Meet our Board, Staff, & Committee Members
We are pleased to introduce you to our esteemed Board of Trustees, dedicated staff, and engaged standing committee members, that are helping impact and improve lives in Cleveland, Israel, and 70 countries around the globe, each and every day. If you need to connect with someone but can’t find their information here, please call our main phone line at: 216-593-2900 or send an email to info@jewishcleveland.org Todah!
Board of Trustees
As of January 1, 2022
Executive Officers

J. David Heller
Board Chair

Beth Wain Brandon
Vice Chair

Lynne M. Cohen
Vice Chair

James A. Ratner
Vice Chair

Neil R. Waxman
Vice Chair

Daniel N. Zelman
Vice Chair

Dara G. Yanowitz
Treasurer

Jeffrey Weiss
Associate Treasurer
Executive Committee
Reneé Chelm* • Jennifer E. Cohen • Grant N. Dinner • Barry S. Feldman • Margaret Richards Frankel
Robert Goldberg* • Lynn-Ann Gries • Gary L. Gross* • Harley I. Gross* • William H. Heller* • Michelle Hirsch
Stephen H. Hoffman* • Ilana I. Katz • Karen Krause • Erica Lazzaro • Gregg A. Levine • Ryan G. Levine
Peter Meisel • Albert B. Ratner* • Charles Horowitz Ratner* • Enid Rosenberg • Barbara Rosskamm
Bradley J. Schlang • Michael D. Siegal* • Scott M. Simon • Erica G. Starrfield • Richard P. Stovsky
Sally H. Wertheim* • Morris Wheeler • Danielle Wild • Mitch Wolf • Timothy F. Wuliger* • Sarah Zimmerman
Trustees
Trish Adler • Jules Belkin • Eric E. Bell • Jordan D. Berkowitz • Patti B. Berns • Barnett N. Bookatz • Susan R. Borison
Rabbi Naphtali Burnstein • Michael Cantor • Cynthia Chaiten • Rabbi Jonathan Cohen • Jeffrey S. Davis
Reuven D. Dessler • Amy Einhorn • Adam H. Gimbel • Shelley Gimbel • Ira S. Goffman • Adrienne Goldberg • Larry P. Goldberg*
Alan D. Gottlieb • Roe Green • Rochelle Gross • Rabbi Rosette Barron Haim • Rebecca C. Heller • Evan Hirsch • Shoshana Dessler Jacobs
Edna Jaffa • Gabrielle Jerusalem • Justin Kadis • Suellen Kadis • Jeffrey M. Kahn • Michele Kaminsky • Ira Kaplan
Ethan Karp • Michael B. Klein • Nathan Klein • Terri Kline • Adena J. Klineman • Hallie Bram Kogelschatz • S. Lee Kohrman*
Sharon Koppelman • Norma W. Lerner* • Eliana J. LeVine • Jan Lewis • Mariely Luengo
Milton S. Maltz* • Tamar Maltz* • Gregory A. Marcus • Susi Y. Meisel • Natan D. Milgrom • David P. Miller • Amy Morgenstern
Cameron Orlean • David B. Orlean • Dayna Orlean • Abbie Pappas • Ervin Pavlofsky • Shari S. Perlmuter • Kim M. Pesses • Marla K. Petti
Dan A. Polster • Keith Polster • Loree E. Potash • Robert S. Reitman* • Brian D. Robbins • Beth Rosenberg • David M. Rosenberg
Betty Rosskamm* • Peter Rzepka* • Evie Safran* • Harvey Sass • Marcy Schwartz • Gary S. Shamis • Mary Ann Shamis
Eliav Sharvit • Elisabeth W. Sherman • Michal Soclof • Todd Stein • Jeanne Tobin • Richard Uria • Penni Weinberg*
Stephen J. Weinberg* • Judith Weiss* • Morry Weiss* • Adam L. Wieder • Jeffrey J. Wild • Judy Willensky
Nancy G. Wolf • Jason A. Wuliger • Sandra Wuliger* • Donna Yanowitz* • Darrell A. Young • Don Zigdon
President Emeritus
Stephen H. Hoffman*
Emeritus Trustees
Thomas W. Adler • George N. Aronoff • Richard Bogomolny • Leslie D. Dunn • Leonard Fuchs z”l • Peggy Garson • Lois K. Goodman
Robert D. Gries • Susan R. Hurwitz • Marvin L. Lader • Barbara S. Rosenthal • Gordon H. Safran
David J. Strauss • Philip Wasserstrom
* life trustee
z"l of blessed memory
Standing Committees
As of January 1, 2022
Allocations Committee
Recommends allocation of funds from the Campaign for Jewish Needs (CFJN) that support the community's objectives for health and human services, education, national and overseas agencies. The Committee helps to ensure the effective and efficient use of funds by Federation's beneficiary agencies and surfaces systemic and agency-specific issues for community review and consideration.
Michelle Hirsch, Chair
Loree E. Potash, Subcommittee on Overseas Chair
Jared S. Miller, Subcommittee on Human Services Chair
Elisabeth W. Sherman, Subcommittee on Education Agencies Chair
Barry S. Feldman, National Agencies Liaison Team Chair
Community Planning Committee
Responsible for identifying unmet service needs and gaps in the community, facilitating a process whereby these needs are addressed, and validating the underlying community need that when agencies launch, expand or end major programmatic or capital investments.
Peter Meisel, Chair
Adam H. Gimbel, Jewish Community Housing, Inc., President
Community Relations Committee
Develops and implements Federation's public affairs agenda, both international and domestic, through advocacy, projects, and relationship-building.
Gregg A. Levine, Chair
Susan Borison and Laura Vexler, Vice Chairs
Development Committee
Coordinates and oversees all Federation development activities, policies, and procedures, including endowment development, the Campaign for Jewish Needs, participatory and multi-generational family philanthropy, special campaigns (e.g. Centennial, Exodus, etc.), corporate and foundation support, and agency supplemental appeals.
Enid Rosenberg, Chair
Bradley A. Sherman, 2021 Campaign for Jewish Needs General Chair
James Goldsmith, Professional Advisory Council Chair
Michelle Hirsch, Women IN Philanthropy Chair
Cameron Orlean, Young Leadership Division Chair
Stephen J. Weinberg, Dara G. Yanowitz, Create Your Jewish Legacy Co-Chairs
Endowment Fund Committee
Created in 1955, gifts to the Endowment Fund represent a commitment to the well-being and security of the Jewish community and to the future of its health, welfare, cultural and educational services. The Endowment Fund Committee recommends grants in order to meet emergencies, to support new and innovative projects, services, studies and scholarship needs or to support other projects. Endowment Fund assets occasionally are also used in support of programs in the general community.
Grant N. Dinner, Chair
Matthew F. Kadish, Donor Advised Fund Advisory Committee Chair
Alan E. Yanowitz, Foundation Advisory Council Chair
Finance and Investment
Manages the Jewish Federation's investments.
Morris Wheeler, Chair
Human Resources Development Committee
Provides strategic counsel and support to the Federation on the vision, goals, resources and deliverables that will frame the work of the Federation’s Human Resources Development department based on trends and best practices in the human resources and leadership development fields for both professional staff and lay leaders. Responsible for assisting with the design and implementation of a comprehensive set of programs to respond to the human resources needs of the Federation and its system of services including: formal training programs, leadership development programs and placement coordination.
Lynn-Ann Gries, Chair
Susan R. Hurwitz, ALeRT (Agency Leadership Roundtable) Chair
Marcia Levine, Gries Committee Chair
Susi Y. Meisel, Jason A. Wuliger, Mandel Symposium Co-Chairs
Marketing & Communications Committee
Provides strategic counsel and support to the Federation on various marketing and communications initiatives designed to reach and engage target audiences in Jewish Cleveland and the general community. Serves as a sounding board for new ideas and alternative approaches to supporting the organization’s growth agenda through marketing and communications, as well as serves a source for market intelligence, resource identification and relevant best practices.
Ilana Isakov Katz, Chair
Overseas Connections Committee
Develops and funds a wide range of programs and activities that strengthen Jewish Life in Cleveland, Israel, and St. Petersburg, Russia. It aims to involve Clevelanders in an international agenda to build and strengthen the worldwide Jewish community. Its cutting edge projects are developed to create sustainable change and improve Jewish life.
Scott M. Simon, Chair
Mark Holz, Cleveland/Beit Shean Partnership Subcommittee Chair
Barry S. Feldman, Cleveland/St. Petersburg Partnership Chair
Scott J. Spiegle, IDF Education Corps/Havat HaShomer Partnership Chair
Judge Dan A. Polster, Jordan/Cross-Border Initiative Chair
Lynne M. Cohen, Parents and Children Together (PACT) Partnership Chair
Herbert A. Wainer, STEM Education Initiative Chair
Strategic Planning Committee
Produces fundamental decisions and action steps that shape and guide the Jewish Federation of Cleveland; sets strategies to guide the Federation for the next 3-5 years; oversees the development of a plan to implement those strategies; and monitors the implementation.
Danielle Wild, Chair
Senior Staff

Tami Caplan
Senior Vice President /
Chief Human Resources Officer
tcaplan@jewishcleveland.org

Amy Kaplan
Vice President,
External Affairs / Government Relations
akaplan@jewishcleveland.org

Melanie Halvorson
Vice President,
Community Planning and Allocations
mhalvorson@jewishcleveland.org

Rob Berick
Assistant Vice President /
Chief Marketing Officer
rberick@jewishcleveland.org

Ilanit Gerblich
Kalir
Assistant Vice President, External Affairs/International Operations
ikalir@jewishcleveland.org

Carol Wolf
Assistant Vice President, Planned Giving and Endowments
cwolf@jewishcleveland.org