Board of Directors

Allan S. Bloom is a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP in New York City. Allan is an trial lawyer who represents employers in a broad range of employment and labor law matters. He has defended a number of the world’s leading financial services, investment management, technology, consumer products, telecommunications, publishing, insurance, construction, and lodging companies, as well as global law firms and cultural institutions, against claims for unpaid wages, employment discrimination, breach of contract, and wrongful discharge, both at the trial and appellate court levels. Allan regularly advises boards of directors and senior management on highly sensitive matters such as executive transitions and internal investigations. He counsels publicly traded and privately held companies on the hiring and termination of employees and consultants, the establishment and enforcement of workplace policies and practices, reorganizations and reductions in force, and alternative dispute resolution. Allan is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell Law School. He is a native New Yorker, and lives on Long Island with his wife and three daughters.

Larry Brooks (New York, NY) is the Vice President, Finance of Endeavor, an organization that is leading the High-Impact Entrepreneurship movement around the world. Endeavor supports 800+ High-Impact Entrepreneurs that have generated over $6 billion in annual revenue (2012) and created more than 225,000 high-quality jobs. Endeavor Entrepreneurs represent a wide variety of business sectors stretching across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Before joining Endeavor, Larry provided financial consulting services to several local nonprofits, fulfilling the role of acting-CFO for two organizations and managing nearly $20 million in revenues. He also worked with several for-profit, start-up organizations in technology, healthcare and HR sourcing. Larry holds a BA in Near Eastern Studies from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Ryan Cohen (Los Angeles, CA) is a lawyer, social justice advocate, and policy wonk, currently clerking for the Federal District Court in the Central District of California.  Most recently, she was based in Mexico City as a Fulbright-García Robles Scholar, conducting research about how to advance socioeconomic mobility in Mexico. Originally from Los Angeles, Ryan has worked for the City of Los Angeles, Obama White House, and Department of Justice, and for nonprofits focused on advancing socioeconomic opportunity and building nonprofit capacity. She previously served on the Social Investment Council of Echoing Green, a nonprofit that provides seed funding to emerging social entrepreneurs around the world, and has published articles in Spanish and English in outlets such as the Huffington Post, Reforma, and Harvard Law & Policy Review.  She received a Juris Doctorate and Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard and a Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley.

Lisa Eisen (Washington, D.C.). As National Director of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, and director of its Washington, D.C. office, Lisa spearheads efforts to strengthen Jewish identity and community and ensure vibrant Jewish life by supporting initiatives around the world that empower young Jews to embrace the joy of Judaism, build inclusive Jewish communities, support the State of Israel and repair the world. Founding Chair of the Israel on Campus Coalition, Lisa also chairs the board of the iCenter, which focuses on developing and advancing innovative Israel education. She is the founding and immediate past board chair of Repair the World, and she also serves on the national boards of the Israel Institute, BBYO and Project Interchange Seminars in Israel. Lisa previously served for nine years as Executive Director of Project Interchange, an institute of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which is dedicated to educating American and world leaders about Israel through firsthand experience. She has also held positions as AJC’s Washington Area Assistant Director, as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Representative Bart Gordon, and as an intern at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Lisa is a nationally recognized leader and presenter in the fields of philanthropy, Jewish service, Israel education and advocacy, and professional development. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a Bachelors of Arts in History and earned her Master of Arts degree with honors in Israeli and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Lisa and her husband, Mitch, have three children, Ariella, Tamar and Jonah. Lisa is a certified yoga teacher, and she enjoys vinyasa and ashtanga yoga, community service, trekking and international travel.

As spiritual leader of Community Synagogue of Rye in Westchester County New York, Rabbi Gropper aims to create a caring Jewish community that adds meaning and purpose to people's lives. He believes that synagogues should seek to be centers for spiritual transformation; should foster the creation of sacred relationships; and should endeavor to give people the tools and resources to be God's partner in healing the world. His participation in AJWS' rabbinic delegation to India solidified Rabbi Gropper's commitment to service learning. His undergraduate work was in political science at the University of Western Ontario and he holds a Masters in Jewish Education along with Ordination from Hebrew Union College. Rabbi Gropper serves on the boards of the URJ Eisner/Crane Lake camps, UJA/Federation of New York's SYNERGY's rabbinic council and the steering committee of the Leadership Institute for Congregational School Educators. Additionally he is a member of Hebrew Union College's President's Rabbinic Council and serves on the board of Kavod, a Tzedakah collective that funds programs to help those in need to live with dignity.

Jill Hai is a graduate of Cornell University and Vanderbilt Law School. A former labor and employment lawyer, Jill is now a full time philanthropic and civic volunteer. Jill currently serves on Combined Jewish Philanthropy’s (CJP, Boston’s Jewish Federation)’s Board of Directors, where she also Co-Chairs the Commission on Strategic Priorities, and is a member of the Organizational Development and Governance and Nominating Committees. She has served in numerous additional roles promoting Jewish education through CJP and Hebrew College. Jill is Chair of the Capital Expenditures Committee for the Town of Lexington and an elected member of Lexington’s Town Meeting. She also serves as a Committee Chair of the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network. She has previously served on the Lexington Education Foundation Board of Directors and Board of Trustees for Temple Isaiah. Jill and her husband, Marc Rubenstein, live in Lexington, MA. They have two children and are members of Temple Isaiah and Temple Emunah.

Hayden serves as a Partner at Geller & Company, reporting directly to the firm’s Chief Executive Officer. He serves both as the Chief Operating Officer for Geller Family Office Services and as head of the firm’s Real Estate Solutions Group. Hayden assumed the Chief Operating Officer role in 2015, taking on responsibility for all multi-family office operations, including business strategy development, staff management and budget oversight. In addition, Hayden has been charged with monitoring service standards, business processes, operational risks and compliance obligations. In his role with the Real Estate Solutions Group, Hayden leads a team of professionals dedicated to serving clients with a comprehensive range of real estate planning, management and operational needs. His responsibilities include serving as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the steering committee for an international corporate development project, and a comparable role for a domestic cultural institution. Hayden served as Chief Financial Officer for New York City’s Host Committee for the 2004 Republican National Convention and as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer for Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2005 re-election campaign. Prior to joining Geller & Company, Hayden was the Chieff Financial Officer of Highstar Capital LP, an infrastructure focused private equity firm with more than $6 billion under management. Earlier in his career, Hayden held positions at Citigroup in the investment banking division and at the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division in the Telecommunications Task Force reviewing telecom mergers. Hayden graduated with a BA and honors in History from University of Pennsylvania and earned a JD/MBA from Columbia University.

Michael Kay (Atlanta, GA) is the former President and CEO of LSG Sky Chefs, the largest worldwide provider of integrated in-flight airline solutions. LSG Sky Chefs provides catering, procurement and equipment service to 270 airlines in 48 countries, with 362 million airline meals provided annually. He also held roles as President and COO of Portman Hotel Company, President and CEO for Omni International Hotels, Ltd., and Senior VP of Operations for Americana Hotels, Inc. Michael graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration and is currently a member of the Cornell University Council. His other roles include Director for Radiant Systems, Officer and Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, a board member of United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, and an advisory board member of Carter, a full service real estate company. Michael has also served as an Executive in Residence for the College of Business Administration at Georgia State University. Michael serves as Board Chair for The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. With more than $800 million in assets, The Community Foundation connects donors, nonprofits and community partners to make philanthropy happen. He also serves on the Board of the Points of Light Institute and the Marcus Foundation. Michael currently resides in Atlanta.

Anna Levine Kovinsky has over 20 years of professional experience as a management executive, consultant and entrepreneur. Anna led a division of a cultural exchange company (Intrax) that allowed thousands of university students from around the world to experience American culture through internships and other work programs.  Anna also founded and ran an apparel company, including concept development, fund raising, product design, manufacturing and marketing. She  was also a Senior Product Manager at Siebel Systems, where she worked on the founding team of a new product. Anna has degrees from McGill University and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. A native of Vancouver, Canada, Anna has made the San Francisco Bay Area her home since 2000. She is an active member of Temple Emanu-el and a former board member of the American Jewish Committee in San Francisco. She resides with her husband and two daughters in Mill Valley, where she regularly trail runs on Mt. Tamalpais with her dog, Blue.

Robb Lippitt is a short, stocky, middle-aged Jewish man with a hole on top of his head where there used to be hair. He is a serial entrepreneur, and recently Founded Secret Sauce Capital which is now his day job. He would tell you what it does, but, well, it’s secret. Robb has been inexplicably tolerated by his endlessly patient and saint-like wife Debbie for 27 years, 23 in marriage. He is blessed by two daughters, Molly (20) and Eryn (17), both of whom are thankfully shorter than he is and far better looking. Robb has been involved in far too many communal activities to list (or that make sense to any rational person), including: Treasurer of Detroit’s Jewish Federation, JFNA’s Executive Committee, Co-Chair for JFNA’s National Young Leadership, and continues to serve as an Executive Board Member of the Fresh Air Society, a Federation agency dedicated to providing a Jewish camping experience to every child who wants one (and even some that don’t but get forced by their parents to go). Robb has been required in the past to compile a complete list of his charitable activities (no, that wasn’t anywhere near a complete list) so it is available upon request to those wishing to cure insomnia.

Michael Nadel (Arlington, VA) is a partner with the Washington office of the international law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP, where he concentrates his practice on intellectual property litigation and complex commercial disputes. Michael served for six years on the national board of directors of BBYO and recently completely his term.  He continues to serve on the board of directors of the Washington area BBYO program, of which he is a past chairperson.  He also served on the board of directors of the Jewish Youth Philanthropy Institute. Michael is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and George Washington University Law School.  Michael and his wife Ali have two young boys, Sam and Andrew.

Loren grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Psychology in 2013. She served as a Fellow with Repair the World: Philadelphia for two years learning about food and education justice shortcomings in the city, volunteering with a variety of organizations addressing those issues, and facilitating service learning for others engaged in service. Loren now serves as the Program Director at Challah for Hunger where she leads the program team in strengthening new and current chapters, fosters and develops new partnerships, and seeks opportunities to grow the model beyond the college campus. Her free time is spent running on the Schyukill River, attending the many public festivals and events Philly has to offer, and cheering for her Cleveland sports teams.

Edward Skloot (New York) is a longtime senior executive and civic leader in the nonprofit sector, now retired. He served for 18 years as the founding CEO of the Surdna Foundation, a $1 billion organization based in NYC. From his retirement from Surdna in 2008, he became Professor of the Practice of Public Policy at Duke University for five years, after which he returned to the City. Before Surdna he founded a nonprofit consulting firm, New Ventures, one of the first to focus on social enterprise. He also served in the private sector and was a NYC government official under Mayor John V. Lindsay, where he was a mayoral program assistant and then Deputy Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. Skloot published more than two dozen articles on the social sector during his career and edited three books He is married to Suzanne Skloot, an ordained Cantor, and they have a son, Joseph, currently Assistant Professor of Modern Jewish Intellectual History at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in NYC. Their daughter-in-law is also a rabbi, serving B’nai Jeshurun, a large Conservative congregation on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Edward and Suzanne have two grandchildren.  

Ruth Suzman (New York, NY) is a dedicated volunteer, philanthropist, and non-profit advisor. Having earned degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, Ruth today works with organizations and programs that help connect young people to Jewish identity and leadership, and those that help people access educational opportunities and engage productively in the workplace. Ruth serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Westchester Community College Foundation in NY, and Chair of the Wisdom Council of Greyston Foundation (Yonkers, NY). Ruth also serves as Vice-Chair of the Board for BBYO, the pluralistic Jewish youth movement. Additionally, Ruth participates on the boards of the Jewish Deaf Resource Council, the College of Liberal Arts at UT Austin, the MB & Edna Zale Foundation (Dallas, TX), and the advisory board of DOROT in NYC. Ruth lives in Scarsdale, NY with her husband and three children, and is an active member of Westchester Reform Temple.