Laney Development Council

Dr. Benston is Professor Emerita of Theater Studies at Emory University. In 1987, Dr. Benston came to Emory as an Associate Dean in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1987, after holding posts at the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester.  Between 1988 and 1996, she also served as the interim chair of the Theater Studies program. 

Dr. Curfman is a partner at Meuneir, Carlin, and Curfman, LLC, specializing intellectual property law.  He holds advanced degrees in Chemistry from Georgia Tech (M.S.) and Emory (Ph.D.) as well as a J.D. from Georgia State University.  Dr. Curfman was named a Georgia Super Lawyers “Rising Star” by Atlanta Magazine (2006).

Dr. Gavin earned his PhD in biochemistry from Emory in 1970 and his MD from Duke University in 1975.  He belongs to a number of organizations, serving on the boards of trustees for Baxter Healthcare International, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, and is past chairman of the board of the Equidyne Corporation.  Currently, Dr. Gavin is CEO and Chief Medical Officer for Healing Our Village, Inc.

Dr. Kratz is Professor Emerita in the Department of Anthropology and Institute for African Studies at Emory University.  Her research and writing combine interests in performance theory and analysis, the history of politics of representation in visual and verbal media, ritual studies, and the cultural politics of ethnic identity and gender relations.

Dr. Laney served as Emory’s seventeenth President from 1977–1993.  He holds a PhD in Christian Ethics from Yale University and is an ordained Methodist minister.  As President of the University and earlier as Dean of Candler School of Theology, Dr. Laney oversaw the transformation of Emory from an excellent regional school to a major top-tier private research university. 

Dr. McDaniels has been a professional football player, an inventor, an artist, an author and a professor.  He’s still many of these things, but his chief title at Emory is faculty curator of the African American collections in the Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library (MARBL).  McDaniels is spearheading MARBL’s plans for the Roberter Langmuir Collection of more than 12,000 photos depicting African American life from the early 1800’s to the mid-1900s.

Dr. Montoya is Assistant Professor, Global Structures, in the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico.  He received his Ph.D. in Foreign Relations and Comparative Literature as a Woodruff Fellow Recipient from Emory University.  Dr. Montoya is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and CEO of his own global consulting firm, In Media Res Consulting.

Dr. Rice is President and Chief Executive Officer for Cylene Pharmaceuticals.  He holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Emory University, where he now serves on the Emory Alumni Board.  During his more than 20 years of industry leadership, he has played a key role in the discovery and development of new drugs, negotiated licensing and partnering deals, and delivered a series of corporate financings.

David graduated from Emory’s Goizueta Business School in 2002 and was awarded a Bobby Jones Scholarship to study in St Andrews in 2002–03. David is the Co-founder and CEO of Ideas United, a company creating unforgettable content, promotions, and events for premier brands around the globe while leveraging the best of the next generation of filmmakers and musicians. Ideas United created and runs Campus MovieFest, the world's largest student movie and music events, a project that started while David was a student at Emory. In addition to serving on the Laney Development Council, David also sits on the Robert T. Jones Advisory Committee at Emory.

Yates is known as a prominent philanthropist through the Metro Atlanta area and beyond.  The YMCA recently awarded Yates its highest volunteer honor, the Bransby Christian Leadership Award.  The son of famed amateur golfer, Charlie Yates Sr., he serves on the board of the Atlanta Opera as well as the Robert T. Jones Jr. Scholarship Committee at Emory University.