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Annual Program 2011 Biographies
Ellie Aronowitz
The Art of the Ask
Ellie Aronowitz is the Executive Director of the Rosenthal JCC of Northern Westchester. Prior to her current position, she served as the Director of the Metropolitan Campaign at the UJA-Federation of New York and the Executive Director of the Sephardic Community Center in Brooklyn, NY. Ellie is also a past Board President of JCSA.
Write On: The Future of Jewish Journalism and Media
Opening Plenary
Sara Berman is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Hebrew Charter School Center. She is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, NY. From 2004 to 2008, she was a weekly columnist for The New York Sun focusing on raising children in New York City. She has been a regular guest on CBS Morning News and FOX News, as well as a frequent guest lecturer at local schools and community centers throughout the city. Before this, Sara was the Features Editor, and then the News Editor at the Forward, America’s national Jewish newspaper. From 2002 to 2005, Sara chaired the board of one of the eight centers of the 92nd Street Y, the Makor/Steinahrdt Center. She also currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life and the Board of Trustees of the Areivim Philanthropic Group. She graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University, where she studied history. Sara lives in New York City with her husband and six children.
 David Bryfman
Today's Teens, Tomorrow's Leaders
David is the Director of the New Center for Collaborative Leadership at The Jewish Education Project (formerly the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York-SAJES). David recently completed his Ph.D. Education and Jewish Studies at NYU focusing on the development of Jewish adolescent identity development and experiential Jewish Education. He is also a graduate of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program. Prior to moving to New York, David worked in formal and informal Jewish educational institutions in Australia, Israel, and North America. David is also currently an educational consultant for the iCenter. In his spare time David also enjoys (sort of) running marathons.
Alex Budnitsky
Different Faces of North American Jewry: How Immigration and Diversity are Changing the Profile of North American Jewry
Alex Budnitsky is the CEO and Executive Director of the Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst.
He holds master’s degrees in journalism and social work from Columbia University and a graduate of the Institute for Non-profit Management, a joint program of UJA-Federation of New York and Columbia University School of Business. During his Marks JCH tenure, Alex has been behind many ground-breaking initiatives serving the émigré community and has brought a unique perspective to the agency’s strategic vision. Alex is a member of the Board of the New York Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, is a founding member of Russian American Jews for Israel, and serves on the executive committee of the Bensonhurst Business Club.
William C. Daroff
From the Capitol to the Knesset: The Future Political Agenda of North American Jewry
William C. Daroff is the Vice President for Public Policy and Director of the Washington Office of The Jewish Federations of North America. He is a leading advocate for the American Jewish Community's agenda in the nation's capitol and in 2008 was named as being among the fifty most influential Jews in America by the Forward Newspaper. He is a member of the Board of the World Council of Jewish Communal Service as well as on the Board of the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America. William received his BA in Political Science & History, MA in Political Science, and JD from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He currently lives in suburban Washington, DC with his wife and their two children.
Jane Eisner
Write On: The Future of Jewish Journalism and Media
Jane Eisner became editor of the Forward in June 2008 and became the first woman to hold this position at this influential Jewish national weekly newspaper. Before joining the Forward, Jane held executive editorial and news positions at the Philadelphia Inquirer for 25 years. In 2006, she joined the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where she served as Vice President for National Programs and Initiatives, with responsibility for all adult programming, the Liberty Medal, and the Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution. She also has deep roots in academia, serving as the first Koeppel Fellow in Journalism at Wesleyan University, where she teaches journalism and non-fiction writing. Her book, “Taking Back the Vote: Getting American Youth Involved in our Democracy,” was published by Beacon Press in 2004. Jane also serves as host of The Salon, the first-ever women’s program produced by The Jewish Channel, which debuted in 2009. She received a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Journalism and graduated from Wesleyan University cum laude in 1977.
Deborah Grayson Riegel
Telling Your Organization's Story: Strategic Storytelling to Recruit, Engage and Inspire Donors and Volunteers
 Deborah Grayson Riegel, MSW, PCC is a coach, trainer and speaker. She is the President of MyJewishCoach.com and Elevated Training Inc. Deborah's unique, energetic and results driven style combines her background and experience in behavioral and cognitive psychology, adult learning, and improvisational comedy. Deborah recently became a visiting Professor of Executive Communication for the Beijing International MBA Program at the Peking University, and writes the "Success without the Tsuris" column for the New York Jewish Week. Deborah earned a B.A. in Psychology at the University of Michigan, and her M.S.W. at Columbia University, supporting her expensive school habit by performing improvisational and stand-up comedy. She and her husband Michael are the proud parents of twins, Jacob and Sophie.
David Harris
Opening Plenary
David Harris has been the Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee since 1990. In this role, he travels the globe meeting with world leaders to advance the well-being of Israel, combat anti-Semitism, monitor the condition of Jewish communities, and promote intergroup and interreligious understanding. Among the highlights of his work, he was centrally involved in the emigration of over one million Jews from the Soviet Union, and similarly, played a behind-the-scenes role in the rescue of the Ethiopian Jewish community in the early 1980s. Often described as one of the foremost American advocates for Israel’s political and diplomatic standing, David meets frequently with world leaders to discuss issues affecting the Middle East. He has been honored more than ten times by the governments of Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Spain, and Ukraine for his many international activities on behalf of the defense of human rights, advancement of the transatlantic partnership, and dedication to the Jewish people. Prior to joining AJC, David graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania. Later, he pursued his graduate studies in international relations at the London School of Economics. In 2003, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Hebrew Union College. He is married and the father of three children.
Mike Kanarick
Making it Click: A Conversation about the Internet and Community
Mike serves as President of Jvillage Network, a mission-focused company that engages and grows the membership communities of synagogues and other Jewish organizations by designing and building great-looking, easy-to-update, interactive websites. Mike joined the Jvillage Network team after nearly four years serving as a synagogue executive director, most recently at Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington, Vermont. Mike is a 1994 graduate of Fordham University School of Law in New York City and a 1990 graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He studied at Tel Aviv University during the fall of 1988. Mike met his wife, Liz Kleinberg, on a teenage summer program in Israel when the two were working on a kibbutz. Mike and Liz, who works in Burlington as a corporate attorney with Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, P.C., live in Shelburne, Vermont with their three children.
Nancy Kaufman
From the Capitol to the Knesset: The Future Political Agenda of North American Jewry
Nancy K. Kaufman is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Prior to joining NCJW, Nancy served as the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Boston for twenty years, where she led the social justice, Israel advocacy, and governmental affairs agendas for Boston’s Jewish Federation and its agencies. Nancy is a graduate of Brandeis University and received an MSW from the Boston College School of Social Work, as well as a mid-career Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is also a recipient of an honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Northeastern University. Among other honors, Nancy received an award for Greatest Contribution to Social Policy from the National Association of Social Workers in 1980, the Alumni Achievement Award from Brandeis University in 2002, and the Woman of Valor Award in 2007 from the Jewish Funds for Justice.
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer
Movements in Motion: The Future of Denominations
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer is Co-Founder and Executive Director of Mechon Hadar, an educational institution that seeks to empower a generation of Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing, egalitarian communities of Torah learning, prayer, and service. A graduate of Harvard College, he was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he also completed an MA and is currently pursuing a doctorate in liturgy. A Wexner Graduate Fellow, Elie was named by Newsweek as one of the top 50 rabbis in America. He was selected as an inaugural AVI CHAI Fellow and twice named to the Forward 50. Elie is the author of Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us About Building Vibrant Jewish Communities (Jewish Lights, 2010).
Susan Kohn
Successfully Utilizing Volunteers
Susan Kohn, LCSW, is the Executive Director of Volunteer & Leadership Development Division at the UJA-Federation of New York. In this position, Susan's portfolio includes Volunteer Services, connecting individuals and groups with experiential volunteer experiences, Leadership Recruitment & Placement, a referral program for governance opportunities within the UJA-Federation network, and Volunteer Training & Education, offering learning opportunities that support leadership development. Prior to joining UJA-Federation, Susan served as the founding director of the Meyerhoff Teen Initiative in Baltimore, MD, dedicated to engaging youth post-Bar/Bat Mitzvah in an ongoing relationship with Judaism. She holds a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University. She has also completed two post-graduate executive management certificate programs in Not-for-Profit Management from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
Eric Levine
The Art of the Ask
Dr. Eric Levine is Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Touro College in New York. Prior to coming to Touro 2010, Eric played leadership roles for several years at the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), serving as Senior Vice President for Development and the Center for Jewish Philanthropy and Senior Vice President for Jewish Peoplehood and Identity. For many years, Eric also served in the senior leadership of UJA-Federation of New York, where he was the Executive Director of the Annual Campaign, Managing Director of the Commission on Jewish Identity and Renewal, and Executive Director of the Long Island region. Eric earned the Doctor of Social Welfare and Master of Social Work degrees from Yeshiva University, and is an adjunct professor teaching ethics, organizational theory, administrative practice and community relations in the doctoral programs at Yeshiva’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work and the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education. He has served on the boards of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the Hillels of Westchester and the World Council of Jewish Communal Service and is currently a vice president of the Association of Jewish Community Organization Professionals. Eric lives in White Plains, New York, with his wife Roxanne, a partner in a law firm specializing in immigration law, and their daughter Tamar.
Deborah Meyer
Today's Teens, Tomorrow's Leaders
Deborah Meyer is the Founding Executive Director of Moving Traditions and has more than 25 years of experience building non-profit institutions, primarily women’s and Jewish organizations. In addition, for four years Deborah managed a private Jewish Montessori pre-school. Before founding Moving Traditions, Deborah co-directed Kolot, where she played a major role in the development and launch of Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing!, a program now owned and expanded by Moving Traditions that empowers girls to navigate adolescence and inspires them to live Jewish lives. Under Deborah's direction, Moving Traditions has launched a research-based campaign to reverse the exodus of adolescent boys from Jewish life by training educators and offering The Brotherhood. Deborah holds an M.A. in Communication from Emerson College. She credits her family’s fraylach home celebrations and membership in the Habonim Dror youth movement for inspiring her commitment to Jewish life.
 Marci Mayer Eisen
The 5 Stages for Successful Committees
Marci Mayer Eisen is Director of the Millstone Institute for Jewish Leadership, a new community-wide approach to inspire volunteer leaders and professionals in St. Louis sponsored by the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. A native of Philadelphia, Marci has worked in the St. Louis Jewish community for 30 years. She spent the majority of her career at the JCC where she focused on community building through family programs and committee development. Marci has a BS in Human Development from Penn State, an MSW in group work from Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work and completed a Certificate in Leadership and Non-Profit Management from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. She is a graduate of both the CORO Women in Leadership Program and FOCUS St. Louis’ Leadership St. Louis and received the Jewish Federation of St. Louis Fred A. Goldstein Professional Excellence Award and the National JCC Association Yakir Professional Award.
Alana Newhouse
Write On: The Future of Jewish Journalism and Media
Alana joined Nextbook in September 2008 and oversaw its redesign and relaunch as Tablet magazine, where she now serves as Editor-in-Chief. 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.
Leonard Petlakh
Different Faces of American Jewry: How Immigration and Diversity are Changing the Profile of North American Jewry
Steve Rod
Lay-Professional Relations: Is it Really a Partnership?
Steven J. Rod held the position of Vice-President of Professional Development services for JCC Association from 1995 thru 2010. Previously, he was the Director of Executive Development and Director of Training for the JCC Association and served as the Executive Director of the Omaha JCC and Assistant Executive Director of the Minneapolis JCC. Steve has served as an executive coach and mentor, and works closely with many JCC Presidents and Executive Directors.
Avi Rubel
Around the Globe and Back Home: The Long Term Impact of Service Learning Programs
Avi Rubel is the North American Director of Masa Israel Journey which brings more than 10,000 North Americans to Israel annually for study, volunteer and career development experiences. Prior to joining Masa, Avi managed the 27 Hillel Student Centers throughout the former Soviet Union. Avi has also served as a community development specialist with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s Former Soviet Union division and as a public relations and communications professional in New York City. Avi served as a United States Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Kyrgyzstan where he was a teacher and community organizer in a mountain village. Avi completed a Masters in Public Policy degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government focusing on economic development.
Opening Plenary
Dr. John S. Ruskay has been the Executive Vice President and CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York since 1999. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 1968, Dr. Ruskay earned his doctorate in political science at Columbia University. He served as Educational Director of the 92nd Street Y from 1980 to 1985, and Vice Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America from 1985 to 1993.
He has served as a senior consultant to the Wexner Foundation and the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Foundation, and has chaired the Publication Committee of the Journal of Jewish Communal Service and the Professional Advisory Committee of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. John is a recipient of the Bernard Reisman Award for Professional Excellence from Brandeis University’s Hornstein Program and the Mandelkorn Distinguished Service Award from the Jewish Communal Service Association of North America. On December 8, 2009, John's 10th anniversary as Executive Vice President and CEO, and UJA-Federation’s work in that time, was commemorated with a symposium and a special issue of the Journal of Jewish Communal Service. John has written extensively and speaks nationally on how the American Jewish community can most effectively respond to the challenges and opportunities of living in an open society, the critical role of Jewish philanthropy, and the central role of community.
Rabbi Joanna Samuels
Salary Negotiation
Rabbi Joanna Samuels serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community. In this capacity, she serves as an advocate, strategist, and mentor for women's advancement and gender equity in the Jewish community. Prior to assuming this position, she served as Rabbi of Congregation Habonim in New York City, where her leadership is widely credited with revitalizing the synagogue community. Joanna is a writer and a popular educator, teaching classes at the Jewish Community Center of Manhattan, Drisha, and the Natan Fund. She currently serves on the board of Storahtelling. Joanna is a magna cum laude graduate of Barnard College and of the Jewish Theological Seminary, where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She resides in New York with her husband, Jeremy Hockenstein and her children Orli and Natan.
Will Schneider
Next Generation Donors
Will Schneider joined Slingshot in 2009. Prior, he worked as a fundraising consultant for dozens of non-profit clients across several sectors — the Apollo Theater, the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, and the National Urban League, to name a few. While consulting, he also founded and developed a community and professional network for young professional fundraisers called “The Future Leaders in Philanthropy (FLiP).” In approximately two years, the FLiP community grew rapidly to over 3000 people — and now it continues to grow under new leadership. Prior to consulting, Will worked on the major gifts team at Carnegie Hall, and before that in the Development Office at New York University.
Gaby Schoenfeld
Around the Globe and Back Home: The Long Term Impact of Service Learning Programs
Gaby Schoenfeld is the Program Director for Short-Term Overseas Experiences in the Department of Next Generation and Service Initiatives at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). She came to JDC most recently from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU, where she was the Assistant Director for Executive MPA programs and the Dual Degree Program in Nonprofit Management and Hebrew and Judaic Studies. During her work in the Jewish service field, she was responsible for planning and leading short-term service programs in Israel and Latin America and for working with alumni of Jewish service programs upon their return to the U.S. Gaby was also a founding steering committee member of Global Circle, the young leadership initiative of American Jewish World Service (AJWS).
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld
Movements in Motion: The Future of Denominations
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld is the Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Assembly, and has been the Director of Rabbinic Development for the Rabbinical Assembly since 2001. She has advanced numerous landmark projects of the Conservative rabbinate, including a study of women rabbis that was released in 2004, and follow-up programs to further the career advancement of female clergy. Prior to her current positions, Julie has also served as the Director or Synagogue Affairs at the American Jewish World Service from 2001 to 2002 immediately following her pulpit at the historic Manhattan synagogue, The Society for the Advancement of Judaism, where she was Senior Rabbi from 1996 to 2001. Julie has been the winner of many awards, honors and fellowships, graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1987 and received rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1997. She lives in Westchester, NY and is married to Aytan Bellin, a lawyer in private practice and they have two school-aged children.
Daniel Septimus
Making it Click: A Conversation about the Internet and Community
Daniel Septimus is the Editor-in-Chief and CEO of MyJewishLearning.com. He also developed and oversees MyJewishLearning's new Jewish parenting website, Kveller.com.
Adam Shpall
Drive Your Career Forward with Linked-In
Adam Shpall is a Job Developer at JEVS Career Strategies. When he is not networking with recruiters to find jobs for clients, he is working to help clients become employment ready by giving advice on how to best market and present themselves, or by creating curriculum and co-presenting a weekly job search strategies group. Prior to working at JEVS, Adam lived in Northampton, Massachusetts for six years where he taught Hebrew language to students with learning challenges at a small private Jewish day school. He was also served as Youth Director at the local conservative synagogue where he developed and led programs and formed a Jewish rock band that performed on holidays and at community festivals. Adam’s other professional experience includes two years of working as a Job Developer for individuals with developmental disabilities and individuals in drug recovery, and counseling at a residential facility in San Francisco. In his personal time, Adam plays guitar, writes music, reads on a wide variety of topics and travels. Adam lives in Collingswood, NJ.
Daniel Sieradski
Write On: The Future of Jewish Journalism and Media
Daniel Sieradski is the Director of Digital Strategy at Repair the World and has previously worked as Director of Digital Media for JTA News. Along with his expertise in web design and digital strategy, Daniel is an experienced graphic designer, writer, photographer and social entrepreneur. Former publisher of the popular blog Jewschool.com, he has been hailed as “an innovator in Jewish new media” by Editor & Publisher and as “a major figure of the Jewish Internet world” by the Forward. In 2008, The Jewish Week counted him among the “36 Under 36,” a group of 36 Jews under the age of 36 helping shape the Jewish future.
Jos Thalheimer
Next Generation Donors
Jos Thalheimer is a founding member of both Grand Street, a network for young adults who are or will be involved as leaders in their family’s philanthropy; and, The Slingshot Fund which seeks to strengthen innovation in Jewish life by developing next-generation funders and providing resources to leverage impact in the Jewish community. Jos is a certified trainer of 21/64, a non-profit consulting practice specializing in next generation and multigenerational strategic philanthropy. Jos is a recent graduate from New York University where he earned masters’ degrees in Social Work as well as Public Administration and Non-Profit Management. He is also a next generation family member of the Alvin and Fanny Thalheimer Foundation based in Baltimore, MD.
Rachel Weinstein
Around the Globe and Back Home: The Long Term Impact of Service Learning Programs
Rachel Weinstein is the Senior Program Officer for Domestic Action at American Jewish World Service (AJWS). Rachel joined AJWS in 2007 and works with volunteers when they return from AJWS service-learning trips to build knowledge, skills and leadership within the Jewish community around human rights issues. Rachel currently serves on several task forces in the international volunteer and Jewish service-learning fields. She has thirteen years of experience in informal education and has worked on a number of cross-cultural and community-building efforts, including youth empowerment, HIV/AIDS, and food sovereignty campaigns. Rachel received her B.A. from Vassar College and holds an M.A. from CUNY Graduate Center.
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