Haynes and Boone Honors Sharon Freytag's Retirement, Supports Brain Research

By Brooks Powell, Staff Writer
brooks.powell@texaslawbook.net

February 23, 2012 – Sharon Freytag has a passion for education. Before she became an acclaimed appellate counsel at Haynes and Boone, Freytag earned a master’s degree in 19th-century American literature and taught high school and junior college English. More recently, she has also taught federal civil procedure and products liability at SMU’s Dedman School of Law, her alma mater.
It is therefore fitting that Freytag will continue to promote learning through a gift Haynes and Boone made to honor her retirement from the firm this past December. The Sharon Freytag Fellowship provides financial assistance to a student researcher in cognition and neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas’s Center for BrainHealth, of which Freytag is a longtime supporter.
“Sharon was a great partner, appellate lawyer, leader in the bar and friend,” said Haynes and Boone managing partner Terry Conner in a prepared statement. “We were pleased to support the Center for BrainHealth in its important work.”
Freytag has been an advocate and adviser for the Center since its founding in 1999 by her friend Sandi Chapman, with whom she had been close for nearly 25 years. Their friendship and the potential for educational and research opportunities framed what would become a devoted cause for Freytag.
“At that time, I was supporting it because I thought it was cutting-edge research,” said Freytag. “It was very important that the brain be given the attention that the rest of the body had been given, and Sandi was really enthusiastic about giving that attention to the brain.” Freytag said the Center’s focus on brain aging has become especially important to her personally.
“Sharon Freytag is a true visionary,” said Chapman, director of the center. “Early on, she saw the potential of what the Center for BrainHealth could be and was pivotal to our development and growth. Sharon has continued to be a faithful supporter throughout our evolution and we are proud to honor her through a fellowship for one of our young, bright scientists.”

Through an application process, 22 year-old Ali Perez was selected as the recipient of the Freytag Fellowship, a one-time grant of several thousand dollars that will support her doctoral research. Perez earned undergraduate degrees with honors in psychology and neuroscience from the University of South Carolina.
“It was such an honor to be asked to apply and be considered,” Perez said. “It really is a dream come true.”
Perez’s research will examine the plasticity, or growth potential, of the brain and assess decision-making and planning skills in people in their 50s, 60s and 70s. Perez said her goal is to examine recent scientific findings that the brain does not have to decline over time if a person assumes a proper brain training regimen. Ultimately, Perez said her research could help people live independently longer.
Freytag said a meeting is being planned for later this spring where she will have an opportunity to meet with Perez to encourage her research.
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