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 the Deputy Executive Director of VoteTripling.org, a nonprofit that works to boost voter turnout through behavioral science-based tactics. She previously served as a law clerk to a federal district judge and worked on social justice policy at the LA Mayor’s Office, Obama White House, Department of Justice, ACLU of Michigan, and as a Fulbright-García Robles Scholar in Mexico. Ryan believes deeply in the value of service, and started her career as an AmericCorps VISTA Fellow at the Taproot Foundation. Ryan holds a JD from Harvard Law School, MPP from Harvard Kennedy School, and BA from UC Berkeley. She and her partner Jason live in their native Los Angeles, where they enjoy exploring nooks and crannies, especially ones where they can find good coffee and tacos.

Jesse Colvin is the CEO of Service Year Alliance, a nonprofit working towards a day when national service is part of growing up in the United States. He is a recognized leader and military veteran who ran to serve as the Representative from Maryland's first congressional district in 2018. Jesse previously worked as a strategic advisor for Toffler Associates, a management consultancy. Prior to that, he held investigatory roles at Barclays Capital and Control Risks. Jesse served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, where he completed four combat deployments to Afghanistan. Before joining the military, he taught English language courses to Iraqi refugees in Damascus, Syria. Jesse holds a B.A. in history from Duke University and a Master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Jordan, a former police officer, their toddler, a PAW Patrol enthusiast, and rescue dog, a poorly behaved Husky-Shepard mix.  

Lisa Eisen is Co-President of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies and leads our U.S. Jewish, and Gender and Reproductive Equity Portfolios. Lisa spearheads efforts to strengthen the Jewish community by supporting initiatives around the world that engage young Jews in service and social action, help people experience and learn about Israel and support efforts to welcome all who seek to participate in Jewish life. In this capacity, she oversees our Jewish and Israel Education grantmaking, Schusterman Fellowship and REALITY program.  Lisa also leads initiatives to advance gender and reproductive equity, as well as empower women and girls in the U.S. and around the world. She founded the Safety Respect Equity Network, which promotes women’s leadership and addresses sexual harassment and gender discrimination in Jewish workplaces, and she chairs the Advisory Board. She is a member of the Global Leadership Board for TIME’S UP Foundation and TIME’S UP Now, organizations that fight for safe, fair and dignified work for all. She also serves on the Advisory Committee of the Collaborative for Gender + Reproductive Equity, which mobilizes funders to protect and advance gender and reproductive equity. Lisa was founding board chair of Repair the World and the iCenter, and she continues to serve on their national boards. She was also the founding board chair of the Israel on Campus Coalition. Lisa serves on the boards of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), Leading Edge, the Israel Institute and OLAM. Lisa has helped to expand Schusterman’s grantmaking over the past 19 years, serving as its National Director and then as Vice President. Prior to joining the organization, she served for nine years as Executive Director of Project Interchange Seminars in Israel, an institute of the American Jewish Committee (AJC). She has also held positions as AJC Area Assistant Director and as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Representative Bart Gordon. Lisa is a frequent presenter in the fields of philanthropy, Jewish service, Israel education, and women's rights and leadership. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a Bachelor 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. The proud mother of three adult children, Lisa is a certified yoga teacher, and she enjoys vinyasa yoga, community service, trekking and international travel.

Cindy (she/her) is the President and CEO of Repair the World, whose mission is to mobilize Jews and their communities to take action to pursue a just world, igniting a lifelong commitment to service. She was the founding executive director of Repair the World NYC, where she built a robust program focused on mobilizing the Jewish community to meet pressing local needs through service and learning in Central Brooklyn and Harlem. Previously, she worked for Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life for fifteen years, including as the executive director of NYU's Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life. Cindy holds a masters degree in Non-Profit Management from NYU's Wagner School and is the recipient of the Schusterman Fellowship, the Shirley Chisholm Women of Excellence Award, the Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger Harvest Heroes Award, and Hillel's Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence award. Cindy lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Dan, and their three children.

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 is a Partner at Geller & Company, and serves as Chief Executive Officer for Geller Advisors, the firm’s Registered Investment Advisor and family office subsidiary. In addition, he leads the firm’s Real Estate Solutions Group. Hayden is a member of the firm’s Management and Operating Committees. Hayden assumed his leadership role for Geller Advisors in 2015, initially as Chief Operating Officer, taking on responsibility for all multi-family office operations, including business development, staff management and budget oversight. Hayden has also been charged with monitoring service standards, business processes, operational risks and compliance obligations. In 2018, Hayden was elevated to Chief Executive Officer of Geller Advisors with a focus on strategic planning for the business. 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. Hayden oversees several real estate initiatives for corporate and high net worth clients, including project and financial management for construction, evaluation of investment opportunities and strategic property acquisitions and divestitures. His responsibilities have included 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. Hayden also served as the Chief Financial Officer of Highstar Capital LP, an infrastructure focused private equity firm with over $6 billion AUM. Earlier in his career, Hayden held positions in Citigroup’s investment banking division (originally Salomon Smith Barney) and at the US Department of Justice, Antitrust Division in the Telecommunications Task Force reviewing telecom mergers. Hayden graduated with a BA and honors in History from the 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 currently the COO of High Level Marketing, a digital marketing agency which, contrary to popular opinion, believes more traffic is a good thing. Prior to that Robb was the Founder of Secret Sauce Capital, an early stage venture capital and consulting company, and CEO of Revolution Dancewear, a private equity backed manufacturer and distributor of dancewear. Robb has been inexplicably tolerated by his endlessly patient and saint-like wife Debbie for 29 years, 25 in marriage. He is blessed by two daughters, Molly (22) and Eryn (20), 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.

Yoshi Silverstein is Founder and Executive Director of Mitsui Collective, which builds resilient community through embodied Jewish practice and racial equity. He is also a Cleveland community organizer for Edot: The Midwest Regional Jewish Diversity Collaborative, a cohort six Schusterman Fellow, and is part of M² Institute for Experiential Jewish Education’s inaugural Jewish Pedagogies Circle. Formerly, Yoshi was Director of the JOFEE Fellowship at Hazon from its launch through its first four cohorts, through which he catalyzed the growth and leadership of over 60 emerging professionals working across the US and Canada in the realm of Jewish relationship to land, food, culture, climate, and community. As a Chinese-Ashkenazi-American Jew, Yoshi is an active advocate and educator in the Jews of Color community and speaks regularly on racial equity and inclusion. A former founding member of the Repair the World NYC Advisory Board, he is currently a member of the Grants Advisory Group for the Jews of Color Initiative, an alumnus of Selah (Cohort 14, Jewish Leaders of Color), and a member of the Selah Advisory Council, and has been a cast member of Kaleidoscope Project's "What Does Jewish Look Like to You" monologue series, an ELI Talks speaker, and a Dorot Fellow. Yoshi holds certificates in Spiritual Entrepreneurship (Columbia Business School through GLEAN Network), social entrepreneurship (PresenTense NYC), permaculture design, ecovillage design, and environmental education; and earned his Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture at University of Maryland with a thesis exploring Jewish frameworks, concepts, and vocabularies for landscape journey and experience in Jewish outdoor learning environments. Also a 2nd degree blackbelt and aficionado of Chinese Roast Duck, Yoshi lives in the Cleveland area with his wife, daughter, and pup.  

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.  

Melissa is Executive Director at the Key Biscayne Community Foundation (KBCF). Over the last ten years, Melissa has led the foundation and the Key Biscayne community in making a collective impact in Miami through a network of partner organizations, focused on collaboration. KBCF initiatives during Melissa’s tenure have included a sister-city initiative created by Melissa and the Key Biscayne Police Chief between KBCF, the Village of Key Biscayne, and the under-served neighborhood of Liberty City as well as one of the first university, foundation, and municipal partnerships for citizen science. Before joining KBCF, Melissa was a senior program coordinator at the University of Miami. She is a board member of Friends of Cape Florida State Park and served in the past on the board of governors of the Key Biscayne Yacht Club. Melissa holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Virginia Tech and a MA in International Administration from the University of Miami. She and her husband are proud parents to three children who provide them with laughter and love.