Jonathan Arogeti

he/him

Jonathan is a humanitarian aid worker with CARE working around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice. Before that, he worked in political campaigns and government service in Washington, DC, and Georgia. A returned Peace Corps volunteer, he served in both Mali and in Comoros. Jonathan was a founding chair of the Repair the World Atlanta Advisory Board. A native Atlantan, he is a graduate of the University of Georgia and lives in Downtown Atlanta. 

Jill Blair

she/her

Jill spent her career bridging the worlds of the public, private and independent sectors with a dedicated focus on nonprofits and philanthropy. In 1998, she and her wife, Fay Twersky founded BTW Informing Change a Berkeley-based consulting firm providing information based consulting and planning services to nonprofits and philanthropy. At the same time, Jill founded the Grantmaker Forum on Community & National Service – a trade association of philanthropy working to advance the ethic of service and service-learning. 

With abiding devotion to democratic practice and recognizing the relationship between service and civic participation, Jill converted the Grantmaker Forum into PACE – Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement in 2006 and in 2007 she and Fay sold Informing Change. Since then, Jill has served as an independent consultant providing coaching, support, technical assistance and facilitation to organizational leaders and their teams. In 2021, Jill and Fay relocated to the great City of Atlanta, GA where Jill now serves as an advisor on a probono basis to leaders of both national and local nonprofits. 

When not pursuing her passion for democracy, nonprofit excellence and golf, Jill and Fay share adventures with their children, David-Nathan – a 2023 graduate of UChicago who is pursuing a career in medical research, and Jaz, a rising fourth year Rabbinical student at Hebrew College in Newton, MA and also a Repair the World Alumna. 

Allan Bloom

he/him

Allan Bloom is a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP, where he serves as co-chair of the firm’s Labor &  Employment Law Department. Allan is a nationally recognized litigator and advisor who represents employers, business owners, and management in a broad range of workplace law matters. He has successfully defended many of the world’s leading companies against claims for unpaid wages, employment discrimination, breach of contract and wrongful discharge, both at the trial and appellate court levels as well as in arbitration, before government agencies, and in private negotiations.

Allan regularly advises boards of directors and senior leadership on highly sensitive matters including executive and key person transitions, internal investigations, and strategic workforce planning. 

Allan has served as longtime pro bono counsel to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and The Public Theater, among other nonprofit organizations. He is a past Vice Chair of Repair the World, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes Jews and their communities to take action to pursue a just world, and a past recipient of the Lawyers Alliance Cornerstone Award for extraordinary contributions through pro bono legal services.

Allan is a proud graduate of the New York City public school system. He studied philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and law at Cornell. He is a native New Yorker, and lives on Long Island with his wife and (when they’re home) three daughters.

Larry Brooks

he/him

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.

Dan Caine

he/him

Daniel Caine is General Manager of the Family Law Software business unit of Centerbase, Inc. Family Law Software develops software for lawyers, financial planners, and individuals, to help with the financial aspects of divorce. Prior to that, he was president and co-founder of Family Law Software, which he and his partner sold in 2021 to Centerbase, a private-equity-backed company developing a range of software products for law firm management and marketing.

Before founding Family Law Software, Dan founded a company that wrote software for calculating income taxes, which he sold in 1993 to H&R Block. (The software itself is still in use today, in H&R Block’s product for consumers.) In the Jewish community, Dan is currently on the Campaign Cabinet of Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), the Jewish federation of Boston. He is also on the board of Friends of Arava Institute, the US fundraising entity supporting the Arava Institute, a small person-to-person Israeli/Arab climate-environmental-peace organization. 

For eight years, ending in 2021, he was Treasurer of the all-volunteer Newton Centre Minyan. In 2021, the minyan split into two minyanim, and he has continued as Treasurer of one of them, Minyan Ma’or, which has joined Temple Emanuel in Newton, Massachusetts. Previously, he has volunteered with the Technology Group of CJP (chair, 7 years), Jewish Community Day School (board member 2 years), MassChallenge (mentor 2 years), Our Generation Speaks (mentor 4 years) and Taghyeer (development 1 year).

Jon Cohen

he/him

Jon is a national community builder with a commitment to LGBTQ+ rights. His work organizing diverse communities through an intersectional Jewish lens is inspired by the wisdom and experiences he has gained as a Gay, Mexican, Jew. As Keshet’s Director of Community Mobilization, Jon has mobilized Jewish institutions in all 50 states to fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Jon has been fortunate to participate in a number of fellowships—Uri L’Tzedek Torah In Action, Bend The Arc Selah Leadership Program, Joyous Justice Ko’ach Fellowship, Jewtina y Co. PUENTES Leadership and Resiliency—which have been instrumental to his professional development.

After graduating from Florida State University, Jon applied his passions for the Jewish community and service as a Repair the World Fellow in Brooklyn, where he engaged young professionals in hands-on service and Jewish learning. Following the Fellowship, Jon served as the Interim Director of the Jewish Volunteer Center at the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, implementing community-wide service events and organizing a young professional volunteer movement. He then returned to Repair the World where he launched Repair the World Miami. As the Program Manager, Jon spearheaded new initiatives and partnerships on both local and national levels to solidify the organization’s presence to become its sixth Fellowship site in the country.

A South Florida native, Jon currently lives in Miami with his fiance Kevin. Outside of work, Jon can be found riding on his Peloton with Team #Kesheton, relaxing at the beach, reading queer fiction novels, and using online menus to plan the meal before getting to the restaurant.

Ryan Cohen

she/her

Ryan (Los Angeles, CA) is an impact strategist, advocate, and lawyer with over a decade of experience working to advance social and economic justice. At Vote Rev and Vote Rev Action Fund, she works to develop the strategy and systems to help the team advance its work to design and quickly mainstream field-tested voter engagement innovations.

Ryan began her career as an AmeriCorps VISTA fellow at the Taproot Foundation, where she first learned about human-centered design, innovation, and skills-based volunteering. Ryan went on to work on educational opportunity, criminal justice reform, and other social justice issues at the LA Mayor’s Office, Obama White House, Department of Justice, ACLU of Michigan, and as a Fulbright-García Robles Scholar in Mexico. She also served as a law clerk to a federal district judge. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Harvard Law & Policy Review and Huffington Post.

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.

Lisa Eisen

she/her

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.

Martine Fleishman

she/her

Martine Fleishman has dedicated her life to family, friends and the Jewish communal arena tirelessly promoting Israel, Jewish identity, Jewish leadership and Jewish education as well as human rights and social justice. Martine holds a graduate certificate in Non Profit management and leadership. Her leading roles have included: President of UJA Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy-overseeing a $29,000,000 campaign; Cabinet member of COJIR, COJP and the Network Commissions of UJA Federation of New York. She is currently Chair of JAFI’s Project T.E.N.

Martine is a Wexner Heritage graduate. She was a recipient of UJC’s Jesselson Young Leadership Award, the Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Lion of Judah award and co-chaired UJA Federation of NY’s Rosenwald 90th Anniversary Mission to Israel. Martine currently serves as President of Hillels of Westchester. She is an active member of the National Board of Governors of American Jewish Committee, and a Board member of its Westchester chapter. An advocate for Israel experiences, Martine has served on the MASA North American committee, currently serves on the Taglit Birthright Westchester council. Martine serves on the board of the Jewish Education project where she is a true proponent of Jewish formal and informal education and is a Trustee at the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester.  She served as a committee member since February 2012. In 2020 she was elected Board member. 

Keith Forman

he/him

Keith is the managing partner at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman, LLC. WVFKN is a litigation firm devoted to representing children catastrophically injured because of medical and nursing malpractice.

A trial lawyer, Keith has tried numerous cases to verdict, including obtaining the largest jury verdict in a medical malpractice case in United States history. Keith has also litigated cases all throughout the country and has been specially admitted to handle cases in Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, South Carolina, Iowa, Tennessee, Mississippi, West Virginia, Missouri, Wisconsin, Delaware, and Michigan.

Keith is active in his community and currently sits on the Advisory Council for Repair the World Baltimore. He is also on the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation Board.

As a lifelong Baltimore resident, Keith is a die-hard Ravens, Orioles, and Terps fan. He is also a music fan, an avid golfer, and loves spending his summers in Delaware with his wife, Stacy, and his three children, Mara (12), Tali (10), and Elliot (5).

Juliana Gendelman

she/her

Juliana was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She attended The George Washington University; graduating in under three years with honors with a degree in Gender Studies. Since 2015 Juliana has been working on operations for the Raya App. Before her time at Raya Juliana worked extensively in the non-profit sector, politics and international relations in Washington, D.C.. At Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, she directly supported its Chair, Secretary Madeleine Albright. Prior to joining Albright Stonebridge, she worked for the think-tank, Center for American Progress for several years. She also worked for the Obama-Biden Transition in 2008 and 2009. Juliana is an Executive Committee member of the Board at both the Palm Beach Day Academy and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. She is tremendously proud of being involved with the creation of the Jewish Volunteer Center; a program of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, which is in its 9th year. She is a member of the inaugural Wexner Heritage cohort from Palm Beach, as well as a member of the Community and Jewish Life Committee for JFNA. Juliana, her husband, daughter and their three rescue dogs live in Palm Beach, Florida.

Cindy Greenberg

she/her

President and CEO

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.

Christina Jefferson

she/her

Christina is the first-ever Senior Director of Inclusion and Culture at the San Francisco 49ers. She leads inclusion and diversity efforts across the organization and created the team’s internship program. She is also responsible for managing the team’s recruitment and hiring activities and its internship and fellowship programs.

Before joining the 49ers, Jefferson spent six years at Sephora, working in stores and then leading diversity and inclusion efforts company-wide. This included facilitating and creating diversity training and providing oversight of all cultural programming.

Jefferson earned her B.S. in Ceramics from the University of Southern Indiana and her master’s in human resource management from Golden Gate University. Christina has been a coach for Resetting the Table since 2021 and is a member of several boards, including the Jews of Color Initiative, the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, and Better For You Wellness.

Anna Kovinsky

she/her

Anna 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.

Geoff Lieberthal

he/him

Geoff is a Partner at Two Sigma Impact. Geoff comes to Two Sigma from Lee Equity Partners, a U.S. growth buyouts firm, where he led the firm’s healthcare investments and served as a partner and member of the firm’s Investment Committee. Prior to Lee Equity, Geoff worked in the private equity funds of TPG Capital and Bain Capital. He began his career as a consultant at Bain & Company. Geoff was a faculty lecturer at Stanford Business School and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Healthcare Private Equity Association. Geoff has been a director of several companies, including Solaris Health, Summit BHC, Westfall Technik, Eating Recovery Centers, PDR Networks, Key Health, Paragon Industries and Axcan Pharma. Geoff earned an M.B.A. from Stanford Business School and a B.A. in Engineering Sciences, cum laude, from Dartmouth College.

Robb Lippitt

he/him

Robb Lippitt is a serial entrepreneur, having successfully led and grown multiple businesses throughout his (ongoing) career. Robb currently serves as COO of Clarity Voice, a cloud phone company which ensures your business will never miss a call (even the annoying ones). Before that Robb was COO of High Level Marketing, a digital marketing agency which, contrary to popular opinion, believes more traffic is a good thing and before that CEO of Revolution Dancewear, a private equity backed manufacturer and distributor of dancewear. Robb is also the Founder of Secret Sauce Capital, an early stage venture capital and consulting company which remains active. Robb has been inexplicably tolerated by his endlessly patient and saint-like wife Debbie for 31 years, 27 of them in marriage. He is blessed by two daughters, Molly (25) and Eryn (22), both of whom are thankfully shorter than he is and far better looking. Robb has been involved in far too many communal committees and 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 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.

Connie Meltzer

she/her

Connie Meltzer began her career as an AmeriCorps member with a college access and success organization. Since then, she has continued to work with nonprofits as a team member or a consultant in development, programs, finance and operations. Currently, she is a Manager in BDO’s Nonprofit and Grantmaker Advisory practice working with complex organizations to ensure their leaders have the finance and operations staffing, processes, and technology in place so they can focus on making change in their communities. Connie has been involved with Repair the World as a volunteer since 2014. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her dog, Babs.

Kathy Reich

she/her

Kathy Reich leads the Ford Foundation’s BUILD initiative in the United States and in the foundation’s 10 global regions. BUILD is a 10-year, $2 billion initiative to strengthen key institutions around the world that fight inequality. Kathy manages a team of 11 people, guiding Ford’s efforts to support the vitality and effectiveness of institutions and networks that serve as pillars of broader social movements. Before joining Ford in 2016, Kathy worked for 15 years at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, most recently as organizational effectiveness and philanthropy director, where she led a cross-cutting program to help grantees around the world strengthen their strategy, leadership and impact. Prior to that, she was policy director of a non-profit, served as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill, and worked for state and local elected officials in California. Kathy is a Senior Fellow of the Schusterman Foundation, and has served on several non-profit boards. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is a lifelong Californian, although she currently resides in Brooklyn, NY with her spouse, two teenage children, one highly opinionated cat, and one extremely cuddly dog.

Riki Robinson

she/her

Riki Robinson (she/her) is passionate about equity and incorporating Judaism into social justice pursuits. She has been dedicated to initiatives focused on racial diversity inclusion and equity in the Jewish community. She spearheaded programming designed especially for Jews of Color in New York City. Riki was a member of the inaugural board for Ammud: the Jews of Color Torah Academy which is focused on access to Jewish education for Jews of Color. She was a 2018-19 Fellow with Repair the World in Brooklyn where she learned about urban farming, food pantries, and SNAP benefits along with a Jewish lens to community engagement. She also has a background working in Asian American Pacific Islander organizations as well as immigration justice groups.

Riki is rooted in the theory and praxis of Ethnic Studies that research, services, and programs should be generated by and for community relevance. She received her B.A. in Asian American Studies and Sociology from Pitzer College.

David Rittberg

he/him

David serves as Senior Director for U.S. Jewish Grantmaking at Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, where he advises leadership on how to best leverage their investments in existing organizations and take new initiatives to scale. While some may know him for his semi-pro guitar skills, David’s true calling card is his hands-on approach to his philanthropic portfolio: David spends much of his time working directly with organization staff and board members to help build their team’s capacity, develop a long-term strategy and grow as integral players in common ecosystems. Prior to arriving at Schusterman, David’s career took him across the country, from his hometown of Binghamton to streetwise Brooklyn, misty San Francisco and the hidden gem that is Tucson, AZ. Notably, David served as Executive Director at the Edgar M. Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU, Hillel at New York University, and, in 2011, received NYU’s Hallmark Award for outstanding university administrators. David was also part of the Hillel staff at The University of Arizona and Stanford. David received his BS in Marketing from the Smeal College of Business Administration at Penn State University, and an Executive MPA from NYU Wagner.

Sarene Shanus

she/her

Sarene is an active, longstanding volunteer in the local Jewish community, following in the footsteps of her parents. She is currently a member of the Board of Repair the World and of Hadar as well as of UJA Federation of NY. Sarene is also an active volunteer at UJA Federation of NY and has held numerous leadership positions there. She is currently a member of the International Planning and Allocations Committee.

Sarene also previously served as a member of the Boards of the Jewish Education Project and Henry Kaufman Campgrounds.  She is active in her synagogue, Westchester Jewish Center, where she previously served as President and Chairman of the Board.

Sarene is a lawyer by training who is a partner with her brother in a family owned business managing and developing commercial real estate. She lives in Mamaroneck with her husband Harold Treiber, who is also an active volunteer in the Jewish community. They share four children and four grandchildren. She is currently the Chair of the International Planning and Allocations Committee.

Yoshi Silverstein

he/him

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

he/him

Edward is a longtime senior executive and civic leader in the nonprofit sector. He served for 18 years as the founding CEO of the Surdna Foundation, a $1.3 billion institution 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. Before Surdna he founded a nonprofit consulting firm, New Ventures, one of the first to focus on creating and scaling up social enterprises. Earlier, he 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 their son, Joseph, is 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 Temple Sinai in Summit, NJ. Ed and Suzanne have two grandchildren, Maya and Solomon (Solly). He is the beneficiary of much-reflected glory.

Amy Taxman

she/her

A strategic, collaborative, and agile business leader with thirty years of experience in the field of human resources. For the past ten years, Amy has worked as a global human resources business partner to senior leaders at Walgreens Boots Alliance. Prior to her current role, she has held roles with increasing responsibility in human resources at several large companies including Fortune Brands, RR Donnelley, Solo Cup, and Zebra Technologies. Amy has hands-on HR experience in the areas of business partnering, compensation, employee engagement, employee relations, talent management, and succession. She is adept at bringing people strategies to life that deliver results and progress organizational effectiveness.

Amy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan and earned an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is the mom of two adult children and currently resides in the Chicagoland area with her husband and their Labrador retriever Winnie. When not at work, she enjoys gardening, traveling, running, and swimming at her local JCC.

Rabbi Deborah Waxman

she/her

The first woman rabbi to head a Jewish congregational union and seminary, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., became president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism in 2014. Since then, she has drawn on her training as a rabbi and historian to be the Reconstructionist movement’s leading voice in the public square.

Through visiting numerous congregations (more than 60 at last count), making public appearances in person and online, and writing for the Forward, The Times of Israel, The Philadelphia Inquirer, HuffPost, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and other news and academic outlets, Rabbi Waxman projects a vision of Judaism that embraces all people and inspires Jews to be strong allies to the most vulnerable among us.

Rabbi Waxman leads the Reconstructionist congregational union through close collaboration with the Board of Governors, the leaders and congregants of the nearly 100 affiliated Reconstructionist communities, and her extraordinary colleagues in the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. She also serves as the sixth president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the movement’s sole seminary and a key part of the Reconstructing Judaism organization. This matrix of institutions has collaboratively achieved many milestones to support the movement leadership’s vision of 21st-century Reconstructionist Judaism.

Rabbi Waxman is the creator and host of the podcast, Hashivenu: Jewish Teachings on Resilience.

In connection with LGTB History Month 2020, she was named an LGTB History Icon.

Melissa White

she/her

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.