UnitedJewishCommunities

Rabbi Elka Abrahamson is vice president of leadership programs for the Wexner Foundation. She is responsible for the programs, policies, and strategic planning for this major component of the Foundation's activities. She participated on "The Conversation," a 2008 dialogue between 65 American Jews who are leaders in their respective fields to talk about the future of Jewish life. She served as scholar-in-residence for the 2009 Rabbinic School Delegation for the American Jewish World Service. She has taught and lectured widely on a variety of leadership and life/work balance issues. Her husband, Rabbi Misha Zinkow is senior rabbi of Temple Israel, Columbus, Ohio and they are the parents of 4 young adults.

Dessie Ron "Roni" Akale is the lead representative of the Ethiopian Jewish Community Organization, and serves as the CEO of Fidel Association for the Education and Social Integration of Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Roni was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to Israel in 1983, before Operation Moses brought his countrymen in through Sudan. A bookkeeper in Ethiopia, in Israel Roni received a B.A. in Social Work, and an M.A. in Public Policy Administration. He served in the IDF as an officer of psychological health counseling and evaluation, serving in "Solomon Operation" as a principal translator for Ethiopian immigrants. He became a social worker, working with families and youth in distress, and served as director of Ethiopian job placement and counseling through Israel’s Ministry of Absorption. He directed the National Absorption Moked (information center).

Benjamin Amon is a third year student at the University of California Berkeley where he is majoring in Development Studies with a minor in Global Poverty and Practice. This past summer he spent seven weeks in El Salvador as a volunteer with the American Jewish World Service where he had the opportunity to learn about and become a part of development efforts at the grassroots level. Through this trip he became passionate about and involved in solidarity efforts against open pit gold mining by corporations in El Salvador. Benjamin’s main focus of activism this fall has been against the deterioration and privatization of public education in the State of California. He has worked to build grassroot coalitions among students, faculty, workers, and voters. Benjamin comes to this discussion excited about the possibilities of creating social change and linking up with other young folks doing the same.

Toby Appleton is the producer and director of the film Fifth Generation: Kibbutz at 100. A freelance film producer and writer, she co-produced and wrote Secret Lives, selected by Andrew Sarris as one of the ten best non-fiction films of 2003 and featured on HBO/Cinemax. She was nominated for a news and documentary Emmy in the category of Outstanding Achievement in a Craft:Writing, and Secret Lives was nominated in the category of Outstanding Historical Programming. Toby was also co-producer of the Emmy-nominated documentary, Resistance: Untold Stories of Jewish Partisans, a project spearheaded by David Garth. Prior to that, she was a producer for the Garth Group, an internationally renowned media consulting firm specializing in political, corporate and public interest campaigns. While living in San Francisco, she was staff producer for Colossal Pictures, a special effects and animation company. She also produced independent educational shorts and series on topics ranging from democracy to AIDS. She is a contributing writer to the Forward.

Bruce Arbit is the Chairman of United Israel Appeal. He is the most recent past President of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation 2006-2009 and he served as its General Campaign Chair in 2000 and 2001 and it’s Treasurer. He is a member of its Israel & Overseas Committee and on the Board of its Foundation. He is a former member of the UJA Young Leadership Cabinet, Wexner Heritage Foundation and has been a member of the board of his local JCC, Synagogue Day School and Community Relations Council. He currently serves as Treasurer of JTA and an executive Committee member of the Habonim Foundation. He is a member of the The Jewish Federations of North America Executive Committee. Bruce is a member of the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Board of Governors and it’s Executive. He currently chairs the Subcommittee on Personnel for Jewish Education. He also serves on the Board of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Bruce is a founder and Co-Managing Director of A.B. Data, Ltd., a direct marketing and political consulting firm, which works closely with a number of Jewish organizations and Political campaigns. He also serves as Chairman of the Boards of Integrated Mail Industries and Asset Development Group.

Yonatan Ariel is Executive Director of both the Jewish Peoplehood HUB and MAKOM - the Israel Engagement Network. He lectures and writes in his fields of interest: Contemporary Jewry, Educational Policy-Making and Experiential Education. He is currently at work on how to nurture the personal implications of Jewish collective potential. Born in the UK, living in Israel, he has taught in North America, Europe, Australia and Israel. He serves on the boards of Hazon, Limmud International and the Minyan Shoreshim in Har Adar.

Avinoam Armoni is the Chief Executive Officer of Beit Hatfutsot the Museum of the Jewish People. He has served as the Vice President for External Relations of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem between 2003-2007. He was a consultant to the Edmond J Safra Philanthropic Foundation in Geneva, as well as strategic consultant and adviser to a number of organizations, mainly in the academic and voluntary sector. As Executive Director of the New Israel Fund from 1991-1997, he managed and developed programs in Israel, oversaw grant making activities, fundraised and represented the organization internationally. Avinoam served as special adviser to Teddy Kollek, Mayor of Jerusalem, in which capacity he was in charge of neighborhood affairs. Avinoam was born in Jerusalem; he lives in Ramat Raziel, a moshav just outside Jerusalem.

Reed Baker is the founder and CEO of Sophist Productions, an event production company based in Long Island City, New York. After graduating Summa cum Laude from Emory University, Reed began his career in the entertainment industry in 2002 as a recording artist, record producer, and concert producer. Sophist Productions has attracted celebrity, music industry, corporate, and non-profit clients who are eager to have the company create interac tive, entertaining, audiovisual environments for their events. Sophist uses branded entertainment and high-end technology to entertain targeted, captive audiences while concurrently branding, advertising, and fundraising. Its Text-to-Pledge program, which enables event attendees to donate to a charity using a personal handheld device, has come to dominate the mobile fundraising market, raising nearly $3 million dollars for charity to date.

Dr. Avinoam Bar-Yosef is the founding director of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, an independent think-tank that engages in professional strategic planning on issues of concern to world Jewry. He was chief diplomatic correspondent and commentator, and later US bureau chief for the daily newspaper Ma'ariv. He has written thousands of articles, weekly columns and analyses, many of them on Jewish Peoplehood issues and policies.

Marina Belotserkovsky, the senior director of Russian communications and outreach for HIAS, immigrated to the United States in 1989 as a refugee from the Former Soviet Union. She has been with HIAS since 1990. In 1996 she became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Currently, she produces and hosts “HIAS Answers” for both radio and television, viewed in over 100,000 households nationwide. Together with her HIAS colleagues, Marina has been instrumental in the success of LOREO and Civic and Voter Educational Initiative – HIAS’ key national outreach programs for the Russian Americans. She is a recipient of numerous awards including the Outstanding Americans by Choice Award, Community Service Award and Office of Brooklyn Borough President Award.

Dan Ben-David is the Executive Director of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel and a professor of economics at Tel-Aviv University. Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago. Areas of specialization: macroeconomics, economic growth and Israel’s economy. Ben-David is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London and former Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau for Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He has served as an advisor to the World Bank and to the Director-General's Office at the World Trade Organization. In 2004, Dan Ben-David received the Tel-Aviv University provost’s “Best Teacher Award” in Social Sciences. He has an op-ed column on the editorial page of Ha’aretz Hebrew and English daily newspapers since 2004 and – prior to his joining the Taub Center in 2008 – was a Knesset candidate and co-author of Kadima party socio-economic platform.

Dr. Liat Taiber Ben-David, the director of the JDC program Maydah - the Ashalim National Knowledge and Learning Centre, is a 4th-generation Sabra and holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Weizmann Institute for Science in Rehovot. She is an accomplished educator and author. After completing her Ph.D, Liat became the head of Israel’s national Science and Technology Educational Program for secondary schools at the Tel-Aviv University, dealing with the connections between Israeli culture and science. She has published numerous books for students, teachers and fiction for children and adults, both in English and Hebrew, including "Yahrzeit" – a historic novel based on her family's Zionist history. In 2001 Liat spent three years as an emissary of the Jewish Agency for Israel, later serving as director general of the Agency's Israel Department.

During his 38 years in the Israel Air Force (IAF), Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eitan Ben Eliahu was an active fighter pilot in Israel’s various wars and Air campaigns. In 1996 he was appointed Air Force Commander, a post he held for four years. Mr. Ben-Eliahu is active as a lay leader in numerous social and communal organizations, among them Co-Chair, Israel National Museum of Science, member of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem board of governors, member of Beit Hatfutsot the Museum of the Jewish People board of governors. These activities come alongside his duties as a president and general partner in hi-tech corporations.

Mandell L. Berman is founder and chair of the Mandell L. Berman Institute at the North American Jewish Data Bank. He serves as honorary chair of JESNA, and is a past chair of the board of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, former chair of the Skillman Foundation, a past president of the Council of Jewish Federations and a past president of the Detroit Jewish Federation. He is an honorary board member of the Joint Distribution Committee and a life member of the board of JDC. He chaired and co-chaired the 1990 and 2001 National Jewish Demographic Studies. Mandell is the chairman of the Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation, which he and his daughter Ann Berman Feld, the Foundation’s president, jointly run. The Foundation’s current major involvements include, among many others, the Berman Jewish Policy Archive, Myers-JDC – Brookdale, JESNA, Brandeis, JTS, University of Michigan Hillel and the UJC Venture Fund for Jewish Arab Equality and Coexistence. The Foundation also funds many Detroit-based projects that provide services to the Detroit Jewish community, combat food insecurity, support the arts and address other pressing local issues.

Laura Bialis is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and creator of the Foundation for Documentary Projects. Laura's current film, Rock in the Red Zone, intimately portrays life under constant bombings, through the eyes of young rock musicians in Sderot, Israel. Laura made aliyah while shooting the film, and has lived in Sderot for the past year and a half. Her film Refusenik, a critically acclaimed chronicle of the 30-year international campaign to free Soviet Jewry, was released theatrically in cities across the United States in 2008. Her other films include: View from the Bridge: Stories from Kosovo; Kehillah, about the collaboration between Jews in Boston and Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, to rebuild an all but decimated community; and Tak for Alt - Survival of a Human Spirit, about Holocaust survivor turned civil rights activist Judy Meisel. Laura holds a BA in History from Stanford University, and an MFA from USC's School of Cinematic Arts.

Aaron Bisman is the co-founder, president, and CEO of JDub Records and Jewcy; JDub is a not-for-profit dedicated to innovative Jewish content, community, and cross-cultural dialogue. A DJ and graduate of NYU’s Music Business program, Aaron was a recipient of the Joshua Venture Fellowship in 2003, and is a co-creator of the Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists. He discovered Hasidic crossover sensation Matisyahu and managed him through March 2006. In October, JDub announced the adoption of Jewcy.com, the premiere online media outlet devoted to presenting a spectrum of conversations on Jewish identity and community for and by young Jews. In the little free time he has, Aaron co-founded Altshul, a traditional egalitarian community in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Adam R. Bronfman, as managing director of The Samuel Bronfman Foundation, is committed to promoting learning, outreach and pluralism. As a member of Hillel's International Board of Governors, he has visited numerous Hillels in North America and has been a major catalyst behind the growth of Hillels internationally. He chaired the 2004 Lay Leadership Hillel Conference and is the former chair and current board member of the UC Santa Barbara Hillel Support Foundation. As an alumnus of the Taft School, Adam has endowed several scholarships at the institution and has been instrumental in linking Taft to The Curriculum Initiative, an organization that provides support for Jewish students in non-Jewish independent schools. Adam established the Saidye Rosner Bronfman Rabbinic Chair at Temple Har Shalom in Park City, Utah, and has been a driving force behind the growth of the community as well as the success of the temple's capital campaign.

Charles Bronfman, chairman of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies Inc., started devoting himself to philanthropic causes at age seventeen. For much of his adult life, he has worked for Seagram’s, rising to serve as co-chairman. He was also the founding owner of the Montreal Expos and has been chairman of Koor Industries Ltd., one of Israel’s leading investment holding companies. In 1986, he and his late wife decided to concentrate their philanthropic efforts and founded the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies in Montreal. The Foundation moved to the United States in 1996 and now engages in $220 million worth of programmatic activities, and has been hailed as a model foundation by the Philanthropy Roundtable. Among his many other philanthropic duties, Charles sits on the boards of Mount Sinai Medical Center and Brandeis University.

Dr. Erica Brown is the Director for Adult Education at The Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning and consults for The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Erica is the author of the book, Inspired Jewish Leadership, a National Jewish Book Award finalist and Spiritual Boredom, and co-author of The Case for Jewish Peoplehood (all through Jewish Lights).She was a Jerusalem Fellow, is a faculty member of the Wexner Foundation, an Avi Chai Fellow, winner of the Ted Farber Professional Excellence Award, and the recipient of the 2009 Covenant Award for her work in education. Erica has served as an adjunct professor at American University and George Washington University. She lectures widely on subjects of Jewish interest and leadership, in addition to extensive writing in journals of education and Jewish studies and writes a weekly internet essay called “Weekly Jewish Wisdom” (www.pjll.org) that also appears on the Newsweek/Washington Post’s “On Faith” website. She resides with her husband and four children in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Stuart Brown is a retired tax attorney who devotes much of his time to philanthropic activities. He is a Trustee of the Naomi & Nehemiah Cohen Foundation and chairs the board of American Friends of Hand in Hand. Stuart also serves on the boards of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Stuart concluded his legal career by serving as Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service from 1994 to 2001.

Alex Budnitsky is a long time journalist, who was working for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America and received a Gold Quill for independent journalism dealing with the changes going on in the former Soviet Union, and also has traveled to many countries including Israel, Pakistan, former Yugoslavia and Cuba for coverage of various “conflict” situations. Since arriving in the United States from Kiev, Ukraine, Alex Budnitsky has been working in the Jewish Communal Field for 15 years and currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst. At the same time Alex is a member of the Steering Committee of the UJA-Federation Agencies Management Group (FAMG). He holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism and Social Work from Columbia University. Mr. Budnitsky is also a graduate of the Institute of Not for Profit Management – a joint program of the UJA Federation of New York and Columbia University School of Business. His international involvement continues through his extensive consulting in the Former Soviet Union on various projects for the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and Avi Chai Foundation. Alex Budnitsky provides with consulting services to NGO’s and JCC’s across the world on strategic planning, professional and program development, leadership development and trainings.

Stacy Burdett, the Anti-Defamation League’s lobbyist on international issues as its Associate Director of Government and National Affairs, reaches out to Members of Congress and their staff to enlist support on issues such as global anti-Semitism, broader human rights issues like international religious freedom, and securing equitable treatment for Israel. She is also the ADL’s lead point person on advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform. Stacy has testified before the US Congress and addressed inter-governmental conferences in Europe in areas such as anti-Semitism, hate crime monitoring, and tolerance education strategies. Stacy represented ADL at the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001. Since then, she has worked on behalf of ADL to advance the fight against anti-Semitism in international human rights fora such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations.

Sanford R. Cardin is President of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. The Foundation is dedicated to encouraging enthusiastic and creative young Jews throughout the world to embrace their Judaism, build inclusive Jewish communities and support the State of Israel. In Tulsa, the Foundation supports organizations targeting child advocacy, common education and youth leadership.Sandy chairs the Westbury Group, an international association of Jewish funding organizations; serves on the board of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofit Management. He has served on the boards of the Council on Foundations, Jewish Funders Network and the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Drawing upon his nearly 20 years of foundation leadership and Jewish communal service, Sandy contributes articles to national Jewish and philanthropic publications as well as to edited collections. His recently published works include a chapter in What We Now Know About Jewish Education, as well as a reflective essay on trends in contemporary American Judaism in Synagogues in a Time of Change.

Cindy Chazan is the vice president of alumni and community development for The Wexner Foundation. Prior to coming to The Wexner Foundation, Cindy was executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford. She was special projects associate for the Jewish Welfare Board [ now JCCA] and was the executive director of the Koffler Centre of the Arts in Toronto and assistant director of the Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal. She is a founding board member of Advancing Jewish Women and the Jewish Community.

Patrick Clawson is deputy director for research of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He has written or edited 27 books and monographs, mostly about Middle Eastern politics, especially Iran. The most recent include Engaging Iran: Lessons from the Past (from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy), Deterring the Ayatollahs: Complications in Applying Cold War Strategy to Iran and Forcing Hard Choices on Tehran: Raising the Costs of Iran’s Nuclear Program (both from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, with Michael Eisenstadt), and Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos (Palgrave, with Michael Rubin). His previous positions include senior economist at the National Defense University, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. He is senior editor of Middle East Quarterly. He speaks Persian (Farsi) and French.

Eli Cohen has been the Director General of the Aliyah and Absorption Department of the Jewish Agency since June 2008. Eli was born in Morocco in 1958 and made aliyah when he was two years old. He has a BA in Middle Eastern Studies and Jewish History and Human Resources. In his previous positions in the Jewish Agency he was Deputy Director General, Director of the Human Resources Unit, Senior Advisor to the Director General, Regional Director of Jerusalem and the Central Region, Administration Representative and Treasurer in Latin America and Assistant to the Director General of the Finance Department. He has also served as Assistant to the Zionist Federation, Settlement Department Chairperson, was a shaliach of JAFI and Beitar Youth Movement in Uruguay and the main shaliach in Latin America. He served as secretary of the Beit Shemesh Local Council and was Director of the Youth Center.

Marvin Cohen recently joined Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors as a senior associate to augment the firm's capacity to deliver strategic philanthropy guidance. He remains affiliated with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, where he was in charge of the Donor Advised Funds Program, managing combined assets of approximately $500,000. Marvin has worked in the field of philanthropy for three decades, including 15 years in senior positions at the Chicago Community Trust. While on leave from the Foundation, he served as the first director of Leadership Greater Chicago. Later he managed the Chicago office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, providing financial and technical support to not-for-profit community development corporations. Marvin has served on the faculties of the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Chicago, and the University of Texas at Dallas. He currently teaches courses on Civic Engagement and Public Policy at Northwestern University. He received his BA (Political Philosophy) and PhD (Political Science) degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as Masters degrees from Columbia University (Political Science) and the University of Chicago (Social Service Administration).

Dr. Leonard Cole chairs the UJC's liaison committee to Taglit-Birthright. An expert on bioterrorism and terror medicine, he is an author and adjunct professor in the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers University, Newark, NJ.

Lisa Colton is the founder and president of Darim Online, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Jewish organizations use new media to achieve their mission and goals in the 21st century. Lisa has helped hundreds of organizations strategically integrate technology into marketing, communication, education, fundraising and community building. A graduate of Stanford University, she is an alumna of Pardes and Livnot U'Lehibanot. She served as the president of the board of the University of Vermont Hillel, where she received the Exemplar of Excellence award from the Schusterman Hillel International Center. She also received the Jewish Communal Service Association's Young Professional's Award. Lisa currently serves on the board of the Congregation Beth Israel Preschool and is a member of the Lippman Kanfer Institute's Jewish Education 3.0 and Jewish Social Entrepreneurship think tanks.

The Honourable Irwin Cotler, P.C., O.C., M.P., Law Professor, Constitutional and Comparative Law Scholar, International Human Rights Lawyer, Counsel to prisoners of conscience, NGO Head, Public Intellectual, Community Leader and Peace Activist, Member of the Canadian Parliament since 1999 and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Currently serving as his party’s Special Counsel for Human Rights and International Justice, Professor Cotler is a distinguished academic and a prominent human rights lawyer, whose dedication to humanitarian causes has earned him the Order of Canada among many other awards – including nine honourary doctorates. He is co-founder of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism and has recently launched an international petition endorsed by leading jurists, survivors and genocide scholars seeking to hold Ahmadinejad’s Iran to account for state-sanctioned incitement to genocide.

Beth Cousens, as the Director of Hillel’s Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Experience, leads Hillel’s Jewish educational strategy, working with partners in Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life and throughout the Hillel system. Entering her fourth year in Hillel, she has also led Hillel’s performance management efforts and served as a consultant to local Hillels. Beth holds a PhD in the sociology of Jewish education from Brandeis University; she also holds an MA with Honors in Judaic Studies from Baltimore Hebrew University and an MSW from the University of Maryland. She spent five years as the educational planner for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, concentrating on services to adults in their 20s and 30s, synagogue education, teen Jewish identity, and expanding participation in Jewish overnight camping. Her dissertation research is entitled, “Shifting Social Networks: Studying the Jewish Growth of Adults in Their Twenties and Thirties."

Mohammad Darawshe is the co-executive director of The Abraham Fund Initiatives. He previously worked as deputy director general of the Givat Haviva Institute. He holds a B.A from Hebrew university in Jerusalem and a M.A. in Public Administration from Hartford University. A leading expert on Jewish-Arab relations, Mohammed has presented lectures and papers at the European parliament, NATO Defense College, World Economic Forum, and Club de Madrid. He won a Peacemaker award from the Catholic Theological Union and Peace and Security Award of the World Association of NGOs. He served as a political campaign manager from 1988-1999, and in 2008 was elected as a council member in his hometown of Iksal.

William Daroff, the vice president for public policy and director of the Washington office of The Jewish Federations of North America, is a leading advocate for the Jewish community’s agenda. Last year the Forward named William one of America’s fifty most influential Jews. He guides the community’s advocacy efforts on domestic policy issues including health and human services, Medicare and Medicaid, long-term care, and policies affecting older Americans, as well as homeland security programs and strengthening the capacity of the nonprofit sector. William is a key player in foreign policy circles, advising policy-makers on Jewish communal concerns related to the US-Israel relationship, the Middle East, Jewish communities across the world, and combating Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He received his Bachelor Degree (summa cum laude) in Political Science & History, Masters Degree in Political Science, and Juris Doctorate from Case Western Reserve University in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

Rachel Davis is the chief development officer of Jewish Family Service in Houston, a member of the Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies. During Rachel's three-year tenure, JFS's budget has nearly doubled, primarily due to grants as well as collaborative fundraising with the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. The JFS Alexander Institute for Jewish Families with Special Needs, the Economic Assistance Program and Jewish Chaplaincy program are three JFS/Federation collaborative projects. Rachel was founding director of the Texas Israel Chamber of Commerce and worked in private sector business development for Israeli technology entering the US market.

Nancy-Ann DeParle is Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform. As an official in Tennessee state government, the White House, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Nancy-Ann has worked to extend health care coverage for millions of children, improve quality for seniors and Americans with disabilities, and raise standards for program performance and integrity. From 1997-2000, Nancy-Ann served in the Clinton Administration as Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA, now called the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or CMS). A key health policy advisor to President Clinton, she ran Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP, which provide health insurance for 74 million Americans at an annual cost of more than $600 billion. Nancy-Ann received a B.A. from the University of Tennessee, where she was Student Body President, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She also received a B.A. and M.A. from Balliol College of Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

Liz Donnenfeld is the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of the North Shore in Salem, MA. Liz has been the ED for 2 years and she has worked at the North Shore Federation for 12 years. Liz has also served as the Young Leadership Director, Leadership Development Director and Missions Director. Liz was fortunate to take three Federation missions to Israel from 2004-2006. Liz received her BA at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and her Master of Arts in Teaching at the Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.

Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, Chairman of JPPPI's board of directors and executive guiding council, is the former Chairman of the Weizmann Institute's Board of Governors. He is currently a partner of the legal firm Covington and Burlington LLP and heads the firm's international practice. Stuart has held many senior positions in US Democratic administrations including Under Secretary of State and Deputy Secretary of Commerce, and Ambassador to the European Union. In addition, he served as Bill Clinton’s Special Representative on Holocaust-Era Issues; his book about this work, Imperfect Justice: Looted Assets, Slave Labor, and the Unfinished Business of World War II, was published in 2003.

Shepard (Shep) Englander serves as the chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. Since his arrival in 2004, Shep has restructured the Federation to be more collaborative, competitive, transparent and responsive to its community and partners. Prior to his current position, Shep served as vice president of United Jewish Federation in Pittsburgh. As a Washington, DC attorney, he represented not-for-profit clients in a public policy-related practice. As associate director of UJC Washington, he managed the public affairs operations of the organization's public policy and lobbying office. Shep gained his first non-profit experience after college, working as a community organizer with a grass-roots anti-poverty organization, a background he draws upon to build trust and collaboration among Cincinnati's local Jewish community organizations. He graduated from Leadership Cincinnati in 2007 and serves as a member of Leadership Cincinnati's Planning/Diversity Committee.

Howard English, Vice President of Corporate Communications, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, has been involved in media, marketing, public relations and strategic communications for nearly 40 years. In his career, Howard has been a journalist, college instructor, media trainer, and a consultant to both for profit and non-profit organizations. He is the chief communications strategist for the Toronto Federation with special emphasis on public affairs, issues management and crisis communications. In Toronto, Howard is the lead professional in charge of developing a grassroots network to combat the global anti-Israel movement.

Rabbi Seth Farber is the founder of ITIM: The Jewish-Life Information Center and the founding rabbi of Kehillat Netivot in Raanana, Israel. He received his rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University and his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University. Before making aliya in 1995, he co-founded Ma'ayan: The Torah Studies Initiative of Greater Boston. He is the author of An American Orthodox Dreamer: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Boston’s Maimonides School. In 2008, Rabbi Farber and his work were featured in the NY Times Magazine article, “How Do You Prove You’re a Jew?” He lives in Raanana with his wife and their five children.

Maj. Gen. (Res.) Aharon Zeevi Farkash, president of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, is one of the world’s leading experts in the field of security, military and intelligence. During General Zeevi's service in the IDF, he served in a variety of roles both in the field and on the general staff. He was also prominent in strategic planning, direction of projects and management and leading of large units such as the Israel Sigint National Unit (8200), the Technological and Logistics Branch, the Planning Branch and the Defense Intelligence Branch. During the service in the IDF, General Zeevi completed advanced studies including Brigade Command, Division Command and Military & Defense Strategic Doctrine. General Zeevi serves as Head of Intelligence and National Defense Program for the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS). General Zeevi founded and is Chairman & CEO of FST21 Ltd., Advanced Security Technology Services. FST21 is a company providing technologies & product services for home safety & container security. General Zeevi Farkash is Chairman of Public Mgmt. of Ben Yakir Youth Village, and a member of Lochamey Hagetaot Friends. He received a B.A. and M.A. in Middle East & Islam Studies from Tel Aviv University as well as an AMP/ISMP from Harvard Business School.

Judy Feder is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and one of the nation's leaders in health policy, particularly in efforts to understand and improve the US health insurance system. She is a professor of public policy at Georgetown Public Policy Institute, and from 1999 to 2008 she served as dean of the Institute. Her expertise on health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care is regularly drawn upon by members of Congress, executive officials, and the national media. As staff director of the congressional Pepper Commission, she is widely credited with setting the stage for the health reform debate of the 1990s. During President Clinton's first term, she served as principal deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation in the Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked to expand health insurance coverage, effectively manage Medicare and Medicaid, and to assure the safety of food and drugs. Judy is a political scientist, with a BA from Brandeis University, and a master's and PhD from Harvard University.

Ethan Felson is Vice President of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA). He has played a leading role combatting anti-Israel divestment efforts. In addition to numerous articles on topics including civil rights, interfaith relations, and Jewish activism, Felson wrote the National Affairs chapter for the American Jewish Yearbook (2006, 2007 and 2008). Prior to joining JCPA in 2001, he served the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford for 13 years as JCRC Director. He is a graduate of Lehigh University and the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Allan Finkelstein became president of the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America in October 1994, culminating a 20-year career in the Jewish Community Center field. He had previously been executive vice president of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles since 1991. Prior to that, Allan served as the executive vice president of the Leo Yassenoff Jewish Community Center of Columbus, Ohio since 1982. He began his JCC career in 1974 at the JCC of Greater Buffalo, where he served in a variety of capacities. Allan is a native of Minneapolis, and received his Masters in Social Work degree from the University of Minnesota, where he had also received his Bachelors degree. He is active in the field of professional education, having served as the chair of the Professional Advisory Committee of the Benjamin Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service at Brandeis University. He was a faculty member of the Kaplan Seminar for Emerging Professionals at Brandeis University from 1995-2007. Allan also served as a faculty member of the Irwin Daniels School of Jewish Communal Service at Hebrew Union College in LA. Allan has consulted in the development of Jewish Community Centers in the Former Soviet Union on three occasions. His avocation is musical conducting, with a special interest in musical theatre. He has conducted synagogue choirs in Minneapolis, Columbus, and currently, West Caldwell, New Jersey.

Seth Finkelstein is a junior at the University of Maryland, majoring in American Studies and minoring in Jewish Studies. He is actively involved in Jewish causes and Israel advocacy. Seth is a past National President of Young Judaea, the Zionist youth movement, and was a participant in Young Judaea's Year Course in Israel. Seth is a Hillel Jewish Service in Action (JSA) Fellow and is organizing an alternative spring break program to Arizona; last year he participated in a Jewish social action program in Uruguay. Seth is the StandWithUs Emerson Fellow for Israel advocacy and education for the University of Maryland, is on the board of TERPAC (Maryland’s Israeli culture group), is a College Park Scholars Peer Mentor, and is the Young Judaea regional advisor for Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Seth is originally from Philadelphia, is a graduate of the Perelman Jewish Day School and Lower Merion High School, and is a huge Eagles and Phillies fan.

Wayne L. Firestone is the CEO and president of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. He has held leadership positions in Jewish communal affairs since his days as a Soviet Jewry activist at University of Miami Hillel and the Georgetown University Law Center. Wayne joined Hillel in a professional capacity in September 2002 when he was appointed executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition, a partnership of Hillel and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. He was named executive vice president for the US in September 2005, serving as the staff director of Hillel's Strategic Planning Committee. Wayne lived and studied in Israel for almost nine years, serving as director of the Israel Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League, lecturing at Technion, and founding Siliconwadinet Ltd. He practiced law at Patton, Boggs, LLP, in Washington, D.C.

Michael Fisher is Orr Shalom's Director of Development. Before assuming this position, Michael served as Israel Emergency Campaign Field Manager for UJC Israel. Previously, Michael served as a Community Shaliach in Pittsburgh and Community Development Director for the North American Coalition for Israel Engagement, prior to which he was Director of Programming and Curricula at Yad Vashem. Michael has also served as the Director of the International Department of the Arts and Culture Administration at the Ministry of Science and the Arts. Michael developed an Educational Program for combat soldiers addressing moral and ethical issues arising from combat service in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and South Lebanon and was the head of the program for 6 years. He has produced many artistic exhibitions, among them the Israel Expose at the Venice Biennale as well as a Performing Art Events in Europe and Israel. He is the recipient of the Yakir Tziyon award for his outstanding contribution to Israel-Diaspora relations and serves as the chair of the Vertigo Dance company in Jerusalem.

Matt Freedman is the chief strategy and development officer of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. In that capacity, he is responsible, with community leadership, for raising the resources needed to advance agenda; developing strategic direction and priorities for the federation; defining organizational mission; and integrating resource development and communal agenda. Matt oversees all fundraising activities at The Associated, including annual and women’s giving, planned giving and foundations, capital giving and donor development. Matt has been with The Associated for fourteen years serving in campaign and planning roles and has also worked at Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. An alum of the Darrell Friedman Institute for Jewish Communal Leadership, Matt holds a masters degree in Jewish studies from Baltimore Hebrew University and a masters in public administration from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He has held fellowships with the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and participated in the Mandel Executive Development Program of The Jewish Federations of North America.

Dr. Misha Galperin is the executive vice president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, representing one of North America's largest Jewish communities. Prior to joining the Federation in June 2001, Misha served as the chief operating officer of UJA-Federation of New York, where he was known for his innovative approach to organizational development and for building many new programmatic and fundraising initiatives. Born in Odessa in 1958, Misha emigrated to the United States in 1976. His resettlement was facilitated by Federation agencies much like the ones where he went on to build his career: The Educational Alliance (the nation's oldest Jewish settlement house), the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA), the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, FEGS and Jewish community centers in Los Angeles and New York. Misha holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from New York University. He is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Foundation's Jewish literacy program for lay leadership. He has spoken and written widely on psychological processes, Jewish life, community building and philanthropy.

Tony Gelbart, a businessman and philanthropist, is Chairman and Co-Founder of Nefesh B'Nefesh, a nonprofit organization established in 2002 to help North American and British Jews make Aliyah. In addition, he is President and CEO of Old City Partners LLC, an investment company based in Boca Raton, Florida with holdings in both the U.S. and Israel. In addition to his involvement with Nefesh B’Nefesh, he is actively involved with several charitable organizations. These include Council Member, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; Vice Chairman, Republican Jewish Coalition; Board Member, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; Board Member, Jewish National Fund; Member, American Friends of Israel Democracy Institute.

Michael C. Gelman is national treasurer of The Jewish Federations of North America, for which he has chaired the Consulting Committee, the Domestic Affairs Pillar, and the 2003 General Assembly in Jerusalem. He has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, as well as co-chair of its Annual Campaign and president of its Endowment Fund. Michael was the inaugural chair of the board of The Israel Project and currently serves on its executive committee. He was appointed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by President Clinton and served from 1995 to 2004. He was appointed by Maryland Governor Paris Glendening to the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents, serving from 1996 to 2000. He sits on the boards of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Hillel, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and the American Jewish International Relations Institute. He is a founding partner of Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman, an accounting firm in Bethesda, Maryland.

Ben Gittleson is a junior at Tufts University majoring in international relations and minoring in Arabic. He is a news editor at the Tufts Daily newspaper and edits a scholarly journal at Tufts that focuses on the Middle East. In high school, he served on the board of directors of the Jewish Youth Philanthropy Institute in Rockville, Md. Last summer, Ben traveled to Almaty, Kazakhstan on a JDC Short Term Service trip with Tufts Hillel. This year, he served as the Student Coordinator for another JDC Short Term Service trip with Tufts Hillel, to the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda. Upon his return Ben has been leading a local University and community-based initiative “Race For Rwanda” to support the needs he and other students witnessed in Rwanda. He also currently sits on the board of JDCu, a Tufts student group created by Tufts Hillel students and devoted to issues affecting world Jewry.

Barbara Black Goldfarb has been an active participant in Jewish community life, from the arts to social services to education, for over 30 years. Barbara holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Johns Hopkins University and also pursued graduate studies at the London School of Economics. She came to Miami in 1984 to work in the Planning Department of Mt. Sinai Medical Center, where she helped establish the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders. Indicative of her wide-ranging interests, she owned and managed a local art gallery for several years. Now she is a full-time professional volunteer. She currently serves on the Federation’s Executive Committee and as General Campaign Chair of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. In the past, she has chaired The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, served as Women’s Department President and Campaign Chair and as Campaign Vice Chair for Women’s Philanthropy. Barbara is also a past recipient of Federation’s Stanley C. Myers Presidents’ Leadership Award. Nationally, her involvement in The Jewish Federations of North America (UJC)/ The Jewish Federation’s of North America has included leadership roles with Women’s Philanthropy Board, Lion of Judah Committee and Young Leadership Cabinet. Barbara’s commitment to education includes leadership positions with the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CJAE), Beth Torah Congregation’s Hochberg Preparatory School and Kesher L.D. She has demonstrated her dedication to social services in many ways through her various roles with Jewish Community Services of South Florida (JCS), including cofounding the Jewish Domestic Abuse Program.

Jane Goldstein is a past President of the Jewish Community Federation, a past President of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Family and Vocational Service (now Jewish Family and Career Services) and a past President of the National Board of the Association of Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies. She serves on various committees of the National Funding Council (NFC now the Alliance) of UJC. She is currently a member of the UJC Domestic Affairs Cabinet and co-chairs the Aging and Family Caregiving Workgroup. She is a former Vice Chair of the NFC’s Education/Culture Panel and is a past chair of the CBC. Currently, she serves o the Executive Committee of the Jewish Community of Louisville, the Mission Committee of Jewish Hospital, St. Mary’s Health Care and the Brown Cancer Center Advisory Board.

Bradley Gordon is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Director of Policy and Government Affairs, a new position created in Oct. 2005. He had been AIPAC’s Legislative Director since January 1995. From February 1993 to January 1995, he was Staff Director of the International Operations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), oversaw the operations of the Department of State, the Agency for International Development, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the U.S. Information Agency. From March 1990 to January 1993, Bradley was Assistant Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency for Nonproliferation Policy. He was responsible for issues related to the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them. Bradley was also U.S. Ambassador to the Fourth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) held in Geneva in August and September 1990. Between 1985 and 1989, Bradley was legislative advisor for foreign policy to Senator Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN), and between 1985 and 1987 was the professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee responsible for the Middle East and South Asia. Bradley worked as a political analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency from 1979 to 1985 in the office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis. Bradley graduated cum laude and with Honors in Politics from Brandeis University in 1971. He received a Master of Arts degree in political science in 1974 from the University of Vermont. He received a Masters of Philosophy degree from Columbia University in 1978 and a Certificate from its Middle East Institute in 1977. While at Columbia, Bradley was a National Defense Foreign Language Fellow in Arabic and was selected Research Assistant for its Middle East Institute.

Dr. Jacques Gorlin chairs the Investment Policy Committee of the United Jewish Endowment Fund of Greater Washington, which has developed recommendations to ensure that the Endowment Fund’s policies and procedures conform to best practices in foundation investing. Previously, he served as Federation Vice President for Planning & Allocations and Vice President for Multiple Appeals. He also chaired Federation allocations committees for Hurricane Katrina and Tsunami Relief. Jacques is past President of the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington. He is President of the Gorlin Group, a consultancy that provides strategic advice and analysis on the nexus of intellectual property and trade policy.

Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg is currently writing a comprehensive theology of Judaism as the religion of tikkun olam. In 2007, he completed a 10 year term as President of Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation. Greenberg also served as Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council from 2000-2002. Rabbi Greenberg has written extensively on theology after the Holocaust, the theory and practice of pluralism, and on the theology of Jewish-Christian relations. Rabbi Greenberg is the author of The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (Touchstone Books, 1988), and For the Sake of Heaven and Earth: The New Encounter between Judaism and Christianity (Jewish Publication Society, 2004). From 1974 through 1997, he served as founding President of CLAL - The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. In the book, Interpreters of Judaism in the Late Twentieth Century, Professor Steven T. Katz wrote, "No Jewish thinker has had a greater impact on the American Jewish community in the last two decades than Irving (Yitz) Greenberg."

Jill Greer is manager of the National Jewish Federation Bond Program for UJC. Under the Program, she structured and now oversees 32 transactions, totaling $600 million for Federations and agencies around the country. Prior to joining the NJFBP, Jill was a vice president at Goldman, Sachs & Co. where she structured and executed tax-exempt bond financings for not-for-profit organizations. She received her MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Gidi Grinstein is the Founder and President of the Reut Institute. He served in the Office and then in the Bureau of PM Barak as the Secretary and coordinator of the Negotiation Team of the Government of Israel to the Permanent Status negotiations between Israel and the PLO (1999-2001). Gidi has an extensive background in policy-planning and is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (2002) and Tel-Aviv University Schools of Law (1999) and Economics (1991).

Steve Gutow is president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. He has worked at the American Jewish Congress and the Texas Civil Liberties Union, and has held many other leadership positions. He founded the National Jewish Democratic Council. Steve graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and was rabbi of the Reconstructionist Minyan of St. Louis. He served as adjunct law professor at St. Louis University. He has written and spoken on racial harmony, religious pluralism, civil liberties, Israel's security, poverty, the environment, healthcare, and the Jewish rationale for social justice, and has been recognized for social action. As leader of the JCPA, Steve has helped influence the Jewish community and the government to support Israel, maintain poverty programs, and work toward ending genocide in Darfur, reforming immigration policy, and creating a sustainable environment. In 2007, Steve was named one of the “Forward 50 most influential Jews in America today,” and in 2009 Newsweek named him the 20th most influential rabbi in the US.

Beth Guttman is the president of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (JFC). Under her leadership, the Cincinnati Jewish community has responded thoughtfully and effectively to the challenges of the economic downturn. A new Community Efficiencies Group has created ten teams that have identified both short-term and longer-term strategies for delivering higher quality services at a sustainable community cost. Prior to becoming president, Beth served as the Federation's vice president of Financial Resource Development. Under her leadership, Cincinnati implemented the Donor Relationship Manager fundraising model, positioning the Federation to serve as the Center for Jewish Philanthropy in Cincinnati and increasing dollars raised in 2007 by 40 percent. For the past four years she has served on the Planning & Allocations Committee and prior to that on the committee's Youth and Family Council. She co-chaired Cincinnati's celebration of Israel's 50th birthday, creating a Biblical Garden of Peace which remains a current exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Professor Jack Habib, Director of the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, received his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and is professor emeritus of economics and social work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute is the leading center for applied social research serving Israel and the Jewish world. It seeks to improve the effectiveness of social services and policies by developing and disseminating knowledge of social needs as well as of the effectiveness of policies and programs intended to meet those needs. Jack has served on many Israeli national commissions established to improve various aspects of the social service system and has participated in numerous international professional exchange programs, collaborative research projects and multi-national conferences. He has worked closely with the The Jewish Federations of North America and with Jewish Federations around the world with respect to their programming in Israel and the social service system in their own communities. Jack writes and lectures extensively on economics and social developments in Israel. He is the author of numerous books and articles in the field of social welfare in Israel and internationally.

Moshe Halbertal is a Professor of Jewish Thought and Philosophy at the Hebrew University, a fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute and the Gruss Professor at NYU Law School. He received his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University in 1989, and from 1988-1992 he was a fellow at the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. Moshe served as a visiting Professor at Harvard Law School at University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is the author of the books “Idolatry” (co authored with Avishai Margalit) and “People of the Book: Canon, Meaning and Authority”, both published by Harvard University Press. He is as well the author of “Concealment and Revelation: Esotericism in Jewish Tradition and Its Philosophical Implications” published by Princeton university Press. He is as well the author of the books "Interpretative Revolutions in the Making", and "Between Torah and Wisdom: R. Menachem ha-Meiri and The Maimonidean Halakhists in Provence", both published in Hebrew by Magnes Press. His latest book published in Hebrew is “By Way of Truth: Nahmanides and the Creation of Tradition”. Moshe is the recipient of the Bruno Award of the Rothschild foundation, and the Goren Goldstein award for the best book in Jewish Thought in the years 1997-2000.

Yizhar Hess is executive director and CEO of the Masorti Movement in Israel. He has a broad range of experience in Jewish communal service, having served as vice CEO of the Shorashim Centre for Jewish Studies and the Kfar Blum Jewish Festival, and as a community shaliach to Tucson, Arizona, where he directed the local Federation's Israel Center. As director of partnerships for the Jewish Agency, he forged links between regions in Israel and the Jewish communities of Rochester, NY, Washington, DC and South Africa. Yizhar is a regular contributor to the Israeli press on the subjects of religion and state. He is the co-editor of the book Questions about God. Following his military service, he earned a BA in Political Science and Hebrew Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a law degree from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. Yizhar is a tenth-generation Jerusalemite.

Malcolm Hoenlein is the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the coordinating body on national and international Jewish concerns for 52 national Jewish organizations. He received his B.A. in Political Science from Temple University and completed his doctoral course work at the University of Pennsylvania where he taught in their Department of International Relations. Previously, he served as the founding Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater New York and of the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry. Malcolm appears regularly in the media and has lectured and met leading officials throughout the world. A recipient of many awards, tributes and two Honorary Doctorates, he is associated with and serves on the boards of many communal, educational and civic organizations. He Chairman of America’s Voices in Israel and Co-Chair of the Secure Community Network.

Andrea Hoffman is currently the Director of Immersion Experiences for Hillel: the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. In this capacity, she and her team work with all aspects of Taglit-Birthright Israel and Alternative Break programs, including follow-through strategies, staff training, program and curriculum development, and participant orientation and recruitment. She previously served as the Director for Taglit-Birthright Israel for Hillel and before that as a Hillel Director and Program Director on several Midwest campuses. She prefers Diet Pepsi to Diet Coke.

Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications is a leading authority in online video for nonprofits and a long-time consultant to nonprofit leaders on online fundraising and outreach strategies. He started his career as a political consultant and Washington-based nonprofit fundraiser before joining a venture investment firm to develop internet start-ups. Post-bubble, Hoffman founded See3 to bring together his belief in the power of the web and his passion and experience with nonprofit fundraising, advocacy, and education. He is a frequent blogger and tweeter on nonprofit marketing (@michael_hoffman) and is a nationally sought-after speaker on topics such as online cause marketing, web video, and Web 2.0 for social change. He works with many Jewish organizations, including AJWS, Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, Northwestern Fiedler Hillel and others.

Stephen H. Hoffman, President of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, is a graduate of Dickinson College and received his Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland and a Masters in Jewish Studies from the Baltimore Hebrew University. He is also a graduate of the Council of Jewish Federation’s Executive Recruitment and Education Program (FEREP). He began his career at the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland in 1974, and served as director or social planning and research and assistant director, before becoming CEO in 1983. Stephen serves on the President’s Visiting Committee of Case Western Reserve University. He is a board member of the Musical Arts Association (the Cleveland Orchestra), the Mandel Foundation, the David & Inez Myers Foundation, and the Maltz Foundation. He also has served in a number of leadership positions for United Way Services, and is a past board member of the Greater Cleveland Roundtable, an organization devoted to promoting racial harmony in the city of Cleveland. Stephen’s impact has been national and international in scope. He is the founding director of the Council for Initiatives in Jewish Education. For three years, 2001-2004, he was "loaned" by Cleveland to serve as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the The Jewish Federations of North America, the national umbrella organization of the federation movement. In 2004, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the United States delegation to the Conference on Anti-Semitism, held in Berlin, Germany by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. He is founder and co-chair of the Secure Communities Network, a national organization concerned with communal security issues and preparedness. He also serves as interim president of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, an international policy think tank based in Jerusalem. Stephen was the 1999 recipient of the Charles Eisenman Award, the Federation’s highest honor. In May of 2002, Stephen was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from the Baltimore Hebrew University, and in March 2003, he was the first recipient of the Fuchs Misrachi School’s Guardian of Zion Award in Cleveland, Ohio.

Colonel (reserve) Elisha Hosman is serving as the Director of the Youth Futures Division of the Jewish Agency. His extensive experience as a Senior Executive in the Israeli Employment Service, in community volunteer work and long career as a fighter pilot and commander all fuse together to create a person dedicated to making Israel a better place to live in. Elisha holds a B.A. in Economics and an EMBA in Business Administration in addition to having graduated from the IDF Command and Staff College and the IAF Academy and Military College. His skill in initiating and carrying out reorganizational processes and revamping programs in the Israeli Employment Service, and his knowledge of educational and community programs through his volunteer work as Chairman of the Partnership 2000 in Hadera-I'ron are the excellent basis for his leadership of the Jewish Agency's programs for children and youth at risk.

Liz Livingston Howard is a graduate of Northwestern University and holds an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. She is the associate director of the Kellogg School's Center for Nonprofit Management and a Lecturer in the Social Enterprise Program. She has developed and teaches MBA and nonprofit executive education courses for leaders in the nonprofit sector. Program topics include fundraising, marketing, performance measurement, capacity building and board governance. Prior to joining the Center for Nonprofit Management, Liz spent almost 20 years as a development officer and fundraising consultant, including 10 years as assistant dean for Development at the Kellogg School and four years as a capital campaign consultant. She has provided consulting services for local and national nonprofits in the areas of fundraising, marketing, board development and strategy.

Judy Horowitz is a director for UJC Consulting. She came to UJC in 2004 after a 22-year career as a health care management consultant, specializing in strategic and financial planning. Since joining UJC Consulting, Judy has been involved in a variety of planning, governance, and collaborative model projects for federations across the country and has facilitated board retreats in communities of all sizes. She is one of the key staff members assigned to the Federation Benchmarking Project.

Linda A. Hurwitz is passionate and purposeful in her career of enhancing the lives of her people. A graduate of Duke University achieving Phi Beta Kappa in education and The Johns Hopkins University in Administration and Supervisor of Education, Linda takes her background as a teacher and an administrator to communicate, educate and motivate her life experiences and message to her audience. Linda has held every campaign position in her hometown of Baltimore just recently past 2009 Campaign Chair for The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. In a year of down campaigns and economic challenges, Baltimore’s finished up due in part to Linda’s tireless commitment and efforts. In the past, she has held the following roles, to name a few: Young Women’s Leadership Chair, Women’s Department Campaign Chair, Major Gifts, New Gifts and Upgrade Chair. Linda is deeply committed to issues affecting Israel and served as the founding Co Chair of the Ashkelon Partnership, Baltimore’s present sister city and presently serves as Chair of The Associated’s Commission on Israel and Overseas. Additionally, Linda is the President of The Board of Trustees of the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community Day School. As Chair of the National Women’s Philanthropy Board of The Jewish Federations of North America, Linda looks forward to providing direction, vision, inspiration and support to every woman, community, Jew who conveys interest in engagement. She has high hopes and strong beliefs in the power of our collective efforts. Linda is the recipient of all three of The Associated Young Leadership Awards. A perpetual student, Linda is a graduate of The Wexner Foundation and the ACHARAI: Shoshana S. Cardin Leadership Development Institute.

Avraham Infeld is currently the Director of Avraham Infeld Educational Initiatives, providing consulting services in Jewish Education and funding strategies for Education in Israel. In this capacity, he also serves as Consultant on Jewish Peoplehood to the Nadav Fund. In the 1970s, Avraham founded Melitz, a non-profit educational service institution that fosters Jewish identity rooted in a pluralistic understanding of Jewish life and the centrality of Israel. He also served as chairman of Arevim; director of the birthright israel planning process; founding chairman of San Francisco Federation’s Amutot in Israel; and chairman of the Board of Israel Experience, Ltd., an independent company created by the Jewish Agency. In 2003, Avraham was appointed President and International Director of Hillel – Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, and served in that capacity until September, 2006, when he returned to Israel to assume the Presidency of the Chais Family Foundation. He continued to serve as President Emeritus of Hillel International. On December 11, 2008, the Chais Family Foundation was forced to close following a massive fraud on Wall Street. Avraham today serves as Director of the Avraham Infeld Educational Initiatives, an independent consulting company. Avraham has sought to promote Jewish values among Israelis as president and chairman of Israel Forum, a nationwide volunteer movement he helped found in 1990. He has conducted breakthrough work in bringing together secular and religious Israelis as director general of the Shalom Hartman Institute and director general of Gesher Education Affiliates. A native of South Africa, Avraham immigrated to Israel in 1959. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University in Bible and Jewish History, and of Tel Aviv University’s Law School. In 2005, he was awarded the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s prestigious Samuel Rothberg Prize for Jewish Education, the first specialist in informal Jewish education to be so honored. He was given an honorary doctorate by Muhlenberg College in May 2006 for his contribution to the field of education.

Maish Isaacson had a background of intense community participation in South Africa after graduating Electrical Engineering, then volunteered for the Chevra Kadisha, was the youngest Chairman of the Pretoria Jewish Community, conceptualizing and building a thriving Kehilla in Johannesburg where he was Chairman for five years. Together with his wife Jocelyn and their three children – Shaun, Tali and Dina Maish made aliya in 1996. He was elected as Chairman of the South African Zionist Federation in Israel in 2006 after holding numerous positions in the organization. He settled in Ra’anana where he is active in the Chevra Kadisha, Zakka and the Traffic Police. He also has an international perspective. His business interests are mainly in the field of property development and management in Israel, South Africa and the United States. He founded and was the chairman of numerous hi-tech companies as well as being CEO of a host of others.

Andrew Jacobs is a New York Times reporter and the director of Four Seasons Lodge, a documentary that follows a remarkable group of Holocaust survivors who spend their summers at a bungalow colony in the Catskills, where they dance, fight, flirt and share dark memories while the fate of their beloved community hangs in the balance. The idea for the film evolved from a 2006 Times article Andrew wrote about the lodge as part of a series on Catskills summer life. Four Seasons Lodge, which is being distributed by First Run Features, will have its theatrical debut on Nov. 11 at the IFC Center in Manhattan, followed by screenings across the country. A first-time filmmaker, Andrew is now a foreign correspondent based in China. He also owns an old dairy farm not far from the lodge, in Napanoch, N.Y.

Dinah Jacobs, academic director of Kellogg Management Education for Jewish Leaders (KJL), specializes in building customer-centric organizations, from strategic planning through implementation. She returned from a retirement dedicated to Jewish learning to create and lead KJL. Dinah was the corporate director of customer affairs for 17 years at Citicorp/Citibank. She pioneered the field of Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality with her 1980 study, "Excellent Service Companies: Principles & Practices." She has served as a director on several boards in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. A lecturer for many organizations, her Service Quality publications have reached a global audience in many languages. At Northwestern University, she has worked for more than 30 years with her husband Donald P. Jacobs, now Dean Emeritus of Kellogg, to build a student-centered community and a stronger Jewish community. They regularly host dinners at which more than 100 students and faculty celebrate Shabbat together.

Prof. Eliezer D. Jaffe helped create the School of Social Work of the Hebrew University. He is co-chair (with Ralph Goodman) of the Center for the Study of Philanthropy at Hebrew University, and founder and chair of the Israel Free Loan Association. He is the author of many books, including Giving Wisely: The Israel Guide to Nonprofit and Volunteer Organizations and Givers and Spenders: The Politics of Charity in Israel.

Richard W. Johnson, Ph.D., a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, is an economist specializing in health and income security at older ages. He is an expert on older Americans' employment and retirement decisions. Recent studies include analyses of occupational change at older ages, changes over time in job demands, older adults' employment during the current economic recession, and work impediments at older ages. He has also written extensively about retirement preparedness, including studies of the financial and health risks people face as they approach retirement. Dr. Johnson recently guest edited two special issues of Research on Aging on emerging employment patterns at older ages and is currently completing a book on older workers for the Urban Institute Press. He received an A.B. from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, both in economics.

Elana Kahn-Oren, an award-winning writer and editor, is editor of the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. She is currently president of the American Jewish Press Association.

Randall Kaplan, Chairman of the International Board of Governors of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, lives in Greensboro, NC with his wonderful wife, Kathy Manning, the incoming Chairwoman of The Jewish Federations of North America and their three children. He also serves on the Boards of JDC; The Jewish Foundation and Federation of Greensboro; Chairs the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and serves on several community non-profits, including United Way and Greensboro Economic Partnership. Randall is CEO of Capsule Group, LLC, a private holding company; CEO of Listingbook, LLC and President of the Elm Street Center.

Rabbi Gilad Kariv is associate director of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the public and legal advocacy arm of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. (IMPJ), which represents the Reform movement in Israel. An attorney, he is responsible for guiding the public policy, social action and legal work of the IMPJ. He works as IRAC’s lobbyist in tracking legislation in the Knesset, represents the interests of Progressive Judaism in Knesset committee meetings, in local government, and the Israel Supreme Court.

Irv Katz is President & CEO of the National Human Services Assembly (National Assembly), the national association of more than seventy of the nation’s leading nonprofit human service and community development organizations. Ranging, alphabetically, from AARP to the YWCA, the members and their affiliates collectively reach every community and virtually every household in the U.S.—as donors, volunteers and consumers of services. As president of the Assembly, Irv oversees a dozen professional peer councils (i.e., learning communities of CEOs, public policy VPs, etc.); affinity groups on youth development and family strengthening; collaborative public policy efforts; and diverse collaborative initiatives, including leading sites on the web for information on positive youth development (the National Youth Development Information Center, www.nydic.org) and family strengthening policy, (www.nassembly.org/fspc). Prior to joining the National Assembly in April of 2001, Irv enjoyed a twenty-three year career in the United Way movement. He served in a variety of positions at United Way of Central Indiana, including six years as its president. During his tenure, he and the superintendent of the city’s largest school district established Bridges to Success, a community-school partnership that began in six schools and is now in over forty and has been replicated or adapted in other communities around the country. From 1997 to 2001, Irv served as senior vice president for community impact at United Way of America, with responsibility for community building, public policy, national grants and initiatives, a national mobilization for children, research, a Federal emergency food and shelter program, and outcome measurement. Positions held earlier in his career were with the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council and a federation of settlement houses, also in Indianapolis. Irv holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Indiana University, the former a bachelor of arts in English, the latter a masters in social work. He currently serves on the boards of Generations United, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Leader to Leader Institute, and 501 c Agencies Trust, as a Trustee for America’s Promise Alliance and as a member of the Research and Policy Council for MENTOR (National Mentoring Partnership) and the Federal Mentoring Council. He has been recognized as one of the Nonprofit Power & Influence 50 by The Nonprofit Times.

Joyce Garver Keller has served 18 years in her position as executive director of Ohio Jewish Communities, where she has helped secure millions of dollars in state and federal funds for Jewish agencies in Ohio. Ohio Jewish Communities was incorporated in 1982 to secure government funds to enhance the Jewish community’s ability to serve human needs, encourage sound public policy, educate public officials about the work of the eight Jewish Federations and their partner agencies and maintain relationships with local, state and federal officials. She has received the State Government Affairs "Director of the Year Award" and was selected by The Ohioan magazine as one of the top five "Nice-but-Effective Lobbyists in Ohio." In 2001, Joyce was voted among the most effective female lobbyists in the Public Sector/Charity category, in a survey of lobbyists, legislators and Cabinet members and in 2005 was elected president of the Association of Jewish Community State Government Affairs Directors.

Evelyn B. Kenvin is on the Executive Board of UJA-Federation of New York and is currently the Chair of its Commission on the Jewish People. She also serves as International Co-Chair of JAFI’s Loan Fund Advisory Group and is on the Board of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. She was a Senior Vice President of Citigroup and its National Director of Community Development Investments. She retired in 2006 after twenty-five years with the company and is currently a consultant to several leading institutions. Evelyn attended Cornell University and is a graduate of New York University and Columbia Business School.

Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block is the Director of the PANIM Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values, a division of BBYO, which is dedicated to building a teen movement committed to service, advocacy, and philanthropy, rooted in Jewish values. He has worked extensively to expand the field of Jewish service-learning through the establishment of intensive summer service experiences for Jewish teens (PanimWorks), year-round service-learning (Jewish Civics Initiative), and J-Serve the flagship day of service for Jewish teens, which engages 10,000 participants annually. He is the co-editor and co-author of Just: Judaism. Action. Social Change and his articles have been published in Sh'ma and Newsweek.com. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Grinnell College and rabbinic ordination from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He serves on the board of Jews United for Justice, the Advisory Board for The Selah Leadership Program of the Jewish Funds for Justice, and is a founding member of Eastern Village Cohousing, an award-winning, green cohousing community in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, where he lives with his wife Devora and their three children.

James Kirchick is an assistant editor of the New Republic and a frequent contributor to Politico and the New York Daily News. He has also written for the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, New York Post and Commentary, among many other publications. He is a contributing writer to The Advocate, the nation's leading gay news magazine and is a past recipient of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists' Association Journalist of the Year Award. He graduated from Yale University in 2006 and was a columnist for the Yale Daily News.

Ann-Louise Kleper chairs UJC’s Domestic Affairs Cabinet and is a Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. She has long been involved in UJC and one of its predecessors, UJA. She served as Chair of the National Women’s Constituency (now known as National Women’s Philanthropy) for the 2000 and 2001 Campaigns and as Chairman of the Board for two years thereafter. Previously, she chaired the National Women’s Young Leadership Cabinet and the National Business & Professional Leadership Forum. While living in Boston, Ann-Louise served as an officer of Combined Jewish Philanthropies and as a vice-chairman of the general campaign, and she received the President’s Young Leadership Award. In Chicago, her current home, she has served as a member and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation and United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago and its Executive Committee. She recently completed a term as Chair of the Overall Planning & Allocations Committee. A principal in the Chicago law firm of Lewis, Davidson & Hetherington, Ltd., Ann-Louise represents injured parties in workers' compensation claims and personal injury litigation.

Irina Nevzlin Kogan is managing director of the NADAV Fund since 2007, earned a Masters degree in Economics and went on to work in government relations and strategic communications in Moscow and London. Irina made Aliya in 2006 and chose to focus on philanthropy. She first established the Nevzlin Family Foundation, which directly assists children with cancer and blood diseases, and then launched the Israeli Center for Better Childhood. The Center, which was created in partnership with Mr. Sabby Mionis, focuses on improving the welfare and educational opportunities of disadvantaged Israeli children. Ms. Nevzlin also directs the Center.

Dr. Ezra Kopelowitz is founder and CEO of Research Success Technologies. He was formerly the director of research in the Department of Education at the Jewish Agency for Israel and currently serves as a research consultant to the Jewish Agency and Panim for Jewish Renaissance in Israel. Ezra has more than 10 years of experience as a lecturer and researcher and has published extensively in the areas of sociology, Israel-Diaspora relations, Israeli politics, and Jewish education. He has also worked closely on cooperative projects with nonprofit, educational and academic institutions. Based on his work with these institutions, he saw a void in terms of organizational standards and measurements, prompting him to found Research Success. Ezra holds a PhD in Sociology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Dr. Laurence Kotler-Berkowitz has been director of research and analysis for The Jewish Federations of North America since 2006. He joined the Jewish Federations in 2000 as a senior project director on the National Jewish Population Survey and then became the NJPS research director. Laurence was previously a lecturer in political science at Haifa University and held a Lady Davis Post-doctoral Fellowship at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He earned his PhD from Brown University.

Michael Kotzin is Executive Vice President of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. He joined the Federation in 1988 as Director of its Jewish Communities Relations Council and has held his current position, which includes oversight of the Federation’s Community Relations and Communications efforts, since 1999. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Michael holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Minnesota. From 1968 to 1979 he was a faculty member at Tel Aviv University. Michael is a respected authority on Jewish communal affairs, particularly Israel-related issues and anti-Semitism, and he has published widely on these topics. A frequent spokesman for Chicago’s Jewish community, he is also active on the national scene and has played a key role in framing the national response to the Iranian threat.

Benjamin Krasna is the Deputy Consul General in New York. Previously he served in Istanbul, Turkey and The Hague Netherlands. Prior to coming to NY, his focus in his work in the Foreign Ministry has been on Europe and the Middle East. He acts as liaison for the Ministry with the National and Local leadership of the Jewish Community. Mr. Krasna holds a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Rutgers and an M.A. in International Affairs from John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Keith Krivitzky is vice president of the Center for Jewish Philanthropy at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. Prior to that, he worked for the Hillel International Center as associate director of development, director of Hillel’s Taglit-Birthright Israel trips and director of development of Hillel’s international programs. He has amassed over ten years of experience in development for nonprofit organizations, and has a B.A. in Politics and Near Eastern Studies from Princeton and an MBA from the University of Maryland. In Seattle, Keith has been developing their new Center for Jewish Philanthropy, fashioning a more donor-centric approach to fundraising that begins with creating a broad array of entry points for constituents, leading to serving as a Jewish strategic philanthropic investment advisor for major donors.

Lucette Lagnado, an investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal, was born in Cairo, Egypt; she and her family left Egypt as refugees when she was a small child, an experience that helped shape and inform her memoir, "The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit," published by Ecco/HarperCollins. Lucette has received numerous awards for her work at The Journal. She has been a finalist or received prizes from, among others, Columbia Journalism School, the National Press Club, the New York Press Club and the University of Southern California. She is also the 2008 recipient of the $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. She is the co-author of "Children of the Flames: Dr. Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz," a biography of the Nazi concentration camp doctor and his twin guinea pigs in World War II which is being translated into Hebrew by Yad Vashem.

Emily Landau is a senior research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies, where she is also director of the Arms Control and Regional Security Project. She has published and lectured extensively on nuclear proliferation and arms control in the Middle East, proliferation challenges in the post-Cold War world with particular emphasis on Iran and North Korea, and developments in global arms control thinking in the nuclear realm. Her most recent book is Arms Control in the Middle East: Cooperative Security Dialogue and Regional Constraints (Sussex Academic Press, 2006) where she discusses the Arms Control and Regional Security working group of the Madrid peace process (ACRS) from the perspective of regional context and dynamics. Dr. Landau is a frequent commentator to Israeli and international media on her topics of expertise. She teaches arms control at Tel Aviv University and in the International School at the University of Haifa. She is an active participant in Track II initiatives on regional security in the Middle East, is a member of the Steering Committee of EuroMeSCo, and of the Expert Advisory Group for Euro-Mediterranean affairs. She holds a Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Shawn Landres is co-founder and CEO of Jumpstart, an incubator, catalyst, and think tank based in Los Angeles that is helping to shape the Jewish community of the 21st century. In collaboration with the Natan Fund and the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, Jumpstart published The Innovation Ecosystem: Emergence of a New Jewish Landscape (2009), a ground-breaking report on grassroots Jewish innovation that urges philanthropic support for innovation, new metrics for success, and collaboration to reduce costs. The Community Partners/Jumpstart Project Partnership provides fiscal sponsorship, shared back-office services, and capacity-building support to innovative new Jewish projects that work for an open, inclusive, and expansive Jewish life and benefit our broader society and world. A 2009 Ariane de Rothschild Fellow, Shawn chairs the Advisory Board of Jewish Mosaic: The National Jewish Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity.

Mary Leary is the senior director of Project ACTION & Transportation Inititatives for the Easter Seals Office of Public Affairs. Since January 2004, Mary held a number of roles at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration on Aging, including those of special assistant for the Assistant Secretary for Aging, managing and developing program evaluation initiatives, and furthering transportation and mobility needs of human services populations both within the department and across federal agencies with the United We Ride initiative. She has been an outspoken advocate and public speaker in the field of human services transportation and has served on a number of advisory committees. Mary has a master’s certificate in gerontology from George Mason University’s College of Health and Human Services and she is a doctoral candidate at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy. In her dissertation, Mary has assessed the role of state transportation policy and practice in the expansion of home- and community-based services. Prior to her federal career, she worked in the private sector for over 18 years, with 12 years in management in the information technology industry. Mary has been an adjunct professor at George Mason University’s Department of Public and International Affairs and holds a master’s degree in administrative science from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., and a bachelor’s degree in English and sociology from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Joslin LeBauer is the director of Create a Jewish Legacy, an innovative national program in UJC/Jewish Federations of North America's Planned Giving and Endowments department to increase awareness of the importance of bequests for permanent endowments within local communities. She encourages communities to initiate the program and consults with communities as they launch it, providing training and guidance. Joslin has also been the director of Network Planned Giving & Endowments at UJC for seven years. In addition, she has worked and volunteered for many years at foundations and small federations. She served as director of a private family foundation and as the assistant endowment director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. As a lay leader, Joslin served as president of the Greensboro Jewish Federation and as a director of CJF and chair of its Small City Federations Association. In the general community, she has served as chair of Greensboro’s Commission on the Status of Women.

Roberta Marcus Leiner is the Managing Director of Caring Commission of UJA-Federation of New York. In this capacity, she provides overall management and direction for the range of initiatives that enable UJA-Federation to play a central role in the provision of a Jewish response to crucial human needs. She is responsible for developing new strategies and approaches and mobilizing UJA-Federation’s ability to ensure requisite financial and human resources support for these efforts. Since joining UJAFED, Roberta has been instrumental in launching the UJAFED Jewish Healing and Hospice Alliance including NY’s first residential hospice under Jewish auspice; Partners in Care, a formidable initiative linking social workers to over 150 synagogues region wide; Single Stop sites modeled after Robin Hood bringing comprehensive services to the poor; the Israel Trauma Coalition assembling 40 Israel based trauma related organizations extending support around the world; autism initiatives and a host of other efforts to improve health, emotional, psychological and spiritual outcomes for vulnerable populations in NY, Israel and around the world.

Jeff Levin is the Chief Development Officer of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, a position he has held since October 2008. Under his leadership in 2009, the annual campaign has staved off dramatic decline while increasing its donor base. As of October, the community is on pace to finish the year with nearly 10% more contributors than in 2008. From 2000-2007, Jeff served as Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, MI, where under his leadership the Federation experienced a renaissance, dramatically expanding the scope of its programming, increasing the donor base by 40% and doubling annual income to more than $2 million. Jeff holds an MSW and Certificate in Jewish Communal Service from the University of Michigan. He is also an alum of Project Otzma and a graduate of UJC’s Executive Development Program.

Jimmy Levy is the co-founder and general managing partner of Al Bawader, an investment fund focused on the Arab private sector in Israel. Jimmy is also the founder of Galil Software, the largest high tech company in the Arab private sector.  He was formerly an executive at Comverse, a leading Israeli software company, and previously practiced corporate and commercial law for more than 10 years.  Jimmy earned his BA from McGill University, his LLB from Osgoode Hall in Toronto, his PhD from Clark University in Worcester, MA , and his MBA from the Tel Aviv International School of Management.  He lives in Israel with his wife Caitlin and their four children.

Ann Lewis is President of No Limits.org, an internet-based organization addressing national and international issues. Ann was previously a Senior Advisor to HillPAC, a leadership committee whose honorary chair was Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. She served in a similar capacity in the historic Hillary Clinton for President Campaign, where she oversaw outreach to women voters and to the Jewish community. Ann served in the White House from 1997 –2000 as Director of Communications to President Bill Clinton. She was Director of Communications for the Clinton-Gore Re-Election Campaign in 1995- 1996, and Senior Advisor to the campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton for U.S. Senate in 2000. In 2001, Ann was the Richman Visiting Professor at Brandeis University, teaching a course on the Presidency entitled "The West Wing and The Real World." She is a board member of the Jewish Women’s Archive.

Richard A. Licht served two terms as Rhode Island's Lieutenant Governor from 1985 to 1989, and five terms as a State Senator from the Providence area. He was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in 1988 and the chairman of the Rhode Island Board of Governors of Higher Education. He is co-chair of the UJC/Jewish Federations of North America Health & Long-Term Care Workgroup. As an attorney in private practice, Richard has represented various health care providers, including nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, before the Rhode Island Department of Health and the Rhode Island Department of Human Services. Many substantial clients relied upon his sound advice and counsel to guide them through complex and varied legal transactions. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Deborah E. Lipstadt is the Director, Rabbi Donald A. Tam Institute for Jewish Studies and Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies (1993) at Emory University. Dr. Lipstadt's book HISTORY ON TRIAL: MY DAY IN COURT WITH DAVID IRVING [Ecco/HarperCollins, 2005] is the story of her libel trial in London against David Irving who sued her for calling him a Holocaust denier and right wing extremist. The Daily Telegraph ( London) declared that the trial had "done for the new century what the Nuremberg tribunals or the Eichmann trial did for earlier generations." The judge found David Irving to be a Holocaust denier, a falsifier of history, a racist, an antisemite, and a liar. Lipstadt represented President George W. Bush as a member of the official American delegation to the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. As an historical consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, she helped design the section of the Museum dedicated to the American Response to the Holocaust. President Clinton appointed her to two consecutive terms on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council. From 1996 through 1999 she served as a member of the United States State Department Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad. Dr. Lipstadt has also written DENYING THE HOLOCAUST: THE GROWING ASSAULT ON TRUTH AND MEMORY (Free Press/Macmillan, 1993), the first full-length study of those who deny the Holocaust. She has also written BEYOND BELIEF: THE AMERICAN PRESS AND THE COMING OF THE HOLOCAUST (Free Press/Macmillan, 1986, 1993). She has taught at University of Washington, UCLA and Occidental College in Los Angeles. In Spring 2006 she was a Visiting Professor at the Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome. She received her B.A. from City College of New York and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Brandeis University. Professor Lipstadt is frequently called upon by the media to comment on matters of Jewish interest. She has received numerous teaching awards including Emory’s student government association’s award for being the teacher most likely to motivate students to learn about new and unfamiliar topics and the Emory Williams award, for her courses on modern Jewish and Holocaust studies. Given to Emory’s outstanding teachers, the award is based on nominations by alumni of the professor who has had the greatest impact on them. She has received Honorary Doctorates from Yeshiva University, Bar Ilan University, and Baltimore Hebrew University. The Forward named her number two on its list of the "Forward Fifty": the fifty top Jewish news makers for the year 2000. She is the 2005 winner of the Al Chernin Award given by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs to the person who best exemplifies protection of the First Amendment.

Nancy Lublin holds the titles of CEO and Chief Old Person at DoSomething.org, the largest organization in America for young people and social change. She is also the founder of Dress for Success, the organization that helps women transition from welfare to work. Dress for Success, which she created with a $5,000 inheritance from her “Poppy Max,” now exists in 96 cities and eight countries and has helped nearly one million women reclaim their destinies. Nancy received her BA from Brown University, an M.Litt. from Oxford University where she was a Marshall Scholar, and a law degree from NYU where she was a Root-Tilden Scholar. She writes a column for Fast Company magazine and is the author of Doing More with Less: 11 Things Big Business Can Learn from Not for Profits, to be published in April by Penguin. Nancy is proud to have been selected a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and to be the mother of two young children who love broccoli.

Frank Luntz is one of the most honored communication professionals in America today. He has written, supervised, and conducted more than 2,000 surveys, focus groups, ad tests, and dial sessions in over two dozen countries and four continents over the past decade. Frank is the author of The New York Times best seller Words that Work: It's Not What You Say it's What People Hear, which explores the art and science of language creation. His latest book, "What Americans Really Want Really," addresses the private hopes, dreams and fears of the American people. Frank graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in history and political science, and was awarded a Thouron Fellowship. He received his Doctorate in Politics from Oxford University.

David Makovsky is the Ziegler distinguished fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Project on the Middle East Peace Process. He is also an adjunct lecturer in Middle Eastern studies at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Mr. Makovsky is the coauthor with Dennis Ross of the newly released book, Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction in the Middle East. An award-winning journalist who covered the peace process from 1989 to 2000, he is the former executive editor of the Jerusalem Post and was diplomatic correspondent for Israel's leading daily Haaretz. Now a contributing editor to U.S. News and World Report, he served for 11 years as the magazine's special Jerusalem correspondent. He was awarded the National Press Club's 1994 Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence for a cover story on PLO finances that he co-wrote for the magazine.

Alisa Malki, a UCLA senior, was a CEI Intern 2 years ago, focusing on engaging students on the periphery – relationship based engagement. Alisa was a participant on Alternative Break. Along with a fellow intern, she began Challah for Hunger. Challah for Hunger bakes challah weekly and sells in on campus as part of awareness raising and fundraising for Darfur. It has become a significant initiative on campus, and she was able to engage students through the idea of social justice, and figure out a way to impact campus.

Joe McTighe has been executive director of the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) since July 1, 1996. CAPE is a coalition of 18 national organizations (listed left) and 31 state affiliates serving private elementary and secondary schools. There are 28,000 private schools in America; in fact, one in four of the nation’s schools is a private school. More than six million students attend them. CAPE member organizations represent about 80 percent of private school enrollment nationwide. CAPE’s mission is to preserve and promote educational pluralism so that parents have a choice in the schooling of their children. Prior to his service at CAPE, Joe worked for 15 years as associate director at the New York State Catholic Conference, where he served as executive secretary to the NYS Council of Catholic School Superintendents. Before that, Joe worked in the Catholic schools office for the Diocese of Albany, NY, served as principal of a Catholic elementary school in Albany, and taught at an inner-city Catholic school in Manhattan. Joe received a B.A. in philosophy from Manhattan College, an M.A. in philosophy from The New School for Social Research, and completed his Ph.D. coursework in philosophy and education at Columbia University.

Mark Mellman is one of the nation’s leading public opinion researchers and communication strategists. He is CEO of The Mellman Group and recently named "Pollster of the Year" by the American Association of Political Consultants. The Mellman group is a polling and consulting firm whose clients include leading political figures, For-tune 500 companies, and some of the nation's most important public interest groups. A leading political researcher and strategist, Mellman counts among his clients The Majority Leaders of The U.S. House (Steny Hoyer) and Senate (Harry Reid). In addition, Mellman has helped guide the campaigns of some sixteen U.S. Senators, eight Governors and over two dozen Members of Congress. Mellman also serves as consultant to many of the nations most important public interest organizations ranging from The National Education Association, to The National Environmental Trust and The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. Government agencies, including the Department of Justice, the World Bank and the State Department have also sought Mellman’s guidance. Mellman’s corporate clients include Intuit (the makers of Quicken), AT&T, Coca Cola, and United Airlines. His groundbreaking research has helped define how nonprofits and businesses can use the Internet for online communications, organizing, and fundraising. The firm’s string of upset victories has led the Boston Globe to call The Mellman Group Washington’s “hottest” political consulting firm, and the New Republic describes Mellman as “a leading Democratic technologist.” Capitol Hill’s newspaper, Roll Call, named Mellman one of the most influential people in Washington when it comes to electing candidates to Congress. Mellman received his undergraduate degree from Princeton, and graduate degrees from Yale University, where he taught in the Political Science department. He has served as a consultant on politics to CBS News, a presidential debate analyst for PBS, and is currently on the faculty of The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. Mellman’s op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, among other leading papers and he writes a weekly column for “The Hill” the newspaper for and about Congress.

Gary Miller has been CEO of Jewish Family Services, Atlanta, Inc. since 1991. He has transformed the agency, growing it from a $1 million budget to over $14 million dollars in revenues and increasing its offerings from nine to 48 programs. In 1997, he oversaw the merger of Jewish Family Services and Jewish Vocational Services into a new entity, Jewish Family & Career Services. Today, JF&CS is the premier health, human service and employment organization in Atlanta serving over 30,000. In 2008, Gary completed a $6 million Capital Campaign for the only LEED Certified full-service free dental clinic in North America, staffed by over 125 volunteer dentists who donate over $1.2 million in professional services annually. He is now planning a $20 million endowment campaign as a safety net for the services provided by the organization to the community. Gary has lectured extensively in the US and Canada on developing an entrepreneurial approach to human service delivery. He currently serves on the national board and executive committee of the Association for Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies and the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services.

Jenna Mitzner, the program director of the Central Florida Hillel, completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas in Austin, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences in May 2007 and was originally from Miami. During her time in Austin, Jenna was an active student leader at Texas Hillel and President of her sorority, Alpha Epsilon Phi (AEPhi). During her Junior year, Jenna had the opportunity to volunteer with the Jewish community of Argentina through a JDC Short-Term Service Program. She was particularly moved by the devastating impact of the December 2001 economic crisis and, together with fellow JDC Short-Term Service Program participants, took action to collect items needed by JDC's Baby Help Center as well as to raise thousands of dollars for Jewish children supported by the Center. Upon graduating college, Jenna took a position as a Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow at Central Florida Hillel in Orlando, attributing her decision to pursue a career in the Jewish community to her Short-Term Service experience. In her first year at Central Florida Hillel, Jenna spearheaded a JDC Short-Term Service Program, hoping to offer Central Florida students the life-changing opportunity she was privileged to experience while a student in Texas. Jenna has now traveled as a staff person on two JDC Short-Term Service Programs to Ukraine, building a commitment among Central Florida students to global Jewish peoplehood. Now in her third year with Central Florida Hillel, Jenna is the Program Director, overseeing all campus activities, student leadership, and specializing in the recruitment, staffing, and follow through of immersion experiences. Jenna also attends The University of Central Florida as a part time graduate student, where she is pursuing a Masters degree in Nonprofit Management. When not working or in school, Jenna enjoys being an AEPhi national volunteer, staying active, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi is the founder and president of The Israel Project (TIP), an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. TIP has offices in Washington and Jerusalem and is on the frontlines of the media war to help protect Israel and our global Jewish family, reaching out to 76,000 reporters in 53 countries to get them the facts, sources and information they need to get the story right. Jennifer previously served as a foreign affairs legislative assistant to the U.S. Congress. She studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and has degrees in International Relations and Judaic Studies from Emory University. Her work earned her recognition as a "Point of Light" by President George H. W. Bush. She has been interviewed on "One on One with John McLaughlin," CNN, CNBC, FOX, MSNBC and C-SPAN.

Rabbi Jack Moline has served as rabbi of Agudas Achim Congregation of Northern Virginia in Alexandria since 1987. He is vice chair of the Interfaith Alliance. He is an alumnus of the inaugural class of the Kellogg Jewish Leadership Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Joanne Moore, the National Young Leadership co-chair, is an ardent supporter of Israel, and Jewish communities outside of the U.S. and Israel. Joanne remains a donor and solicitor in her hometown Federation of Richmond, VA, and is also a Federation donor, solicitor, and solicitation trainer for the Washington, D.C. community where she now lives. She co-chaired the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington's Next Gen Network and co-chaired the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond's Ben-Gurion Society. As a member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet, Joanne co-chaired the 2007 National Ben-Gurion Society Mission and the 2008 Washington 15 Conference. She is a recipient of the Virginia V. Binswanger Young leadership Award (Richmond, 2006) and the Jerome J. Dick Young Leadership Award (Washington, 2007).

Dr. Steven B. Nasatir has served as President of the JUF/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago for 30 years, and is only the fourth chief executive in the institution’s 109-year history. Under his leadership in each of the last five year’s, Chicago has been awarded the prestigious Sapir Award for best campaign. Steven is not only a prodigious fundraiser but a clear thinker for the Federation system and a strong advocate for Israel and the Jewish people. Often identified by the Forward as one of the top 50 international Jewish leaders, Steven has been honored by numerous organizations, has a lengthy list of published articles and serves on the boards of directors of the Jewish Policy Planning Institute in Jerusalem, the Michael Reese Health Trust, the Covenant Foundation, numerous family foundations and is an Associate Member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Leonid Nevzlin is a businessman and philanthropist who made Aliyah from Moscow in 2003. He spent his early adulthood in influential positions in both the private and public sectors in Russia including: Rector of Moscow’s University of the Humanities, Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament and President of the Russian-Jewish Congress. Nevzlin is the Chairman of the International Board of Governors of Beth Hatefutsoth, Associate Chairman of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI), He also sits on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Board of Trustees of Keren Hayesod–United Israel Appeal, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.

Alana Newhouse became Editor-in-Chief of Nextbook in September, 2008 and oversaw its redesign as Tablet magazine. Before that she spent five years as culture editor of the Forward, where she supervised coverage of books, films, dance, music, art, and ideas. She also started a line of Forward-branded books with W.W. Norton and edited its maiden publication, A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life from the Pages of the Forward. A graduate of Barnard College and Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, Alana has contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and Slate.

Ori Nir is the spokesman for Americans for Peace Now. Prior to his work at APN, Ori worked for Haaretz Daily, Israel's leading newspaper, where he covered Palestinian affairs and Israel's Arab minority. He also served as Haaretz's Washington bureau chief and later as its US West Coast correspondent. Ori was also the Washington Bureau Chief for the Forward, America's largest and most influential independent national Jewish weekly newspaper. He graduated from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he also taught reporting. Born and raised in Jerusalem, he is fluent in Hebrew and Arabic.

Robert Nomberg currently serves as Richmond Jewish Foundation's interim executive director while leading Richmond’s Create a Jewish Legacy efforts. He recently earned a doctorate in education administration and policy from The George Washington University, and has a masters degree in public administration from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from the University of Alabama. Robert is a Teach For America alumnus who taught high school math and science and coached football and a former public school administrator trained in the New Leaders for New Schools program.

Nicole Opper directed and produced Off and Running, a co-production of ITVS, with support from the Foundation for Jewish Culture and the National Black Programming Consortium. The film was a Top Ten Audience Favorite at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, received two Best Documentary awards and the Silverdocs WGA Award for Best Documentary Screenplay, and will air nationally on the PBS series P.O.V. in 2010. Nicole also produced the five-part documentary series "LSS" for Here! Networks (Fall 2008), Macky Alston's Emmy-nominated The Killer Within, (Toronto Int'l Film Festival 2006, Discovery Channel 2007) and Peter Miller's Sacco and Vanzetti (First Run Features 2007 release, Winner,Best Historical Film, American Historical Association). Her documentary short, Song of Hannah, is distributed by the National Center for Jewish Film. She holds a BFA in Film Production from NYU and was recently named one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film.

Asher Ostrin is the director of the former Soviet Union (FSU) department in the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Asher joined JDC in 1986 and initially served as director of JDC’s Vienna office where he was responsible for aiding Iranian and Soviet bloc refugees seeking to immigrate to the West. Simultaneously he worked as JDC’s country director for Yugoslavia. Asher then proceeded to serve as JDC’s country director for Hungary. In 1990 Asher took over responsibility for developing JDC’s education, community development and welfare programs for the Jewish communities of Leningrad, Kiev and the western Ukraine. A year later, as the Soviet regime began to collapse, Asher was appointed to his current position, managing JDC’s activities throughout the FSU.

Laurie E. Paalberg is an assistant professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, where she teaches courses in non-profit and public management. Professor Paarlberg received her PhD. in Public Affairs with concentrations in non-profit management and strategic management from Indiana University. Her research interests focus on the structure of the non-profit sector and the unique management challenges facing nonprofit organizations. Her scholarly work has appeared in Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Journal of Non-Profit Management and Leadership, American Review of Public Administration, and International Journal of Public Management. She won the Accenture Advances in Public Management Award for the best article appearing in the International Public Management Journal in 2007.

Andy Paller is a director for UJC Consulting. He joined UJC in 2003 after 21 years of Federation experience in New Orleans and Hartford as planning director, chief financial officer and associate executive director. His areas of expertise include tactical and strategic planning, allocations, research, financial management, process management and performance measurement. He holds a BSW from Cornell University, an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School, and one of his major current responsibilities is to manage UJC's continental Federation Benchmarking.

Ron Pollack is the founding executive director of Families USA, the national organization for healthcare consumers. In 1997, he was appointed by President Clinton as the sole consumer representative on the Presidential Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry. Prior to his current position at Families USA, Mr. Pollack was the Dean of the Antioch School of Law. He was also the founding executive director of the Food Research and Action Center, a leading national organization focused on eliminating hunger in the U.S. He is a frequent guest on a variety of television and radio programs including The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, NBC's Today show and NPR's All Things Considered. The Hill, a weekly newspaper covering Congress members and their staffs, named him one of the nine top nonprofit lobbyists.

Yossi Prager has been the North American Executive Director of The AVI CHAI Foundation since 1994. AVI CHAI is a private foundation with the dual goal of encouraging Jews to become more deeply involved with Jewish learning and observance, and promoting mutual understanding and sensitivity among Jews of different religious backgrounds. Under Yossi’s leadership, AVI CHAI has developed a wide variety of programs to benefit the Jewish day school and camping fields, with a focus on deepening Jewish literacy, fostering religious purposefulness and inspiring commitment to Jewish peoplehood and the State of Israel. A graduate of Yeshiva College and Yale Law School, Yossi practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton in Manhattan before joining AVI CHAI. In addition to Yossi’s work with AVI CHAI, he is on the executive board of his children’s day school and has consulted on various Jewish education initiatives. Yossi lectures and writes frequently on Judaism, Jewish education and Jewish philanthropy.

Martin J. Raffel has served as the senior vice president and director of the Task force on Israel, World Jewry & International Human Rights at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) for more than 20 years. He is a primary resource on a broad range of Israel-related and other international issues for a field of 14 national and 125 local Jewish public affairs/ community relations organizations (CRCs). He communicates regularly with U.S. government representatives and maintains an ongoing liaison with senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem and the United States. From 1979 to 1983, Mr. Raffel was assistant director of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, and he served as executive director of the Pennsylvania Regional Office of the American Jewish Congress from 1983 to 1986. Mr. Raffel is a member of both the Israel and the Pennsylvania Bar Associations. He received his law degree from the Hebrew University School of Law in Jerusalem (1976) and a BA in Political Science from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1970). He has written numerous articles and op-ed pieces on Israel related issues, and prepared a chapter on the history of Israel advocacy in the organized American Jewish community as part of the book, “Jewish Polity and American Civil Society,” which was published by Roman & Littlefield in 2002.

Cokie Roberts is an award-winning broadcaster and best-selling author. She was a Congressional and political correspondent for NPR and then hosted her own show, “This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts,” on ABC. She now contributes analysis and commentaries to both ABC and NPR. She and her husband, journalist Steve Roberts, write a nationally-syndicated newspaper column and collaborated on the bestseller, From This Day Forward. Cokie's first book, We Are our Mothers' Daughters, made it to number one on the Times list. Her two historical works, Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty, document and celebrate the contributions made by women during the early years of our nation’s history. She serves on the board of Save the Children, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and many other charities and non profits.

Steve Roberts has been a journalist for 45 years, covering many of the major events of his time, including the antiwar movement and student revolts of the 60s and 70s, President Reagan’s historic trip to Moscow in 1988, and 11 presidential campaigns. Roberts and his wife, TV journalist Cokie Roberts, write a nationally-syndicated newspaper column, and in 2000 they published the New York Times best seller, From This Day Forward, an account of their marriage as well as other marriages in American history. Steve’s childhood memoir, My Fathers’ Houses, was published in 2005 and was featured at the National Book Festival in Washington. His new book, From Every End of This Earth, will be published in October, 2009. Since 1997 he has been the Shapiro Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.

Marcella Kanfer Rolnick is Vice Chair of GOJO Industries, inventor of PURELL Instant Hand Sanitizer. She drove the reconstitution of the national Jewish social entrepreneurship fellowship program, Joshua Venture, and co-founded the Lippman Kanfer Institute for Innovation in Jewish Learning and Engagement at JESNA. She is President and Chair of the Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation and a member of the board of American Jewish World Service. She recently spearheaded a community-wide process called "Imagine Jewish Akron" to envision and plan for a positive future for the local Jewish community. Marcella earned her MBA from Stanford University and her BA from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton University. Marcella currently resides in Akron, Ohio, with her husband Josh and sons Meyer Paz and Heshel Rom.

Jon Rosenberg is the CEO of Repair the World, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire a movement in which service is a defining element of American Jewish life, learning, and leadership. His prior positions include executive director of Roads to Success, an education nonprofit; deputy general counsel of Edison Schools Inc.; senior attorney with the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights; director of the Children Aid Society's Immigration and Welfare Reform Project; and associate appellate counsel at The Legal Aid Society.

John S. Ruskay first came to UJA-Federation in 1993 and served in several positions before being appointed Executive Vice President and CEO in October 1999. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 1968, Dr. Ruskay earned his doctorate in political science at Columbia University. He served previously as Educational Director of the 92nd Street YM-YWHA (1980-1985) and Vice Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (1985-1993). Dr. Ruskay has written extensively and speaks nationally on a range of critical issues facing the Jewish community including about how best to respond to the challenges and opportunities of living in the open society; about the critical role of Jewish philanthropy; and the role of community in responding to contemporary challenges. He has served as a senior consultant to the Wexner Foundation and the Charles and Andrea Bronfman Foundation and has chaired the publicist committee of the Journal of Jewish Communal Service and the professional Advisory Committee of the Hornstein School of Jewish communal service. Dr. Ruskay has been recognized as one of the leading Jewish professionals in North America and is a recipient of The Benjamin Reisman Award for Professional Excellence from The Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service at Brandeis University; and The Mandelkorn Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Jewish Communal Service.

Shirley Sagawa, co-founder of the sagawa/jospin consulting firm, was named a "Woman to Watch in the 21st Century," by Newsweek magazine, and one of the "Most Influential Working Mothers in America" by Working Mother magazine. A national expert on children's policy and philanthropy, she has been called a "founding mother of the modern service movement" in the United States. She is currently a fellow with the Center for American Progress. Her book, with Deb Jospin, The Charismatic Organization, (Jossey-Bass 2008) offers breakthrough insights into building strong, effective, and well-resourced nonprofit organizations. Her previous book, Common Interest, Common Good: Creating Value through Business and Social Sector Partnerships (Harvard Business School Press) describes how business and social sector organizations can collaborate for mutual gain. Shirley has served as a presidential appointee in both the first Bush and Clinton Administrations. As Deputy Chief of Staff to First Lady Hillary Clinton, she advised the First Lady on domestic policy and led the planning for White House Conferences on Philanthropy, Partnerships in Philanthropy, and Teenagers. Shirley was instrumental to the drafting and passage of legislation creating the Corporation for National Service and AmeriCorps. After Senate-confirmation as the Corporation’s first chief operating and policy officer, she led the development of new service programs for adults and students, including AmeriCorps, and directed strategic planning for this new government corporation. She has also managed successful collaborations in the private sector, including the Learning First Alliance, a partnership of national education associations. With advanced degrees in law and public policy, she began her career as the Chief Counsel for Youth Policy for the Senate Labor Committee, specializing in education, children’s, and youth issues, and subsequently served as senior counsel to the National Women’s Law Center, and on many nonprofit boards. Shirley is a graduate of Smith College, the London School of Economics and Harvard Law School, where she served on the Harvard Law Review.

For the past 14 years, Aiman Saif has been working in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office in the Economic Department as a Senior Economist. In August, 2008 he was nominated by the government to be the Director of the Authority for Economic Development of the Minority Sectors in the Prime Minister’s Office. Mr. Saif graduated from Bamberg University with an MBA degree and from the American Clark University with a Master’s degree in International Planning and Development. He serves on the Board of Directors of several organizations on behalf of the Prime Minister’s Office, such as The Investment Centre, The Authority of Planning and Construction and The Authority for Advancement of the Status of Women.

Leonard Saxe, Ph.D is Professor of Jewish Community Research and Social Policy at Brandeis University where he also serves as Chair of the Hornstein Program in Jewish Professional Leadership and directs the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute. Professor Saxe’s current research focuses on Jewish identity and the Jewish community. He is principal investigator of a longitudinal study of Taglit-Birthright Israel and, a study of the size and characteristics of the American Jewish population. He is co-author of a 2008 book, "Ten Days of Birthright Israel: A Journey in Young Adult Identity" (with Barry Chazan) and a 2004 book, "How Goodly are Thy Tents: Summer Camps as Jewish Socializing Experiences" (with Amy Sales). Professor Saxe has been a Science Fellow for the United States Congress and a Fulbright Professor at Haifa University. In 1989, he was awarded the American Psychological Association’s prize for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest, Early Career.

Steven R. Scheck is the principal of Inspire WiFi, a nationwide provider of wireless networks for the apartment industry. His local involvements include the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, the Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School, Beth Torah Congregation and other organizations. He has served as co-chair of The Network, the Under-40 Connection to the Greater Miami Jewish Federation for 4 years and was honored with the Sandra C. Goldstein Young Leadership Award in 2006. He currently serves as the chair of the UJC Jewish Service Initiative, chair-designate of National Young Leadership Cabinet and is a member of the UJC Board of Trustees. Steven graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1995.

Rabbi Dr. Martin Schloss is the Director of the Division of Day School Education for BJE NY. He is Chairman of the NYS Education Department's Commissioner's Advisory Council on Nonpublic Schools. He is a Tier I member of the NYC Committee of Nonpublic School Officials. He was a long standing member of the NYS Commissioner's Advisory Panel on Special Education Services and the US Department of Education's National Leadership on Private Education. Rabbi Schloss received his Rabbinical Ordination from Yeshiva Chaim Avraham and Doctor of Education from the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration of Yeshiva University. Rabbi Schloss has taught for numerous Schools of Education and received numerous awards for his work including the Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education and the Zella Award for Leadership in Jewish Special Education.

Ady Schonmann is Israel's newly appointed Legal Adviser to the United Nations in New-York and currently serves as Deputy Head of the International Law Department in Israel's Foreign Ministry (1998-2009). She served as a member of Israel's Negotiating Team with the Palestinians (2008-2009), and has been for many years involved in various aspects of the Middle East Peace Process. She has represented Israel in a variety of international and diplomatic fora, including UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies, the General-Assembly, the Human Rights Council and the former Commission on Human Rights. She holds degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (LLB), Haifa University (LLM) and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government (MPA) being a Wexner Israel Fellowship Alumnus.

Steve Schwager has served as the Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) since 2002. Steve joined JDC in 1989 as its Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for monitoring all operations of the organization—from the former Soviet Union to Ethiopia. He has traveled extensively throughout the world, working in such diverse locations as Australia, Ethiopia, Morocco, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, and Ukraine. From 1999-2000, Steve relocated to Israel to directly supervise JDC’s operations in Israel and the former Soviet Union, where JDC spends two-thirds of its annual budget promoting essential services and community development activities. Since its inception in 1914, JDC has helped millions of Jews around the world. Under Steve’s guidance, JDC currently works in over 70 countries and is focusing significant efforts on developing programs and initiatives that contend with Israel’s increasing poverty and the needs of its vulnerable populations, caring for hundreds of thousands of impoverished Jews in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe—particularly the elderly and children, and ensuring a self-sufficient Jewish future in communities worldwide.

Dan Senor, adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, has been involved in policy, politics, and business in the Middle East. As a senior foreign policy adviser to the U.S. government, he was one of the longest-serving civilian officials in Iraq, for which he was awarded the highest civilian honor by the Pentagon. He also served as a Pentagon adviser to Central Command in Qatar and as a foreign policy and communications adviser in the U.S. Senate. He has studied in Israel and at Harvard Business School and has traveled extensively throughout the Arab world. In his business career, he has invested in a number of Israeli and American start-ups, and today is with a New York–based global investment fund. Senor’s analytical pieces are frequently published by the Wall Street Journal; he has also written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Weekly Standard, and Time. Dan lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.

Midge Perlman Shafton has been an active volunteer in the Chicago Jewish community and on the national level for close to 40 years. She is currently a vice president of JCPA, chair of the UJC/JCPA Israel Advocacy Initiative and a member of the Birthright Steering Committee. Her past positions include chair of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, chair of Chicago JCRC, chair of the Chicago Jewish Women's Foundation, and president of the Jewish Children's Bureau.

Lee Sherman is President/CEO of the Association of Jewish Family & Children's Agencies, the membership organization for over 130 Jewish social services agencies across North America. Prior to joining AJFCA as CEO on March 1, 2009, Lee was Director of Strategic Development for Catholic Charities in Baltimore. From 1991 to 2000, he was co-founder, President and COO of American Sports Classics, Inc., an archival quality sports memorabilia company. An attorney, Lee was in private law practice from 1984 to 1991. He has held a number of leadership positions in the Jewish community, including Chair of AJFCA, President of the Board of Jewish Family Services of Baltimore, Board of Directors of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, and Board of Directors of Baltimore’s Center for Jewish Education. Lee holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from William & Mary School of Law.

Robert Sherman currently serves as the CEO of the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York. Prior to assuming that position in July 2007, he was the Executive Director of the Bureau of Jewish Education of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma Counties. Mr. Sherman has also been Headmaster of the San Diego Jewish Academy and the Maimonides Academy, two community Jewish Day Schools. Mr. Sherman was awarded his MA from the Jewish Theological Seminary and his BA from the American College in Jerusalem.

Yoav Shoham is Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and a high-tech entrepreneur. He has been active in various matters Jewish and Israeli. Most recently, he initiated the Peoplehood Index Project, which he has co-led with Nimrod Goor and publicly launched at the recent Herzliya Conference, whose goal it is to measure and strengthen ties among Jewish communities.

Bruce Sholk is an active member of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, where he chaired the 2007 Annual Campaign and will serve as Chairman of the Board beginning in 2010. He currently serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Hillel: The Foundations for Jewish Campus Life, is a member of the Board of Directors of The Jewish Federations of North America where he chairs the Ethiopian Israeli Work Group, and is a member of the Board of Governors of The Jewish Agency for Israel. Bruce is the Managing Partner of Axcel Partners, a venture capital firm.

Barry Shrage has served as President of the country’s oldest federated charity, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, Inc. (CJP) since 1987. He brings to the position a unique blend of vision, energy, optimism and enthusiasm that has earned him an international reputation. Barry led development of learning, caring and social justice through innovative partnerships with community service agencies and synagogues. He is deeply committed to Jewish and CJP participation in the broader urban agenda and has worked with the Boston Foundation, United Way, Catholic Charities and New Profit, Inc. to develop the Boston Foundation’s Opportunity Agenda. A graduate of City College of New York, Barry holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Boston University. He has written extensively on Jewish identity, continuity, social justice and the Jewish renaissance.

Ambassador Kristen Silverberg recently served as U.S. Ambassador to the European Union. From 2005 to 2008, she served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs. She previously held a number of positions in the White House, including Deputy Assistant to the President and Advisor to the Chief of Staff. In 2003, she served as a Senior Advisor to Ambassador L. Paul Bremer in Baghdad, Iraq. Ambassador Silverberg formerly practiced law at Williams and Connolly, LLP in Washington, D.C. She was a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals. She graduated from Harvard College and the University of Texas School of Law. She has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader of 2009. She received the Secretary of Defense Award for Outstanding Public Service.

Robert Singer is the director general and CEO of World ORT, one of the world’s largest non-governmental education and training providers. As the organization’s chief professional, he directs ORT’s operational and fundraising activities across five continents, managing the professional staff and liaising with the lay leadership body. Robert took up his post in 1999 and has engineered the organization’s steady growth, increasing ORT’s internal efficiency and raising its external visibility. Under his leadership, new relationships have been forged with the Jewish communities of the United States and with major communal philanthropic organizations. Prior to joining World ORT, Robert spent 12 years with the Office of the Prime Minister in Israel in senior posts. From 1993 to 1997, he was consul and head of the Prime Minister’s North America Mission, dealing with the US government, ministries and other bodies on issues relating to the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, the CIS and the Baltic States. He was also responsible for building links with Jewish communities throughout the United States and Canada. Robert was born in Ukraine and emigrated to Israel at the age of 15 with his family. He graduated from Tel Aviv University in 1976 with a degree in Political Science and History. After graduating, Robert joined the Israel Defense Force, serving as an officer for 11 years. Having served as chief education officer of the Southern Command, he left the Army in 1987 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 1996 he received the degree of Master of Science in Management Engineering, from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.

As the 2007-2008 Ralph I. Goldman Fellow in International Jewish Service, Joy Sisisky spent a year living and working in overseas locations where JDC is actively engaged. Joy was based in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine for five months and in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for three months. While in Dnepropetrovsk, Joy spearheaded programs aimed at encouraging volunteerism and developing local philanthropic giving. She initiated the grassroots movement Do Good Ukraine! that connects individuals and nonprofit organizations online with volunteer opportunities. In Ethiopia, she wrote a history of JDC’s 25-year involvement in non-sectarian programs and researched opportunities for projects in the organization’s core areas of water development, school building and medicine. Today, Joy is the Executive Director of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York – a grant making organization that funds innovative, social change programs to improve the lives of women and girls in the Jewish community in New York and Israel. The Foundation also offers education and advocacy opportunities to ensure equal access for economic, religious, social and political achievement of women and girls and encourages members to view all philanthropic efforts through a gender lens. Joy is also a member of JDC’s Next Generation Steering Committee, working to develop a network and continuum of opportunities to ensure that young people today and in the future care for and respond to Jewish needs around the world. Previously, Joy served as the Associate Director of National Women’s Philanthropy at The Jewish Federations of North America for four years. There, she managed the national Lion of Judah Endowment program representing thousands of planned gifts in excess of $421 million made by women to support the annual campaigns of Jewish federations across North America. Joy holds dual master’s degrees in Public Policy, Planning and Development from the University of Southern California and in Jewish Communal Service from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. She graduated cum laude from Brandeis University with a B.A. in Politics and Near East and Judaic Studies. Joy is also a graduate of the Muehlstein Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership, a joint program of New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and UJA-Federation of New York. Joy was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. Joy lives in New York City’s Greenwich Village with her husband, Jonathan Salky.

Elise Slobodin, LMSW, is planning director for the Caring Commission at UJA-Federation of New York, where her broad planning and allocations responsibilities focus on caring for those in need. Prior to serving as planning director, she developed strategies to address poverty in New York and Israel. Elise has close to 20 years of experience in the Jewish communal field. Before joining the Federation, she was the director of the Center for Community Services at the Sol Goldman YM-YWHA of the Educational Alliance, and prior to that she worked at the New York Association for New Americans. She received her MSW from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University and her bachelors from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Adam J. Smolyar joined The Jewish Federations of North America in 2008 as the senior vice president of strategic marketing and communications. He is a veteran marketing and communications executive with extensive experience in branding and marketing strategy in the corporate and non-profit sectors. Most recently, he has served as executive director of brand strategy, industry intelligence and international markets at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which represents 39 independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that provide health insurance coverage for 100 million members. At the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, he developed a comprehensive partnership strategy and new branding regulations, oversaw branding and marketing of key company initiatives, and directed research in support of messaging campaigns. Previously, Adam was director of corporate strategy, planning and business development for Pitney Bowes, global mail-stream technology company with revenues of $6.4B. Pitney Bowes is one of only 11 companies that was part of Jim Collins book "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t". At Pitney Bowes, Adam led an initiative to restructure management services in Europe, launched new services domestically, drove strategic planning and managed the development of a corporate growth plan, among other accomplishments. Prior to that, Adam managed strategy, business development, and technology projects at KPMG Consulting (now Bearing Point). Adam earned an MBA from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration, and graduated magna cum laude from Boston University with a political science degree. He is a board member of TheatreWorksUSA. He was also a board member of the New York Association of New Americans, which, in partnership with HIAS, helped resettle his family after they emigrated from the former Soviet Union to the United States.

Leading Soviet Jewish activist and former refusenik Aleksander Smukler became the President of the NCSJ: Advocates on behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia in December of 2008. He emigrated from Moscow in 1991. Before leaving Russia, he served as a member of the board of the Vaad, or Confederation of Jewish Organizations and Communities of the USSR, and executive director of both B’nai B’rith of the USSR and the Jewish Information Center of Moscow. Aleksander is the board chair of Century 21: Russia, Kazakhstan & the Ukraine, a franchise of the residential real estate firm. He is the president and founder of the American Foundation for Orphans Abroad and a board member of the Russian Jewish Congress.

Ted Sokolsky assumed the presidency of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto in 2004, following a successful five-year term as the organization’s vice president, integrated fundraising. Ted began his communal career with BBYO in 1972, moving from there to Canadian Friends of Haifa University as campaign director before joining UJA Federation in 1986. At UJA, he has also served as senior campaign associate, associate campaign director and Annual Campaign director. In 2007, Ted became the chair of UJC’s Large City Executive Director’s forum.

Dr. Jeffrey R. Solomon is the President of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, a group of foundations operating in Canada, Israel and the United States. Among the foundations’ innovative launches are Birthright Israel and Reboot, two initiatives aimed at connecting young, assimilated Jews to their tradition, The Gift of New York, a powerful response to September 11, helping to heal families of victims through the power of culture, and Project Involvement, an educational reform program serving some 265,000 Israeli elementary school students. He previously served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of UJA-Federation of New York. Other past positions include executive positions at Altro Health & Rehabilitation Services, Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged and Jewish Family and Children's Services in Miami. Jeffrey also served with the City, State and Federal Governments. An author of over 80 publications, he served as an adjunct associate professor at New York University and sits on numerous nonprofit and foundation boards including the FJC, a community foundation in New York, the Council of Foundations, where he chaired the Committee on Ethics and Practice and served on its Executive Committee. He is a founding trustee of the World Faiths Development Dialogue and has received a number of honors from professional associations and universities. He has recently completed a book, "The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets the Business Plan," with Charles Bronfman, being published by Jossey-Bass in October, 2009.

Stan Z. Soloway serves on the board of directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps, as well as the Senior Corps and Learn and Serve programs. He is president of the Professional Services Council (PSC), the principal national trade association representing the government professional and technical services industry. Stan is frequently sought out by the media, federal agencies, congress and others to provide commentary and perspective on procurement and outsourcing issues. He writes a monthly column in Washington Technology magazine and was a member of the congressionally mandated, national panel on the future of government outsourcing chaired by the Comptroller General of the U.S. Prior to joining PSC, Stan served as the deputy undersecretary of Defense (acquisition reform) and concurrently as director of Secretary of Defense William Cohen's Defense Reform Initiative. He is a principal of the Council on Excellence in Government, and was an expert panelist for studies conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on the future of defense technology and acquisition policy.

Elisa Spungen Bildner is an active leader in both the Jewish and secular philanthropic communities. In 1998, Elisa, with her husband Rob, co-founded the Foundation for Jewish Camp, a $23 million public foundation that supports and promotes non-profit Jewish overnight camps. She is currently president of JTA—The Global News Service of the Jewish People, was formerly chair of the Jewish Funders Network and is on the board of The Curriculum Initiative. Elisa graduated from Yale University, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and from Columbia University School of Law, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. She is a former food company CEO, practicing attorney, newspaper reporter and journalism professor.

David Steirman is the chair of the board of the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA). He serves as an officer of The Jewish Federations of North America and on the boards of a number of organizations in his community. He previously served as president of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma counties, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Bureau of Jewish Education. He also.y served on the board of JCPA, the national public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community. David was born and raised in Chicago. He graduated in 1976 from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and received his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1979. Professionally, he is president of Kestrel Investment Management Corporation. David and his wife, Anne, have two children.

Leah Stern is a TV correspondent, anchor and editor for IBA News, Israel's only local English language news program. She's also a Falafel TV producer. She frequently directs, produces and films news features in Israel for CNN's World Report Program. Stern teaches several communication courses at the Sammy Ofer School of Communications at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. Stern was embedded with the IDF during Israel's disengagement from Gaza. She broadcast live war reporting during the second Lebanon War from Israel's north, conducted inside coverage of Pope John Paul II's funeral in Rome and documented a two-day journey in Ethiopia with the Falash Mura. Stern is an editorial contributor to various publications both in Israel and abroad, such as the Miami Herald, Miami Sun Post, Detroit Jewish News, Jewlicious.com and the Jerusalem Post. Stern recently completed co-producing DISENGAGEMENT, a feature-length documentary on Israel's disengagement from Gaza. She graduated from the University of Miami and studied abroad at the Film, Arts, Music University in Prague. She is originally from Miami and made aliyah in 2004.

Susan K. Stern is a community activist and political advocate locally in New York and nationally. Last year, Governor Patterson appointed her to chair the New York State Commission on National and Community Service and elevated the position to Cabinet status. She is the immediate past chair of the board of UJA-Federation of New York, where she also served as Campaign chair. Nationally, Susan is a past president of National Women's Philanthropy and a past chair of National Young Leadership. She serves on the executive committee of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, is a trustee of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and is a member of the Women's Leadership Forum of the Democratic Party. At the University of Michigan, she serves on the LSA Dean's Advisory Committee and the Organizational Studies Leadership Committee and at Hebrew Union College, she serves on the President's Advisory Board. Susan was selected as a Wexner Heritage Foundation Fellow and currently serves on the Foundation's Alumni Council.

Eric B. Stillman is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Broward County, a position he has held since May 2006. Previously, Eric served as executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans from 2000 to 2006. Earlier in his professional career, Stillman was campaign director and then associate executive director of the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island; senior campaign associate/Major Gifts of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, DC; and campaign associate and then senior campaign associate of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. His academic credentials include a BA in Economics and Government from Clark University, an MSW in Community Organization and Social Administration from the University of Maryland at Baltimore, and a Masters of Arts in Jewish Studies with honors from Baltimore Hebrew University. Eric received a Federation Executive Recruitment and Education Program (FEREP) Scholarship.

Raya Strauss Bendror is the Co-owner and president of Strauss investments Ltd. She gives her deep support & involvement with a wide range of Social, public and personal activismprojects and organizations, which reflect a belief in people, and the love of humanity and the state of Israel. She serves as the Co-chair of "partnership 2000" in Israel and President of "partnership 2000" in Nahariya and north New Jersey. She is a major supporter of the following organizations: Beit Hashanti (home for homeless youth), Keshet Eilon Music center (violin master classes at the Galilee), Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (modern dancing in the Galilee), Reut Institute (strategic decision support for Israeli leaders & decision makers), Nahariya hospital, Acharay (youth leading social change) and Maala (business for social responsibility in Israel).

Stephanie Strom was named a national correspondent for The New York Times in December 2002. Stephanie has worked for the paper since 1988, when she joined as a clerk in the Washington bureau. After serving as a research assistant to A. M. Rosenthal, she became a general assignment reporter for the Metropolitan desk. After covering transit issues briefly, she joined the Business desk in 1991 to cover the retail and toy industries and Seventh Avenue. She has never lost her passion for the intersection of fads and fashion with business. In 1996, Stephanie began covering Wall Street and financial services, and after a brief stint in London, agreed to become the business correspondent in The Times’s Tokyo bureau, one of its largest foreign bureaus. She moved to Tokyo in 1997, just in time to cover a major banking crisis, and spent four years writing about everything from the modern world's first experience with zero-percent interest rates to the first reunion between South Koreans and their loved ones who had been lost to the North during the Korean War. Stephanie returned to New York in the fall of 2001 and after a brief stint covering executive compensation, started covering philanthropy and nonprofits, a newly revived beat for the paper, in March 2002. Born in Dickinson, Tex., Stephanie earned a B.A. degree in political science from Northwestern University in 1985 and a Masters degree in journalism from Columbia University in 1986.

David Strong is CFO of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston (CJP), where he has worked since March 1993. Prior to becoming CEO in 2002, he held several positions in the Federation’s Finance Department. He was awarded CJP's Circle of Excellence Award for Commitment in May 2000. David is first vice chair of the Executive Committee of the UJC Financial & Technology Professionals Institute, serves on the Planning Committee of the UJC Investment Institute, and is a member of UJC's Budget and Finance Committee and Large City CFO group. He actively participated in creating the National Jewish Federation Investment Program. David has a BS in Business Administration, Northeastern University and graduated from Northeastern University's Executive MBA program.

Marsha Sussman is now an independent consultant for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington's direct response initiative. From May, 2007 – October, 2009, Marsha was the Managing Director of Marketing, Communications and Direct Response at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. During this period, she implemented a successful plan which has reversed the trend of a declining JFWW donor base. She also developed a series of recommendations to assist other Federations with their attrition rates such as the New Move Project. Her company, Response Concepts, provides consulting support to non-profit organizations on direct response fundraising and membership programs. Specific areas of focus include: direct response fundraising programs, building donor bases, retention and acquisition strategies, database development and fundraising operations. Representative clients include: The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Museum of the American Indian, Sylvan Learning Centers and Pizza Hut.

Irit Tamir is the CEO of Kav Mashve: Employers Coalition for Equality for Arab University Graduates. An attorney, Irit has also been a marketing and communications consultant to the business sector (especially high-tech and global companies) for the past ten years. She has dealt with the advancement of social issues in a number of previous positions: as the professional manager and manager of Strategic Planning of SHEATUFIM - The Israel Center for Civil Society; as the vice-CEO of Ma'ala - Businesses for Social Responsibility in Israel; and as a business consultant for Shatil, the New Israel Fund's Empowerment and Training Center for Social Change Organizations in Israel. She has also been a lecturer at the Brookdale Institute.

Michael Tarnoff is executive vice president and CFO of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, which he joined in 1980. Prior to joining the Federation, he held executive positions in investment banking, commercial banking, and commercial real estate, and was a gold futures trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Michael is a member of the UJC Finance and Budget Committee, and is a founder and member of the Governing Committee of the national Jewish Federation Bond Program. He is also a founder of the national Jewish Federation Investment Program, which enables all Federations to invest in the endowment portfolios of some of the larger Federations. Michael is a past chair and current member of the board of First Nonprofit Insurance Company, a comprehensive general liability and property insurance underwriter that specializes in providing coverage for nonprofit organizations. He holds an MBA from the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago.

Joel D. Tauber has been intimately involved in Jewish philanthropy for over forty years as President of the Detroit Federation, Chairman of the The Jewish Federations of North America, the United Jewish Appeal, Operation Promise, Tel Aviv University where he is sponsoring a program for Ethiopians, Vice Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal Young Leadership Cabinet and Member of the Middle East Strategy Group of The Aspen Institute. Some of the highlights of Joel’s Jewish involvement include greeting plane loads of Russian immigrants, participating in the momentous occasion when 12,000 Ethiopians arrived in Israel in one weekend in May 1991 and being present at the signing of a peace accord between the Palestinians, Israel and Jordan. Aside from his Jewish involvement, Mr. Tauber is a former officer of United Way Community Services and the Greater Detroit Interfaith Roundtable of Christians, Jews and Moslems. At the University of Michigan, he created The Tauber Institute for Global Operations and is active in the law school, athletic department and as a founding member of the President’s Advisory Committee and is the Vice Chairman of the Campaign to Save the Detroit Zoo. Joel received his BA, MBA and law degree from the University of Michigan and an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University.

Marc B. Terrill, is president of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, where he directs the Federation's management and long-range planning, with an emphasis on human and financial resource development. Currently, Marc serves as chair of UJC's Large City Executives group, a consortium of professional leadership from the 20 largest Jewish Federations. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and obtained his MSW with a concentration in community organization from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. He holds continuing education certificates from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University and an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Baltimore Hebrew University. He is a graduate of the first class of the Mandel Executive Development Program. Marc serves on the Boards of Wurzweiler School of Social Work and the Baltimore Community Foundation among others.

Gil Troy is Professor of History at McGill University in Montreal, currently on leave in Jerusalem. He is the author of "Why I Am a Zionist: Israel, Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today." His sixth book on American history, "The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction," was recently published by Oxford University Press. A regular columnist for the Jerusalem Post and the Canadian Jewish News, Troy’s next book will look at Daniel Patrick Moynihan and the 1975 UN Zionism is Racism Resolution. In December, he will co-chair the Task Force on BDS at the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s Global Forum Against Anti-Semitism and was just appointed the Chairman of the International Education Committee of Taglit/Birthright Israel.

Avi Warshavsky is the director of the Humanities and Social Studies Department at the Center for Educational Technology (CET), an NGO dedicated to the advancement of education in Israel and in the Jewish world. His department's activities include the development of textbooks, educational websites and innovative projects in all its subjects' units: Geography, History, Civics and Democracy, Bible studies and Israel Culture. Avi is currently working on his PhD thesis, titled "Collective texts: from the Talmud to Wikipedia" at the Tel Aviv University.

For over seventeen years, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has worked on behalf of the people of South Florida. On January 4, 2005, she was sworn in as a member of the United States House of Representatives. Representative Wasserman Schultz, a democrat, represents Florida's 20th Congressional district, which encompasses parts of Florida from Fort Lauderdale to Miami Beach. Before joining the U.S. Congress, she was a Representative and a Senator in the Florida State legislature. Representative Wasserman Schultz serves on the Appropriations Committee where she serves as a “Cardinal,” chairing the Legislative Branch subcommittee. She also serves on the House Judiciary Committee and is a part of the leadership team serving as Chief Deputy Whip. Representative Wasserman Schultz has worked hard to protect children. Her accomplishments include the passage of the PROTECT Our Children Act, which creates the largest law enforcement effort ever formed for the protection of children, and, the passage the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act to combat childhood drowning. Representative Wasserman Schultz, the first Jewish Congresswoman ever elected from Florida, introduced a resolution, which passed the House of Representatives and called on the President to declare a Jewish American Heritage Month. The President subsequently did so, with the inaugural month in May, 2006. In March 2009, after she announced her own battle with breast cancer, Representative Wasserman Schultz introduced the Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or EARLY Act (H.R. 1740), a piece of legislation that directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and implement a national education campaign about the threat breast cancer poses to all young women, and the particular heightened risks of certain ethnic, cultural and racial groups. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was born in 1966 on Long Island, NY. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1988 and a Master’s Degree in 1990.

Doug White is a national leader in the philanthropic community. Since 1979 he has worked with charities of all types and sizes on planned and major giving, as well as on the many issues related to organizational development. He also advises individuals with their charitable planning. In addition to his consulting work, Doug is an adjunct assistant professor of philanthropy and fundraising at New York University, where he teaches ethics-based philanthropy. Although accomplished in several spheres within nonprofits and philanthropy, the primary prism through which his consulting work is conducted is ethics. He is the author of “Charity on Trial,” published in 2007 which explores what donors should know before giving to charity, and “The Art of Planned Giving,” published in 1995, which examines the personal and ethical aspects of an otherwise technically dominated world. Today, he is working on his third book – on ethics and the nonprofit world – scheduled for publication in the fall of 2010.

Dr. Einat Wilf is a Senior Fellow with the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute and a member of the President's Conference Steering Committee. Einat served in the years 2002-2006 as the Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Previously, she served as a strategic consultant with McKinsey & Co. in New York City and a General Partner with Koor Corporate Venture Capital. Einat is the next in line to become a member of Knesset on behalf of the Labor Party. Einat is the author of “My Israel, Our Generation”, published in Israel in 2003 and in English in 2006, and "Back to Basics: How to Save Israeli Education (at no extra cost)", published in Israel in 2008. Einat has a BA in Government and Fine Arts from Harvard University, an MBA from INSEAD and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge.

Sue Worrel has served as the executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte since 2005. Representing one of the southeast's most rapidly growing cities, the Charlotte Federation's fundraising and community-building initiatives have successfully capitalized on the evolving landscape of Charlotte's Jewish community. Prior to joining the Federation, Sue served as the executive director of the Foundation for the Charlotte Jewish Community. Sue is a native of Boston and a graduate of Tufts University.

Roni Yavin, Executive Director of Elul, was born and raised in Kfar-Yechezkel a Moshav in the Jezreel Valley. She holds a Masters Degree in Jewish Education from the Hebrew University, and has had seventeen years of teaching experience in various frameworks, working with both high school students and adults. She was Asst. Principal of the prestigious Experimental High School in Jerusalem for ten years. From 2006-2008, Roni chaired the first ongoing collaborative effort by Israeli Jewish Pluralism Organizations, a role she was honored to accept. Under her leadership the network grew from 8 to 18 organizations.

Rachel Smoller Yoskowitz is the founding director of Project Chessed at Jewish Family Service (JFS) of Metropolitan Detroit. She previously served as director of Immigration and Citizenship Services at JFS, developing a nationally recognized citizenship preparatory program and testifying before the Senate Sub-Committee on Immigration Reform. She has been a clinical nurse, nurse educator and administrator, including serving as director of Adolescent Health for the State Health Department. A graduate of Sinai Hospital of Baltimore School of Nursing, she earned her BS from Johns Hopkins University and her M.P.H. from the University of Texas School of Public Health. She serves on multiple tasks forces and is a frequent speaker and advocate for the uninsured. She was a member of the Young Women's Leadership Council of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, and served on the Board and multiple committees at the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston Federation. She has been recognized for her volunteer work on behalf of Russian Jewry.