Kathleen Rydar to head UCSF Eye Foundation

Kathleen Rydar has been named president of That Man May See, the eye research foundation that supports the UCSF School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology as well as patient care at UCSF Medical Center. Her appointment took effect on April 1.

“We feel extremely fortunate to have recruited someone of Kathleen’s experience and stature.  She has had a long string of fund-raising successes.  Most recently, she was counsel for The Tech Museum of Innovation’s capital campaign, which exceeded $130 million,” said Steve Smith, chairman of That Man May See’s board of directors.

“She is joining us as the ophthalmology department is developing ambitious plans to add additional endowed professorships and new laboratories and to launch innovative research initiatives that address the leading causes of blindness worldwide,” said Creig Hoyt, MD, chairman of the UCSF Department of Ophthalmology. That Man May See will also play a role in meeting the ophthalmology department’s future facilities needs, he explained.

For the past 12 years, Rydar has headed her own development consulting firm, The Rydar Group, whose many clients included That Man May See.  Previous to that she led the development efforts at the San Francisco Ballet, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.  Her previous employers also include the University of Southern California and Purdue University.  She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kent State University and is a resident of San Francisco.

“I come to That Man May See with great passion for the cause, as the funds we raise can save sight and save lives,” says Rydar. “UCSF researchers and physicians are making a difference in vision care across the age spectrum, from infants to seniors. Their efforts are helping people around the world, as well as in the Bay Area.”

Kathleen succeeds her late husband, Thomas Wood Boyden, in the presidential post.  He directed philanthropic efforts for ophthalmology research and care at UCSF for 10 years and died suddenly on Sept. 29, 2003, at his home in San Francisco.

That Man May See is a nonprofit, gift-supported public benefit corporation. Since its founding in 1971, That Man May See has raised over $40 million in endowments and operating funds to support research, teaching and patient care in the UCSF Department of Ophthalmology.  Among its most significant accomplishments has been securing the funding for construction of the Beckman Vision Center, The Koret Vision Research Laboratory and the Vision Care and Research Unit at UCSF Medical Center. That Man May See also assisted with the fund-raising for the ophthalmology department’s eight endowed professorships and its numerous research funds.

For more information about That Man May See, contact Karen Brownstein at 415-476-4016 or [email protected].