational drug use. Read more about the GPFF’s Educational & Medical Initiatives.
If you were unable to attend, but want to support the GPF Foundation’s work, it is never too late to give. Visit our Donation Page today.