Michael L. Penn, Sr.

Secretary, Glaucoma Research Foundation Board of Directors

While attending Tennessee State University in Nashville, board member Michael L. Penn, Sr. worked with civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and has been an acknowledged leader and persuasive champion of causes that benefit the African-American community ever since.

“Individual rights in our community were an early motivator for me,” says Penn, “but Dr. King was adamant then that education and health are also areas essential for a fulfilled and fulfilling life. Certainly those are all priorities that continue to be of highest interest to me and my family today.”

Family includes two sons, Michael Jr. and Marcus, both graduates from Morehouse College. Michael Jr., now a prominent executive at Genentech, completed his MD PhD at UCSF. Marcus, in the UCSF Department of Radiation Oncology, earned his MD at Howard University. Both brothers are featured in the book, Finding Your North: Self-Help Strategies for Science-Related Careers. Michael Jr (and Frederick Moore, PhD) are editors and publishers of the book; Marcus contributed the chapter “Meeting Yourself at the Crossroads: A Personal Journey through Medical School.”

Michael L. Penn, Sr. is the founding chairman of Glaucoma Research Foundation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Glaucoma Awareness Initiative. He was the founding Executive Director of the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce, served on the board of the San Francisco Visitors and Convention Bureau, is a past president of the San Francisco chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and was co-chair of the Campaign for the construction of Jones Memorial Church. He was an administrator and faculty member for 15 years at California State University East Bay (formerly, Hayward), where he was the first African-American Financial Aid Director.