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board profile ALAN D. FRIEDMAN
Dallas and Fort Worth may be separated by 40 miles and bumper-to-bumper traffic, but board member Alan D. Friedman has feet firmly planted in both cities. He has solid connections to both Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas in the east and Baylor Scott & White Health All Saints Medical Center in the west.“ I know more people casually in D-FW than just about anybody,” Alan said.
Alan’ s sister-in-law, Joan Friedman, serves as vice chair of the Baylor All Saints board. And one of Alan’ s uncles, Albert Goggins, M. D., was a cardiologist who practiced at Baylor All Saints and was a partner with Bobby Brown, M. D., also a cardiologist, who had previously played professional baseball with the Yankees and later was president of the American League.
“ Dr. Brown and my dad were good friends, but enemies on the tennis court,” Alan said.“ When dad had his heart attack 18 years ago, Baylor All Saints is the hospital he went to,” he recalled.“ The doctors did every conceivable thing they could do to save his life. We’ ve always had a fondness for that hospital, and continue to support it as well as Baylor Dallas.” Baylor All Saints has a wing named after Alan’ s father— the Bayard H. Friedman Progressive Care Unit.
The Fort Worth native graduated from Arlington Heights High School and attended Texas Christian University for a year before heading to The University of Texas at Austin to complete his degree in finance.“ Fort Worth was a bit too familiar to me,” Alan said,“ so my sophomore year, I transferred to UT and joined about 75 percent of my high school friends.”
His roots in Cowtown run deep, but Alan’ s no stranger to Big D. His career started at First National Bank, where he first met Foundation president Rowland K. Robinson. From banking, he ventured into commercial real estate, developing and acquiring office projects in Dallas-Fort Worth and around the country with and for various institutional partners.
“ Robin and I have been friends for a long time, and he was kind enough to ask me to join this board,” Alan said.“ We have a common interest in all things Western and have both been members of the Salesmanship Club for a number of years.”
Alan is president of Trisept, Inc., which invests in various real estate and infrastructure projects. He has been a trustee for TCU for nearly two decades, serves on the Salvation Army board and is a trustee of the Mary Potishman Land Trust. What do you enjoy about serving on the Baylor Foundation board?
The board meetings are so informative— I don’ t want to miss one. With all of the advances in the medical field and the increasing regulatory challenges, it is always interesting to hear how Baylor is proactively fighting the good fight, addressing the present and preparing for the future. How would you describe Baylor?
The greater Baylor system is like a medical mall with an incredibly deep talent pool of doctors, nurses, therapists and resources. So, no matter what medical issue one might be dealing with, they are able to connect a patient to the right expert or team of experts to address the need. What do you do when you’ re not working?
I enjoy family, golf, traveling, bird hunting, fishing and ranching. Ranching is great because nobody puts a handicap on it. So, most people don’ t know if you are good or bad at it. As for fly-fishing, I’ m really mediocre but passionate about it.
ALAN FRIEDMAN
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