Who We Are

Terre A. Constantine, Ph.D. is the Executive Director and CEO of the Brain Research Foundation. Terre is dedicated to BRF’s mission because of her background as a trained scientist. She understands the importance of research and the difficulty in obtaining funding for innovative ideas.

Like so many, Terre’s family was touched by neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. But when her mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor, a glioblastoma, that is when her world changed. No longer was she just passionate about BRF because she was a neuroscientist. She was passionate about it because she saw her mother quickly succumb to a ravaging brain tumor that took her ability to talk, write, walk and finally took her life. And like so many that have been down this devastating road, she wants to make sure that someday others will not have to see a loved one’s heartbreaking struggle.

Terre strongly believes that supporting scientific research will lead to new treatments and cures. There are so many talented researchers with innovative ideas, funding sometimes is the only thing that is halting progress and breakthroughs. She is excited to be part of the evolution of science.

Terre A. Constantine earned her Ph.D. from The University of Pittsburgh Medical School in the Department of Pharmacology with a focus on drug addiction and stroke. She continued her research at The Scripps Research Institute where she studied neuroregeneration.

Sandra D. Jaggi is responsible for philanthropy at the Foundation. With 26 years-experience in fundraising, she focuses on donor relations, annual giving, prospect research, major gifts, grant writing and planned giving. Her prior experience includes fundraising at the Art Institute of Chicago and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

After many years working in the arts, she decided to pivot mid-career when learning about an opportunity at Brain Research Foundation. She is very passionate about the mission of BRF due to extensive family history with brain related diseases and disorders. Her father suffered from depression and eventually took his life while she was a teenager. Her younger sister is mentally challenged and is cared for in an assisted living facility, and her stepfather died in 2012 from ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease. Most recently her father’s brother, Sandra’s uncle, also took his own life in 2020.

With so much suffering she knew she had to be a part of an organization dedicated to pioneering brain research because greater understanding of the brain in its entirety will lead to quicker treatments and cures for those afflicted by any neurological condition or disease.