In this section:
Faculty
Karen Spira
Karen was appointed Director of the Executive Leadership Program in July 2024, where she oversees the ongoing development, implementation, and improvement of all aspects of the program, including faculty and advisors, curriculum, recruitment and admissions, and serves as faculty within the program. Prior to joining the Mandel Foundation, she was the Assistant Director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. She holds an MA and PhD in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis. Her dissertation examined orphanhood, the care and education of Jewish children, and the development of child welfare systems in the Yishuv. Her areas of expertise include modern European Jewish history, Holocaust Studies, and Israel Studies. As a doctoral student, she was a Schusterman Fellow at the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. She also holds an MA in Religion from the University of Georgia and a dual BA in English and Religious Studies from the University of Arizona. She has taught courses on the Holocaust, Zionism, and the history of the State of Israel at Brandeis and as a community educator to high school students, in synagogues, through adult education, and senior life throughout the greater Boston area and New York. Karen and her husband Eran live in Waltham, MA with their two children.
David S. Koffman
David S. Koffman is the J. Richard Shiff Chair for the Study of Canadian Jewry, and an associate professor in the Department of History at York University in Toronto where he teaches courses including History’s Greatest Hits, Making Money Meaningful, A Convenient Hatred: Antisemitism Before, During and After the Holocaust, History of Me: The Genealogy Seminar, Worry and Wonder: Jewish Politics, Religion and Culture in Canada, and God/USA: Religion in American Life Since 1491. He is the author of The Jews’ Indian: Colonialism, Pluralism, and Belonging in America (Rutgers University Press, 2019), the editor of and a contributor to No Better Home?: Jews, Canada, and the Sense of Belonging (University of Toronto Press, 2021), a co-editor and co-contributor to Promised Lands North and South: Jewish Canada and Jewish Argentina in Conversation (Brill Press, 2024), and numerous articles, book chapters, and essays. He serves as the associate director of York’s Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies, the editor-in-chief of the journal Canadian Jewish Studies / Études juives canadiennes, the executive producer of the podcast Tête-à-tête: Conversations in Canadian Jewish Studies, and the publisher of Parchment: A Journal of Contemporary Canadian Jewish Writing.
Aaron Henne
Aaron Henne is the founding artistic director of theatre dybbuk, an arts and education organization that trains Jewish communal leaders to communicate and collaborate most effectively and uses Jewish history as an entry point to explore the complexities present in our world. With Hebrew Union College, he has taught for the Executive M.A. in Jewish Education, was the Diane Luboff Scholar at the Cutter Colloquium, and was part of Beit HaYotzer/The Creativity Braintrust. Aaron has served as faculty for Jewish Federations of North America’s Cabinet Young Leadership and Changemakers initiatives, as well as for the Heritage and Davidson programs. He has also worked as an educator, consultant, and facilitator for many other organizations including The Leichtag Foundation and The Bronfman Fellowship. In addition to his work with theatre dybbuk, Aaron has presented professional development and character creation workshops at Lucasfilm, Pixar, and DreamWorks, served as a professional mentor at Otis College of Art and Design, and has taught in a facilitation training program at Georgetown University. Aaron was a Pilot Field Fellow and the recipient of LA Weekly and SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards for Playwriting.
Monique Burns Thompson
Monique Burns Thompson is an accomplished social entrepreneur who brings to her research and teaching at Harvard Business School her twenty years of successful start-up and organizational leadership experience. She has led as a co-founder, President, and Chief Curriculum Officer focusing specifically on building organizations and systems, developing leaders and closely aligning programs and products with marketplace need. Prior to HBS, Burns Thompson was the co-founder and President of Teach Plus, a national non-profit that trains excellent, experienced teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their profession and their student’s success. Burns Thompson was also co-founder, President and Chief Curriculum Officer of what FastCompany Magazine has called “one of the top ten companies changing the world,” New Leaders for New Schools. She came to Harvard to continue her focus on creating management and leadership training curriculum that focuses on giving school leaders concrete skills in instructional and managerial leadership. Her courses have been completed by over 18,000 participants worldwide. When not at work, Monique is an active member of Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, MA, is a board member for Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), and is the proud mother of two daughters. She keeps her balance in her world by running long distances slowly, skiing quickly, and traveling whenever possible.
Rabbi Aviva Richman
Rabbi Aviva Richman is a Rosh Yeshiva at Hadar and has been on its faculty since 2010. A graduate of Oberlin College, she studied in the Pardes Kollel and the Drisha Scholars’ Circle and was ordained by Rabbi Danny Landes. She completed a doctorate in Talmud at NYU. Interests include Talmud, Halakhah, Midrash, and gender, and also a healthy dose of nigunim.
Advisors
Serena Eisenberg
Rabbi Serena Eisenberg is an advisor for the Mandel Executive Leadership Program and was formerly the Director of Regional Engagement at American Jewish Committee (AJC) following five years as the Director of AJC’s Northern California region. She served as the President of the Northern California Board of Rabbis and worked for Jewish congregations and organizations in the Bay Area for over 25 years. Previously Eisenberg was the Executive Director of Hillels at Stanford University and Brown University. She is a member of both the Reform and Reconstructionist Rabbinical Assemblies and is an alumnus of several fellowships, including Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Mandel Jerusalem Fellows, CLAL Rabbis without Borders, the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Chautauqua Interfaith Clergy, and AJWS Global Justice Rabbis. She now serves as a trainer and mentor for the Clergy Leadership Incubator. Before entering the rabbinate, she received a JD/MSW from UC Berkeley and a B.A. from Brown University and worked for a decade as child-welfare advocate in the Bronx, Oakland, and in West Africa. Serena is married and blessed with five sons and several adorable grandchildren.
Jeremy Burton
Jeremy Burton joined the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC) as Executive Director in October 2011, after playing leadership roles in many Jewish organizations as well as government and political campaigns. Under Jeremy’s leadership, JCRC has thrived as a national model for community relations, with a core mission of building a network of Jewish organizations that is a leader in the public square, connected through enduring partnerships beyond our community in service to Jewish concerns and the collective good. Under his leadership, JCRC spearheaded a Jewish communal response to stand with our immigrant neighbors in the face of detention and deportation by creating a robust interfaith network to provide sanctuary, court accompaniment, pro bono legal assistance and bond funds to targeted immigrants. His vision for American engagement with and support for grassroots civil society activists laid the foundation for JCRC and CJP’s joint initiative, Boston Partners for Peace, an innovative model to promote the work of shared-society organizations in Israel and the Palestinian Areas and connect them with the Boston community. Jeremy is a national thought leader, writing and speaking widely about the challenges and opportunities facing the Jewish community. As a Gay and Mexican-American Jew, he brings a unique and valuable perspective to the issue of inclusion across the diversity of our Jewish community. He has been published in the Boston Globe, JTA, Times of Israel, New York Jewish Week, Forward, Jerusalem Post, and the Washington Post. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has included his account, @BurtonJM, in their “Twitter 100” list of the most influential Jewish voices on Twitter. Previously Jeremy was the Senior Vice President of Programs at the Jewish Funds for Justice, and Vice President of Programs at the Jewish Funders Network. Jeremy came to the Jewish community from a career in political strategy and public communications, having worked for New York Mayor David N. Dinkins, Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, the 1996 Clinton/Gore Re-Election Campaign, and the New York State legislature & Attorney General, among others. Jeremy has served on several boards and in many volunteer leadership roles, including as a founding board member and then co-chair of Darkhei Noam, the first ‘partnership’ minyan in the United States, in New York City. He was a founding board member of Bikkurim, an incubator for new Jewish ideas that is now part of UpStart, and a founding national board member of Keshet, working for the full inclusion of all LGBTQ Jews in Jewish life.
Robin Bernstein
Robin Bernstein is currently working as a consultant for several CEOs in the not-for-profit sector after serving for 15 years as the CEO of the Educational Alliance, where she worked a total of 26 years in a number of different senior management positions. She has consulted on multiple projects in Africa and served as the Interim CEO of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and Friends of the Children New York. She also consulted for the Yale Center for Social and Emotional Intelligence. Robin is a clinical social worker and a certified meditation teacher. She is currently teaching meditation at Bard College. She is also on the faculty of the Garrison Institute’s Center for Contemplative Based Resiliency Training where she trains front line social service providers as well as humanitarian aid workers suffering from vicarious trauma. Early in her career, she was a social worker both in private practice and at Jewish Family and Community Services in Chicago.
Cindy Chazan
Cindy Chazan retired in December 2017 after 18 plus years with The Wexner Foundation where she served most recently as Senior Advisor. As Vice President for the Foundation, she facilitated collaborations among the Wexner Leadership constituencies in North America and in Israel, developed Partnership Communities for the Wexner Heritage Program and engaged Jewish communities in greater leadership development activities. Prior to her work for the Foundation, she was the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford — the first woman to hold such a position in a large or large/intermediate community. Before that, Cindy was Special Projects Associate for the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America (then the Jewish Welfare Board) where she staffed the Mandel Commission on Maximizing Jewish Educational Effectiveness of JCC’s. Ms. Chazan was the Director of the Koffler Centre of the Arts in Toronto and the Associate Director of The Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal, both branches of the JCC. Cindy is a founding Board Member of Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community.
Allan Finkelstein
Allan Finkelstein retired in 2015 after 20+ years as President and CEO of the Jewish Community Centers of North America, the continental leadership organization for JCCs and camps in 140 cities. Allan came to his position following 25 years in the field in a variety of positions including CEO of JCCs in Columbus Ohio and Los Angeles. Allan worked as a consultant to some of the largest JCCs in North America, focusing on executive leadership, board development, organizational visioning , professional training, and overall management. During his tenure, the organization grew from a small consulting organization, to creating signature programs for constituents, along with a sophisticated benchmarking program that articulated and measured excellence in both business and mission for non profits. He is known as a mentor and coach to many of the leading executives who serve today. He has a passion for engagement with executives in leadership challenges,, lay/staff relationships, professional growth, and organizational leadership and strategy. Allan was the 2016 recipient of the Florence G. Heller Award for Distinguished Professional Service to the Jewish Community Center Movement Allan is a mentor in the Mandel Executive Leadership Program. He taught leadership and organizational development at the Zelikow School of Non Profit Management in Los Angeles, and was the 2016 Louis Bernstein Scholar in Residence. He has also taught at the Hornstein Program at Brandeis University. Allan’s avocation is musical conducting. He currently serves as resident musical director of Gallery Players in Columbus and has served as a synagogue choir director for many years.
Stephen H. Hoffman
Stephen H. Hoffman is President Emeritus of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, having led the organization from 1983-2018. His career at the Federation began in 1974. For three years, 2001-2004, he was “loaned” by Cleveland to serve as the President and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, the national umbrella organization of the federation movement. He is a graduate of Dickinson College and received his Master’s of Social Work from the University of Maryland and a Master’s in Jewish Studies from the Baltimore Hebrew University. Steve currently serves on the boards of the Musical Arts Association (the Cleveland Orchestra), United Way of Cleveland, and the Jewish People Policy Institute (in Jerusalem). He is a cofounder and former co-chair of the Secure Community Network, a national organization concerned with communal security issues and preparedness for the Jewish community. He currently serves as the chairman of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. Steve was the 1999 recipient of the Charles Eisenman Award, the Federation’s highest honor and received a Doctor of Humane Letters from the Baltimore Hebrew University in 2002.
Alan Gill
Alan Gill served as CEO of JDC from 2013-2017 before retiring from full-time service and returning home to Israel, capping a 24-year tenure with the organization. Alan played a leadership role in launching many of JDC’s landmark programs around the world including PACT – Parents and Children Together, an internationally recognized program for the education and cultural integration of Ethiopian-Israeli preschool children and their parents. Alan also served as a member of JDC’s emergency rescue and relief team during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, providing urgently needed assistance to Jews trapped behind the Russian lines. In 2015, he oversaw JDC’s rescue operation of 130 Jews trapped in the war zone in eastern Ukraine and who were brought to safety in the western part of the country. During his tenure as JDC’s founding executive director of international development (1993-2012), JDC’s annual philanthropic revenue increased ten-fold bringing the annual budget to over $350 million. Before moving to Israel, Alan served as CEO of the Jewish Federation of Columbus (1984-1993). He holds a bachelor degree from Ohio University and a master degree from The Ohio State University where he was elected to its College of Social Work’s Hall of Fame in 2014 for outstanding career achievement. Alan is a past recipient of JPRO’s Mandelkorn Distinguished Service Award for an Exemplary Career in Service of the Jewish People. In addition to serving as CEO Emeritus of JDC, Alan is mentor in-residence with the Mandel Institute for Executive Leadership in North America and serves as senior advisor at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values. He sits on the Boards of Directors of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel and the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
John Ruskay
John Ruskay is Executive Vice President Emeritus of UJA-Federation of New York and a Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute in Jerusalem. Now in his fourth decade of leadership in the North American Jewish community, Dr. Ruskay was a senior professional at NY UJA-Federation from 1993-2014, the last 15 as EVP and CEO. Prior to coming to UJA-Federation in 1993, John was Vice Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary (1985-1993) and Education Director of the 92nd Street Y (1979-1985). John earned his PhD in Political Science from Columbia University specializing in the Politics of the Middle East. John has received numerous honors including honorary degrees from YU, JTS, HUC and the RRC. In May 2016, President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Ruskay to a two-year term on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Dr. Ruskay has written extensively and speaks nationally on how the American Jewish community can most effectively respond to the challenge and opportunities of living an open society, Israel Education, and the central role of community. Dr. Ruskay lives in New York with his wife Robin Bernstein. They have five children and nine grandchildren.
Naomi Adler
Naomi Adler is a Senior Vice President at the American Cancer Society following three years as the CEO of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America. Previously, she served as CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. In 2019, she served as co-chair of the JPRO National Conference and was honored with the Shimon Peres Leadership Award by Israel Bonds. Adler is also a member of the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Board of Governors, Forum of Executive Women and serves on the Advisory Board of Vision 2020, which celebrates women’s leadership nationwide. Prior to this position, Adler served as President and CEO of two different United Way organizations in New York for 14 years. Hailing from Rochester, NY, Naomi graduated Mount Holyoke College and SUNY Buffalo School of Law before returning to her hometown to work in private practice and then as an Assistant District Attorney for Monroe County. Her reputation as a successful prosecutor in cases of violence against women and children, and later as a community advocate for families living in poverty, have earned Adler a number of honors, including national recognition at the State of the Union address to Congress in 2013. She is proud of her three (baseball fanatic) sons and her husband, Rabbi Brian Beal.
Asher Lopatin
Rabbi Asher Lopatin is the Director of Community Relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor. Asher previously served as Executive Director of Detroit’s JCRC/AJC: A Partnership for Community Relations and Jewish advocacy. He is also the rabbi of Congregation Kehillat Etz Chayim, and the President and Director of the Detroit National Center for Civil Discourse. He most recently served as President of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, an Orthodox rabbinical school that teaches an inclusive, open and welcoming Torah. Previously, he was the spiritual leader of Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation, a modern Orthodox synagogue in Chicago, for 18 years. He received his rabbinic ordination from Rav Ahron Soloveichik and Yeshivas Brisk in Chicago, and from Yeshiva University, as a Wexner Graduate Fellow. A Rhodes Scholar with a M.Phil. in Medieval Arabic Thought from Oxford University, Rabbi Lopatin is the author of numerous scholarly and popular articles.