News & Impact

I like how the organization delivers first class services to people in need, without concern for their ability to pay for the services. This is a business model that I can get behind. I also like the idea that the organization isn’t just about redistributing money, which is the mission of many nonprofits. JFCS is an economically logical model that it is run more like a business but with a charitable heart.

Several people I know serve on the JFCS board, and they recommended that I get involved with the organization. The more I learned about the JFCS mission and what the organization does, the more interested I became in playing a meaningful role. I felt it would be a nice complement to my regular day job as senior managing director at AllianceBernstein LP, a global asset management and investment firm. I’ve worked there for 23 years, and I am happy to bring my financial expertise to JFCS.

I am a member of the Finance Committee and the Investment Committee. My ultimate goal is to help recruit more people in the community to get involved with JFCS. I’d like to help by nominating qualified candidates to join the board.

I married into an observant family and met my future wife, Susan, in college. We were both students at Northwestern University. At the time, I didn’t think much about religion. But as our relationship grew more serious, I realized that it would be important, especially with her family, who had become Orthodox. For me, this precipitated a lot of introspection and a long journey, which ultimately culminated in my decision to convert. We are members of Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco, and we have been to Israel many times. Two of my wife’s siblings live in Jerusalem, and both of our sons were bar-mitzvahed in Israel.

My wife Susan and I live in San Francisco. We have been married for 25 years and have five children, ranging in age from 9 to 24 years.

In addition to social services for our local community, I am deeply concerned about ecological issues. I served on the board of Ocean Conservancy for five years, and am also involved with WildAid, which seeks to end the illegal wildlife trade. I love mountaineering, and have climbed dozens of mountains in Europe, and have even been to Katmandu in Nepal. I’m also a vintage car aficionado.