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Staff Directory

Senior Staff

 

Stephen H. Hoffman

President

  • Joined staff September 1974
  • Formerly on loan as President & CEO of United Jewish Communities, 2001-2004
  • Former Director of Social Planning and Research and former Director of Operations, Cleveland Federation
  • MSW, University of Maryland
  • MA, Baltimore Hebrew College (FEREP Graduate -Council of Jewish Federations' Executive Recruitment and Education Program)
  • BA, Dickinson College

 

 

Joel Fox

Executive Vice President

  • Joined staff July 1980
  • Former Director of Social Planning and Research and former Director of Campaign, Cleveland Federation
  • Former University Programs Field Representative, Mid-West Region, United Jewish Appeal
  • MSSA, Case Western Reserve University (FEREP graduate)
  • BA, University of Pittsburgh
  • 1985 Awardee, Conference of Jewish Communal Services' (CJCS) Louis N. Kraft Award for Outstanding Young Professional of the Year

 

 

Daniel S. Blain

Vice President / Director of Campaign

  • Joined staff July 1989
  • Former Director of Community Relations, Cleveland Federation
  • MSW, Washington University
  • MA, Hebrew Union College (FEREP Graduate)
  • BSBA, Washington University
  • 1994 Awardee, CJCS Louis N. Kraft Award for Outstanding Young Professional of the Year

 

 

Charles M. Edelsberg

Vice President / Director of Endowments and Foundations

  • Joined staff September 1997
  • Former Executive Director, The Temple-Tifereth Israel
  • Former Superintendent, Oberlin City Schools
  • PHD, The Ohio State University
  • MA, Brown University
  • BA, The Ohio State University

 

 

Harvey A. Freiman

Vice President

  • Joined staff July 1987
  • Former Executive Director, Jewish Federation of Ft. Worth and Tarrant County, Texas
  • Former Campaign Director, Jewish Federation of Greater Buffalo
  • MSSA, Case Western Reserve University
  • AB, Ohio University

 

 

Alan D. Gross

Assistant Director / Director of Endowment Development

  • Joined staff September 1984
  • Former Corporate Counsel, Cardinal American Corporation
  • JD, Vanderbilt University
  • AB, Kenyon College

 

 

Berinthia R. LeVine

Assistant Director / Director of Philanthropic Planning

  • Joined staff September 1995
  • Former Executive Vice President, Montefiore Foundation
  • Former Director, Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, CWRU's Weatherhead School of Management
  • MBA, Case Western Reserve University
  • AB, University of Michigan

 

 

Barry Reis

Senior Vice President / Chief Financial Officer

  • Joined staff March 1984
  • Certified Public Accountant
  • MBA, Cleveland State University
  • BS, Miami University

 

 

Department Heads

 

 

Michael E. Bennett

Director of Marketing and Communications

  • Joined staff December 1997
  • Former Living Editor, The Plain Dealer
  • Former President, Board of Trustees, The Cleveland Hillel Foundation
  • BSJ, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University

 

 

Lawrence J. Borodkin

Director of Human Resources

  • Joined staff February 2001
  • Former Director of Screening Services, PRADCO
  • PHD, The University of Akron
  • MA, The University of Akron
  • BS, Youngstown State University

 

 

David Fleshler

Director of International Operations

  • Joined staff September 2000
  • Former President, David Fleshler Consultants and Company
  • Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Congressman Eric Fingerhut
  • JD, Boston College Law School
  • BA, University of Michigan

 

 

Dayan E. Gross

Director of Community Relations

  • Joined staff June 2001
  • Former Executive Director of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (Cape Council)
  • MA, Benjamin S. Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service, Brandeis University
  • BA, Rhodes University

 

Hedy P. Milgrom

Director of Funds & Foundations

  • Joined staff July 1998
  • Former Development and Admissions Director, Solomon Schechter Day School; Former Program Director, Great Lakes Arts Alliance; Former Grants Coordinator, Illinois Arts Council
  • Former President, Board of Trustees, Cleveland Hillel Foundation
  • MA, Florida State University
  • BA, Illinois State University

 

Deborah A. Rodriguez

Director of Community Planning

  • Joined staff August 2002
  • Former Vice President, Program Services and Strategic Planning, Center for Families and Children
  • Former Assistant Administrator, Menorah Park Center for Senior Living
  • MRC, Bowling Green State University
  • BA, Indiana University

 

 

Susan Roth

Chief Information Officer

  • Joined staff January 1993
  • Former Programming Manager, Progressive Insurance
  • BS, The Ohio State University

 

 

Cathy Weiss

Director of Community Services

  • Joined staff February 1989
  • Former Executive Director, Jewish Family Service Association, Akron
  • MSSA, Case Western Reserve University
  • BA, University of Cincinnati

 

 

Executive Staff

 

 

Sheila Allenick

Assistant Director of Fiscal Operations

  • Joined staff April 1997
  • Former Controller, Mandel Supporting Foundations
  • Former Accountant, Wright, Wesley & Mills LLP; First Union Real Estate; Price Waterhouse
  • Certified Public Accountant
  • BA, Cleveland State University

 

 

Julie Auerbach

Educational Coordinator, International Operations

  • Joined staff August 2003
  • Former Director of Adult & Family Education, Gross Schechter Day School
  • Former Senior Educator, Melitz Centers for Jewish Zionist Education
  • Former Curriculum Associate, Jewish Education Center
  • MA, Judaic Studies, Siegal College of Judaic Studies
  • MA, Economics, New York University
  • BA, Public Affairs, The George Washington University

 

 

Susan Avitan

Assistant Director of Human Resources Development

  • Joined staff November 2000
  • Former Human Resource Development Professional, Columbus Jewish Federation
  • MA, The Ohio State University
  • BSBA, The Ohio State University

 

 

Karen Baker

Campaign Supervisor/ Special Projects Coordinator

  • Joined staff April 2000
  • Former president of Park Synagogue's New Generation
  • BA, Hampshire College

 

 

Oren Baratz

Assistant Director of International Operations

  • Joined staff November 2004
  • Former Project Director, ATIDIM

Former Vice consul, Israel Consulate - Toronto

  • EMBA, Tel Aviv University / /Northwestern University

BA, Tel Aviv University

 

 

Laura Barnett

Assistant Director of Community Relations

  • Joined staff September 2000
  • Former Executive Director, Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center
  • MSSA, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
  • BA, Boston University

 

 

Annie L. Becker

Marketing and Communications Senior Associate

  • Joined staff March 2002
  • Former Senior Account Executive, Stern Advertising
  • BA, Miami University

 

 

Nancy W. Bell

Senior Human Resources Development Associate

  • Joined staff July 1987
  • Certificate Candidate, Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations
  • BS, The Ohio State University

 

 

Renee Salick Berry

Project Director, Community Options/Assistant Planning Director

  • Joined staff March 1996
  • Former Executive Director, St. Clair-Superior Coalition
  • MNO, Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Case Western Reserve University
  • BA, Case Western Reserve University

 

 

Avi J. Cooper

Marketing and Communications Associate / Web Director

  • Joined staff December 2001
  • Former Director of Marketing, DM Consulting Group
  • Former Marketing Manager, Embedded Planet, LLC
  • BA, John Carroll University

 

 

Robert Deitz

Philanthropic Planning Group Development Officer

  • Joined staff June 2001
  • Former President, Consolidated Coatings Corporation
  • Former Directory of Community Affairs, R.P.M. Inc.
  • CNM, Mandel Center Case Western Reserve University
  • MA, Case Western Reserve University
  • BBA, Case Western Reserve University

 

 

Michelle Feinberg

Associate Director of Young Leadership

  • Joined staff September 2002
  • Former Membership Coordinator, Hadassah Organization
  • BA, Ohio State University

 

 

Avi Friedman

Young Leadership Division Director

  • Joined staff September 2003
  • Former Program Director, Hillel, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • MA, Brandeis University, Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service (FEREP)
  • MBA, Brandeis University, Heller School
  • BA, University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

 

Beverly Gans

Assistant Director of Philanthropic Planning

  • Joined staff February 1994
  • Former Women's Campaign Director, Cleveland Federation
  • Former Development Officer, Meridia Health System
  • BA, Smith College

Lisa A. Gill

Marketing and Communications Associate

  • Joined staff September 1990
  • MSW, The Ohio State University
  • BA, The Ohio State University
  • Certificate in Jewish Communal Service

 

 

Judith Kirchick

Director of Finance

  • Joined staff December 2003
  • Former Senior Vice President, Director of Finance, Key Capital Partners
  • MBA, Cleveland State University
  • BA, University of Michigan

 

 

Debbie Klein

Centennial Fund Associate

  • Joined staff June 2004
  • Former Marketing Analyst, American express
  • MSSA, Case Western Reserve University
  • BA, University of Michigan

 

 

Eileen Kollins

Community Services Associate

  • Joined staff December 2003
  • Former Assistant Director of the Midwest Council of the UAHC
  • MEd, University of Cincinnati
  • BA, BS, University of Cincinnati

 

 

Marcia Korenstein

Chaplaincy Coordinator

  • Joined staff December 2003
  • Former Community Service Coordinator, Preterm
  • BS, Pennsylvania State University

 

 

Marianne Lax

Supporting Foundations Manager

  • Joined staff January 2002
  • Former Director of Health and Human Services, Cleveland Municipal School District
  • MSSA, Mandel School, Case Western Reserve University
  • BS, University of Cincinnati

 

 

Allison Levine

Assistant Director of Information Technology Operations

  • Joined staff January 1991
  • Former Reservation Manager, Snappy Car Rental
  • BS, The Ohio State University

 

 

Casie Lovinger

Director, Centennial Celebration

  • Joined staff January 2002
  • Former Account Executive, Marcus Thomas LLC
  • Former Assistant Director of Marketing, Beachwood Place
  • BS, Kent State University

 

Shelley Milin Marcus

Associate Director of Campaign / Director of Major Gifts

  • Joined staff Feburary 1997
  • Former Human Resources Development Director, The Associated Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore
  • Assistant Campaign Director, Young Adult Division Director, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
  • MSW, University of Michigan
  • BS, University of Michigan

 

 

Hannah Mendelsohn

Campaign Senior Associate

  • Joined staff July 2002
  • Former Volunteer and Teen Director, Ann Arbor YMCA
  • Former Team Leader, Hands on Atlanta Americorps
  • MSW, University of Michigan
  • BA, Brandeis University

 

 

Jacob Neuman

Controller

  • Joined staff June 2004
  • Former Controller, Safeguard Properties
  • Former Controller, Hebrew Academy of Cleveland
  • MBA, Cleveland State University
  • MA, Talmudic Studies

 

Fran Pursell

Public Education Initiative Coordinator

  • Joined staff December 1999
  • Former Project Librarian and Book Club Leader, Project LEARN
  • MSLS, Case Western Reserve University
  • BS, Miami University

 

 

Lacey J. Roth

Assistant Director of International Operations

  • Joined staff January 1998
  • Former Assistant Director of Clinical and Community Services, Bellefaire Jewish Children's Bureau
  • MSSA, Case Western Reserve University
  • MA, Educational Psychology, John Carroll University
  • BA, Case Western Reserve University

 

 

Kelly Sperber-Rubanenko

Director, Jewish Volunteers in Action

  • Joined staff June 2001
  • Former Hands On Program Coordinator for UJA-Federation of New York
  • Former Assistant Executive Director of The Breakers at Edgewater Beach
  • MSSA, MSASS, Case Western Reserve University
  • BA, The University of Michigan

 

 

Erika B. Rudin-Luria

Supporting Foundations Manager

  • Joined staff July 2001
  • Former Program Executive, The Commission on Jewish Identity and Renewal, UJA-Federation of New York
  • MA, Judaic Studies, The Jewish Theological Seminary of American
  • MSW, Columbia University
  • UJA-Federation of New York PENS Scholarship Recipient
  • BA, Brandeis University

 

 

Brian Schupper

Women's Division Director

  • Joined staff July 2000
  • Former Director of Graduate and Professional Program, Hillel of Greater Washington
  • MPS, University of Maryland
  • MA, Baltimore Hebrew University (FEREP graduate)
  • BA, Johns Hopkins University

 

 

Brett Shankman

Associate Director of Campaign

  • Joined staff March 2000
  • Former Director of Goverment Affairs, Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council
  • MPS, University of Maryland
  • MA, Baltimore Hebrew University
  • BA, University of Michigan

 

 

Janet Schwartz Shapiro

Director of Philanthropic and Special Purpose Funds

  • Joined staff March 1999
  • Former Vice President in Corporate Trust Department, National City Bank
  • MBA, Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management
  • BSBA, Miami University

 

 

Terri C. Steindler

Assistant Director of Philanthropic Planning Group

  • Joined staff July 1999
  • Former Executive Director, National Council of Jewish Women
  • Former Director of Volunteers, National Council of Jewish Women
  • BSW, The Ohio State University

 

 

Robin Sirkin

Allocations Senior Associate

  • Joined staff March 2004
  • Former Relationship Manager -Commercial Banking Middle Market - First Place Bank
  • Former Relationship Officer - Commercial Banking Middle Market - Keybank National Association
  • MBA, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
  • BS, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

 

 

Adam Tennen

Planning Associate

  • Joined staff December 2002
  • Former Youth and Hebrew High School Director, B'Nai Israel Congregation, Rockville, MD
  • Former Jewish Campus Service Corp Fellow, American University Hillel
  • Certificate in Jewish Communal Service, Sol Drachler Program in Jewish Communal Leadership
  • FEREP Graduate
  • MSW, University of Michigan
  • BA, Indiana University

 

 

Chuck Varkala

Director of Internal Audit

  • Joined staff January 1996
  • Former Vice President of Administration, Action Auto Rental; Former Assistant General Auditor, National City Corporation
  • BSBA, John Carroll University

 

 

Kittie D. Warshawsky

Assistant Director, Endowment Development

  • Joined staff April 2004
  • Former Director, Office of Gift Planning, Case Western Reserve University
  • Former Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
  • Former Associate, Thompson Hine, LLP
  • JD, Georgetown University Law Center
  • BA, Brown University

 

 

Leah Weissman

Community Relations/International Operations Associate

  • Joined staff August 2004
  • Former Assistant Director, Jewish community Council of Greater Washington
  • BA, Emory University

 

 

Howard P. Wolf

Business Director

  • Joined staff June 1999
  • MBA, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
  • Certificate of Nonprofit Management, Mandel Center of Nonprofit Management, Case Western Reserve University
  • BS, Case Western Reserve University

 

 

Debra S. Yasinow

Marketing and Communications Senior Associate

  • Joined staff March 2002
  • Former Income Development Director, American Cancer Society
  • 2001 American Marshall Memorial Fellow
  • MS, Northwestern University
  • BS, Carnegie Mellon University