Improving child and adolescent mental health.

About

The Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation awards fellowship grants to outstanding post-doctoral or junior faculty candidates who are investigating the causes, prevention, and treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD or depression. The Foundation also has a “Transformation of Mental Health Care,” program focused on improving access to high quality mental health care for children and adolescents and is aimed at funding researchers further along in their careers. In addition, the Foundation has a program that exposes medical students to children’s mental health research, treatment and advocacy and encourages students to explore careers in child and adolescent psychiatry.

Our Mission

The Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation seeks to improve the understanding and treatment of child and adolescent ADHD and depression, and to improve access to mental health care for children and their families.

History of the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation

In 1993, Joseph Klingenstein’s eight grandchildren established the KTGF, initially to focus on the need for further research in childhood and adolescent depression. The Foundation later included funding for research in child and adolescent ADHD.

In honor of Donald Cohen, former chair of the KTGF’s advisory committee and longtime Director of the Yale Child Study Center, a program was created at medical schools to teach students about child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health. Its goal was to produce more child and adolescent psychiatrists and to improve the mental health awareness of all doctors who treat children. Fourteen medical schools now participate in this program. 

Since 1998, the KTGF’s fellowship program has been at the center of our work. We are interested not only in our fellows’ scientific achievements, but also in their professional development. We connect our fellows with one another and with the more senior researchers and providers who make up our advisory committee.

Given the complexity of many mental health conditions and the lack of mental health resources in a large number of communities, the Foundation wants to improve access to mental healthcare for children. In 2015, the Foundation initiated its “Transformation of Mental Health Care” program focused on improving access to high quality mental health care for children and adolescents. This program was prompted by recognition by KTGF Board members, based in part on their personal experiences, that it is often difficult for parents to access high-quality care when confronted with the challenging and often complex mental health needs of their children.

Sally Klingenstein Martell was KTGF’s founding Executive Director, a role Eliot Brenner, Ph.D. assumed in 2019. Andy Klingenstein is the Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair. Additional trustees include other members of the third generation of the Klingenstein family.

Leadership

Board of Trustees

Andy Klingenstein
Andy Klingenstein
Chairman & CEO
As Chairman and CEO of Klingenstein Philanthropies, Andy guides our work by advising on strategy and direction and helping to carry out all of our collective philanthropies. He is a longtime investor in early stage companies, where he has provided legal and business assistance to companies in the healthcare and technology fields. Previously, he was principal and co-founder of a Virginia-based venture capital firm specializing in the creation and management of companies in those fields. Andy practiced law for several years, both in a commercial law firm and as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. He holds a B.A. from Yale and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He and his wife have four daughters and live in Washington, D.C.
Kathy Klingenstein
Kathy Klingenstein
Trustee
Kathy Klingenstein has been involved in many community organizations through the years, not only as a volunteer but in leadership positions as well. She is currently on the board of trustees of The Homeless Children’s Foundation of Indian River County., Florida. She has previously served on the boards of Temple Sinai in Stamford, Connecticut; Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut; and The Young Women’s League of New Canaan, Connecticut. Kathy is an advocate for children’s mental health issues as well as education in general. She received her B.A. from St. Lawrence University and her M.S. in Special Education from Dominican University in California.
Nancy Klingenstein Simpkins
Nancy Klingenstein Simpkins
Vice President
Nancy Klingenstein Simpkins is a founding Trustee and current Board Chair of The Wild Center, a natural history museum in the Adirondacks. She is Chairman of the Board of Miss Porter’s School and a Trustee of Teachers College, Columbia University. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is president of the HABE Foundation and a Trustee of the Esther A and Joseph Klingenstein Fund, the Klingenstein Third Generation Fund and the Sadie and Harry E Davis Fund. She earned her BA from Smith College.
Sally Klingenstein Martell
Sally Klingenstein Martell
Trustee
From 1994 – 2019 Sally was the Executive Director of The Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation. She earned her BA at Tulane University, MFA in Writing and Literature at Stony Brook University, and was a 2021 BookEnds Fellow. Sally has served on the boards of the 92nd Street Y and The Town School, and is a current trustee of Emma Willard School, The New-York Historical Society, and is the President of the Klingenstein-Martell Foundation. She is now a full-time novelist.

Staff

Eliot Brenner, Ph.D.
Eliot Brenner, Ph.D.
Executive Director & Trustee
Prior to joining the Klingenstein Philanthropies, Dr. Brenner held leadership positions at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and the Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut. Dr. Brenner has maintained a small private clinical practice for more than 20 years. He earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Yale University and his Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Chicago.
Jinmo Koo
Jinmo Koo
Program Assistant
Prior to joining Klingenstein Philanthropies, Jinmo worked at the Fortune Society, a nonprofit providing social services for people coming out of incarceration, as well as The Literacy Lab, a nonprofit providing early literacy tutoring for young students in Washington DC . He received a Bachelor’s in Government from Cornell University.
Kathleen Pomerantz
Kathleen Pomerantz
Chief of Operations & Director of Fellowship Programs
Kathleen has worked for two decades with multiple generations of the Klingenstein family. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Albany and was previously employed by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York.