Philanthropy on the Brain

Center for BrainHealth bestows highest honors on deserving Dallas visionary

More than 250 guests celebrated Veterans Day at The Joule for the Legacy Award Dinner presented by the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas. Lyda Hill was this year’s recipient of the organization’s highest honor, because of her vision and dedication to brain research that enables the center to explore the vast potential of the human mind.

Chairperson Lynn McBee got the evening started, sharing Hill’s path to recognition and commending her for giving so much to those who have served and for living her life of service with such gusto. McBee said that it was her hope that Hill be celebrated with such gusto on this special evening.

Four of the Center for BrainHealth’s veterans then presented the award to Hill, who accepted it to a standing ovation by guests, including Toni and Boone Pickens, Charles and Pat McEvoy, Gayle and Paul Stoffel, and Molly and Stephen Holley.

Hill explained that her nephew, Michael Wisenbaker, deserved a lot of the credit. An Air Force F-16 pilot and Iraq war veteran, he urged her to find a solution to an underfunded challenge: the often overwhelming and unseen injuries of war that make the transition from military to civilian life difficult for veterans and military service members.

She accepted his mission and gave $2 million to the Center for BrainHealth’s Brain Performance Institute to activate the Warrior Training Team, mobile units of clinicians and veterans who deliver effective, evidence-based programs that build brain resilience, achieve brain regeneration and reverse losses in cognitive function.

“Thanks to Lyda’s gift, our brothers and sisters in arms are getting the opportunity to focus on training their brains with the same intensity that they do their bodies,” said retired US Navy SEAL Lt. Morgan Luttrell.

The Center for BrainHealth at UTD is a scientific research institute committed to understanding, protecting and healing the brain. The Warrior Training Team has reached more than 500. Projections for next year are in the thousands.

Michael Wisenbaker, Lindsey Wisenbaker

Michael and Lindsey Wisenbaker, Legacy Award Dinner

Photo by Kristina Bowman

Michael Wisenbaker, Lindsey Wisenbaker

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Gala preview

Dallas' most glam fall gala to honor Hollywood superstar Charlize Theron

Universal Pictures Presents "The Odyssey" Paris Premiere

Photo by Pierre Mouton/Getty Images for Universal Pictures

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Hollywood star Charlize Theron will be the guest of honor at one of Dallas' hottest-ticket galas of 2026: She will receive amfAR's Award of Inspiration at the organization's black-tie ball on October 24.

For a second year, the glamorous fall fundraiser will take place at the home of Kathleen and Scott Kirby, a release says. Taking over where Dallas' TWO x TWO gala left off when it ended in 2024, the amFAR gala has quickly become one of Dallas' marquee social events, drawing philanthropists, collectors, and high-profile guests in support of amfAR's mission to end HIV/AIDS.

Theron, who won an Oscar for Monster, is currently on a worldwide press tour ahead of her starring role in one of the summer's biggest movies, The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated adaptation of the Homer epic (opening July 17).

Beyond her film career, Theron serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace and founded the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), which supports organizations focused on youth health, HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health, and combating gender-based violence across Southern Africa.

"Charlize Theron’s longstanding support of amfAR and HIV/AIDS care and prevention through her own foundation make her an inspiration to us all," said amfAR CEO Kyle Clifford in a statement. "We are grateful to her for her tireless work and are thrilled to be able to recognize her at our event in Dallas this year."

According to amfAR, programs supported by CTAOP have reached more than 4.8 million young people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Theron and the foundation also launched the Together for Her campaign with CARE and the Entertainment Industry Foundation to address gender-based violence, and later partnered with the Ford Foundation to advocate for global vaccine equity.

Founded in 1985, amfAR has invested more than $950 million in research grants supporting HIV/AIDS and other diseases in which viruses and the immune system play a significant role. Over the past 26 years, supporters in North Texas have raised more than $66.5 million to advance amFAR's ongoing HIV research and global health initiatives, the organization says.

This year's gala will feature cocktails, a seated dinner, musical performances, and a live auction offering luxury goods, travel experiences, and contemporary art. Tickets and table sponsorships are now available, starting at $2,500.

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