Sue Severson Elected as Board Chair of Brain Chemistry Labs

    Known for her active involvement in the Orinda community, Sue Severson is moving into a new role as board chair at Brain Chemistry Labs (BCL), a non-profit dedicated to research and development for those who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases.
    Severson was elected on Sept. 14 and said this position will help her continue the legacy of former Chair, Bill Egan.
    “It allows me to continue working with the extremely talented BCL board members and scientists in a great cause that may significantly improve the lives of patients and their families and bring hope and prevent the historic devastation these diseases have caused around the world.”
    Severson said BCL’s team cares about improving patient outcomes, not profits.
    “Both laboratory and in vivo studies strongly indicate their innovative approach is working, including recent amazing accomplishments to find diagnostic tools, treatments and cures for ALS, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease,” she said.
    Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Severson earned degrees in microbiology and chemistry from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. In 1978 she and her husband, Ralph Severson, moved from Southern California to Orinda. Severson was mayor of Orinda in 2009 and 2014, city councilmember from 2006 to 2014 and trustee, president and board of trustees (now retired) from the Orinda Union School District.
    Along with her husband and nephew, Severson co-founded Cozy Earth LLC, which sells bamboo bedding, bath and loungewear products. Severson continues to serve on the board for the Orinda Community Foundation and supports other local causes. She also recently welcomed her 23rd grandchild into the world.
    Discovering new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat neurodegenerative diseases is important to Severson. “Neurodegenerative diseases impact almost every family and are truly devastating,” she said. “Finding diagnostics and treatments are a priority for BCL. A dear friend and fellow Orinda Community Foundation board member, Carol Penskar, died recently of Parkinson’s disease. It was such a tragic loss for her family and our community.”
    Hitting closer to home, Severson’s niece was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
    “It has caused many struggles for her, her husband and their four young children,” said Severson.
    Development Associate of BCL since April, Marya King of Alpine, Wyoming, first met Severson a few months back in her prior role as a board member.
    “Sue brings both knowledge of science and high energy to her role as chair of our board and is keen to advance some of the great work we’ve been doing in diagnosing, treating and preventing neurodegenerative diseases,” said King.
    Severson started with BCL years ago after meeting Dr. Paul Alan-Cox, executive director of BCL in the 1980s, when he was a researcher at Cal Berkeley and his family lived in Orinda.
    The Seversons recently gifted Brain Chemistry Labs with funds to purchase a new Orbital Trap Mass Spectrometer, a machine that determines how the BMAA neurotoxin inserts itself into proteins causing them to misfold.
    “BMAA is an environmental toxin produced by cyanobacteria that can lead to ALS and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s,” said Severson.
    One of her immediate goals as the new board chair is to more fully engage the many capable and talented board members in their areas of expertise.
    “This will enhance the Brain Chemistry’s mission to facilitate making the new diagnostic tools and treatments available for the patients suffering from these terrible diseases – to improve their quality of life and bring hope to their families.”