Board Spotlight: Howard Grill
If the GI Research Foundation is a family – as so many volunteers, donors, and friends affectionately call it – Howard Grill is its next patriarch. For more than 25 years, he has dedicated his time and knowledge to advance GIRF’s mission.
From starting out as a young professional on the Associates Board to his current position as Vice President of Finance on the Foundation Board, Howard has served in every executive role, including many years as Ball Chair and as GIRF’s longest serving president of both the Foundation Board and the Associates Board.
In 1979, as a sophomore at the University of Illinois, Howard was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Unable to find the right care in Champaign, Howard came to the University of Chicago where he was successfully treated for the disease. Twenty years later, while working as a CPA in Chicago, Howard once again came to UChicago Medicine where he was successfully treated for another digestive disease – colon cancer.
Today, Howard lends his professional expertise, as Chief Financial Officer of The Alter Group, to chair the Finance Committee, and continues to help steer the Ball Committee.
Like so many Board Members, Howard was introduced to GIRF as a grateful patient. Today, it is GIRF who is grateful to Howard for his enduring commitment to its mission.