In August, we celebrated the inaugurations of Maureen A. Walton, Ph.D., M.P.H., as the first Toby Brzoznowski Research Professor in Behavioral Health Technology Innovations and Erin Bonar, Ph.D., as the first Kathy Fant Brzoznowski Research Professor in Behavioral Health Technology Innovations.
A recording of the event can be viewed here.
The two new professorships were made possible through the generosity of Toby Brzoznowski and Kathy Fant Brzoznowski.
Toby Brzoznowski and Kathy Fant Brzoznowski
Toby Brzoznowski and Kathy Fant Brzoznowski are known for their generous philanthropy in mental health, athletics, education, child grief support, entrepreneurship, technology, and more. At U-M, they have supported the creation of the Innovation Partnerships’ Accelerate Blue Venture Fund, the John F. Greden Legacy Fund, and established the Toby Brzoznowski Family Endowed Baseball Scholarship Fund. Further afield, they are major donors of West Iron County Schools, supporting educational equity.
Both are Michigan natives and U-M alumni. Toby grew up in the Upper Peninsula before landing in Ann Arbor, majored in social science and psychology, and earned four varsity letters for baseball. After graduation, he became a teacher before pivoting into software startups. He co-founded LLamasoft, which sold in 2020. Kathy grew up in Saline, before earning her bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology and her master’s in public health. She began her career in the nonprofit sector, then worked in academia as a health service researcher and was an inaugural member of the Depression Center’s Community Volunteer Committee and the Department of Psychiatry’s Patient and Family Advisory Council. She is active in the Burns Park PTO and Ele’s Place. The Brzoznowskis reside in Ann Arbor with their children Vee and George.
Maureen Walton, Ph.D., MPH
Toby Brzoznowski Research Professor in Behavioral Health Technology Innovations
Maureen Walton, Ph.D., MPH, is a community psychologist, professor, and associate chair for research and research faculty development in the Department of Psychiatry, associate director for child research at the U-M Addiction Center, and senior associate director of the Injury Prevention Center.
Her research seeks to prevent and treat substance use and related concerns, such as interpersonal violence, to enhance well-being. She has expertise in harnessing digital health technologies for intervention delivery and collaborates with community partners to enhance impact. The author of more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, her collaborative projects have been funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
She received her Master of Public Health from San Diego State University and her Ph.D. from Michigan State University. She joined the U-M as a post-doctoral fellow in 1993.
Erin E. Bonar, Ph.D.
Kathy Fant Brzoznowski Research Professor in Behavioral Health Technology Innovations
Erin E. Bonar, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, utilizes her mental health and substance use disorders expertise to develop technology-driven interventions to help reduce the harmful consequences and public health burden of cannabis, alcohol, opioid and other drug use in adolescents and adults.
Her technology knowledge led to publishing critical recommendations in JAMA Psychiatry for telehealth’s adoption to sustain and expand substance use disorder treatments during COVID-19. She also leads unique prevention interventions to divert youth trajectories away from substance use consequences. The author of nearly 150 peer-reviewed publications, she serves on an NIH study section, and has been principal investigator on grants totaling over $20 million and a co-investigator on dozens more.
Dr. Bonar received her B.S. in psychology from Northern Kentucky University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the U-M Addiction Center and joined the faculty in 2013. She was promoted to professor of psychiatry with tenure in 2023.
