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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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