Promoting the health of Maine’s children.

About

Since it was established in 2007, the Sadie & Harry Davis Foundation (SHDF) has focused on improving the health of Maine’s children. Since its inception, the Foundation has been especially interested in improving the oral health of young children. We currently fund the Children’s Oral Health Network of Maine, a large-scale, statewide network of stakeholders seeking to improve children’s oral health in Maine. The Foundation also operates the Patricia D. Klingenstein Grants Program to improve children’s overall health.

Our Mission

The Sadie & Harry Davis Foundation is dedicated to the advancement of children’s health in Maine, primarily by improving their oral health.

History of the Sadie & Harry Davis Foundation

The Sadie & Harry Davis Foundation was established through the will of Sadie Davis, who died in 2005. Sadie grew up in Bath, Maine, then lived in Portland. There she and her husband, Dr. Harry E. Davis, raised their daughter Patricia. Sadie wanted the SHDF to advance the health of Maine’s children, Harry’s life-long pursuit.

One of six children and the first in his family to be born in America, Harry grew up in Portland and then went to Tufts College. After graduating from its medical school and completing his residency training, Harry returned to Portland, where he established a private practice and was a pediatrician for more than 40 years. He served as Chief of Pediatrics at Mercy Hospital from 1943 until his death in 1963, when he suffered a heart attack while treating a patient. 

Most children in Portland knew Dr. Davis because for many years he vaccinated the entire fifth grade at the Portland public schools. After government funding for vaccinations ended, Dr. Davis continued the program at his own expense. Dr. Davis’ philanthropic approach to medicine extended well beyond vaccinations. He volunteered his services at the City of Portland’s hygiene clinic and the Female Orphans Home. At his pediatric practice, he accepted as payment whatever his patients could afford.

More than 50 years after his death, the SHDF, along with other foundations associated with the Klingenstein family, established the Dr. Harry E. Davis Pediatric Center on the Mercy Hospital campus, which provides the family-oriented, compassionate care for which Dr. Davis was known. An exhibit at the hospital traces his life as a pediatrician.

The SHDF is led by Andy Klingenstein, Chairman and CEO, and Eliot Brenner, Ph.D., Executive Director of Klingenstein Philanthropies. Other trustees include Andy’s siblings Nancy and Sally, and his wife Julie.  Patricia Klingenstein served on the board of the Foundation from 2007 until she passed away in 2023. Patricia was a well-known philanthropist based in New York City, but her heart always remained in Maine, where she was a long-time supporter of Mercy Hospital, Waynflete School, and other Maine-based organizations.

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.
Julie Klingenstein
Julie Klingenstein
Trustee
Julie was the founding board chair of The Literacy Lab, a non-profit that provides targeted one-on-one literacy instruction for below grade level readers from age three to grade three. She continues her literacy focus by serving as a longtime reading tutor for the District of Columbia Public Schools. She has also served as board chair of a Maryland independent school and a Washington, D.C. charter school. She and her husband, Andy, are members of the Washington Area Women’s Foundations’ Early Care and Education Funders Collaborative.
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.
Emilie Knight
Emilie Knight
Director, Small Grants Program
Emilie has worn many hats, primarily researching, writing, and managing grants and grant-funded programs for a variety of Maine nonprofits. She also helps supervise the SHDF’s Small Grants Program. Emilie earned a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University’s Science in Society Program.
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.

Explore our focus areas

CHILDREN’S ORAL HEALTH NETWORK
FROM THE FIRST TOOTH
Patricia D. Klingenstein Grants Program