Bernard Marcus is co-founder of The Home Depot, Inc., an innovative Georgia company that revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept.  He served as chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002.  He remains director emeritus, and is  Chairman of The Marcus Foundation.  While perhaps best known for his generous support for the Georgia Aquarium and Georgia Tech’s nanotechnology center, Marcus and his wife Billi, through The Marcus Institute at Emory University, have championed the cause for children and adolescents with neurological disorders including autism, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, behavioral disorders, and fetal alcohol syndrome.  In 2005, they received the Salvation Army’s highest honor – the Others Award for their efforts.  Recently, Marcus created Project Share in conjunction with Atlanta’s famed Shepherd Center under which he has pledged to underwrite the costs of treatment, housing, and transportation for any U.S. soldier who has incurred brain and spinal injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan, a humanitarian act for which he received the USO’s 2008 Patriot Award.  In September 2008, The Marcus Institute joined forces with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to create the Marcus Autism Center, which will offer expanded services for children with autism.