Directors

Marc Abramowitz is a private investor and lawyer. Born in Chicago, he earned his BA from UC Berkeley and his JD from Harvard University. In 1977 he launched his business career at Berkeley Bio-Medical, a public medical products and services company, holding positions from corporate counsel to President and CEO. After spending two years with the investment banking firm of Lazard Freres in New York, he earned an MBA as a Sloan Fellow at Stanford University in 1985, then began investing in, owning, and operating a diverse set of businesses. He is currently an advisor to GenCor, a diversified defense, waste, chemical, and water treatment company, and has been a Partner at Riverlake Partners in Portland since 2004.

Mr. Abramowitz has served on the Board of Directors at the Jewish Community Federation San Francisco; the Jewish Home for Aged, San Francisco; the Ross School Foundation; on the Board of Overseers at the Hoover Institution, a Stanford University think tank; the Advisory Board of the International Crisis Group in New York; the Institute for Jewish and Community Research; the American Israel Public Affairs Committee; and the American Friends of the Koret Israel Economic Development Fund in San Francisco.

Ricki Alon was born in Jerusalem, Israel, and came to the United States in 1972 to study at UCLA. She co-founded and was CEO of RIMI System Integration, a high-end security systems, home entertainment, networking, and smart home automation company for residential and commercial properties. In 1990, Ricki established joint ventures with five governments in Eastern Europe, bringing Israeli wireless technology in the security field to a total of 60 cities in Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Russia. After ten years in Europe, she and her partners established an international distribution company for security equipment with offices in South America.

Ricki sold RIMI Systems Integration in October of 2009. She remains active in real estate investments as well as in Alon Ventures LLC, a private company actively involved in investing in high tech and clean tech.

She is active in the Jewish community and supports American Friends of Tel Aviv University and Friends of Israel Defense Forces among others.

Ofer Alon, TAU alum, is CEO of Quality Acceptance, a company that provides financing for purchasers of new and used cars that do not meet traditional credit standards. He is a former Partner with Ernst & Young International, where he was in charge of B.M.W. Israel and other publicly traded companies. He was CEO of Buildcom Spain, a high-tech company specializing in B2B. Mr. Alon has a BSc in Accounting and Finance and a BA in Middle East History from TAU, an MBA from the University of Bradford, England, and is a CPA. He supports Larger than Life, a charity that addresses the needs of families with children suffering from cancer.

Gil Arie is a TAU alumnus and a partner at Foley Hoag LLP as well as its co-chair of the firm’s technology practice. His focus is on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and emerging businesses. He has significant international experience assisting foreign companies operating in the US to structure, form, and conduct business operations abroad. In this role, he advises startup founders and investors on entity formation, corporate governance, and management. He received an LLB from the TAU Faculty of Law and an LLM from Cornell Law School.

Lisa S. Aufzien earned her BA in Psychology from Vassar College and an MA in Hospitality Management from Florida International University. Her thesis was an analysis of the resort timesharing industry, including the present and future effects of timesharing. Ms. Aufzien spent her entire career in food service management with Standard & Poors, Continental Insurance, and Bell Labs. She was also Director of Food Service Management for the Verona and Caldwell School Districts in New Jersey. She is now retired.

Leslie Gelrubin Benitah was born and raised in Paris. She earned her PhD in Journalism from the Sorbonne then became a broadcasting powerhouse right out of university, eventually becoming Executive Producer for primetime content for TF1, the most popular French network. She moved to Miami in 2006 and focused her efforts for the first couple of years solely on written press. She became the editor-in-chief of a monthly French-language magazine distributed in the United States, highlighting politics and economics. Shortly after this she went back to film, directing several documentaries and working for numerous production companies and channels over the course of 20 years.

As an activist, philanthropist, and a third-generation survivor, she decided four years ago to dedicate herself entirely to The Last Ones, a series of short documentaries on the last Holocaust survivors. She has produced over 150 episodes so far, which create a connection between the last Holocaust survivors and the younger generations. With several million views and tens of thousands of subscribers, this project is very successful and is used by many teachers in Europe as a tool for education.

Yosi “Joe” Benlevi, TAU alum, is a VP and Senior Underwriting Counsel with Chicago Title Insurance Company, where he underwrites complex commercial real estate transactions for shopping centers, office buildings, and power plants. Before joining Chicago Title, he headed the legal department of one of the largest title agents in New York State. Mr. Benlevi was a lawyer in Israel before moving to the United States and served as a career IDF officer in the Intelligence Corps. He holds LLB and LLM degrees from Tel Aviv University. He is also a member of the American Friends New York Alumni Committee.

Daniel Cohn is a partner at the San Francisco office of Farella Braun + Martel and is listed among the Best Lawyers in America in the area of Corporate Law. His diverse transactional practice includes wine and agriculture, sports and entertainment, and general corporate clientele. He is one of the founders of Farella’s Wine Country office in St. Helena, California, and a founder of the firm’s Private Client practice group. For many years, he was the chair of the firm’s Business Department.

He served as Board President of the Traveling Jewish Theatre for a number of years and participated in the Wexner Heritage program (1998-2000) and the Wexner Israel/North America Summit program (2015-2016). After serving two terms on the Federation’s Endowment Committee, he was recently elected to the Federation’s Board of Directors. Cohn is also Board Chair of Hospice of the Bay which provides hospice and other services in Marin, San Francisco, and Sonoma Counties.

Cohn received a BA from Harvard University and a JD from Stanford Law School.

Arturo Constantiner, MD, is a practicing physician specializing in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. Born in Mexico City, Dr. Constantiner received his Medical Degree from the Faculty of Medicine at The National University of Mexico in 1975. He served as the Director of Nephrology and Dialysis at New York Downtown Hospital and is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at NYU Medical Center. He was a member of the Board of Overseers of the Center for Jewish History and received a Doctor Honoris Causa from TAU in 2004. Dr. Constantiner is the third generation of his family involved with TAU.

Phil Darivoff is the Chairman of the Board of Vibrant Capital Partners, a New York-based SEC-registered asset management firm specializing in structured and alternative credit products with assets under management over $8 billion. Prior to joining Vibrant in 2013, Phil spent 27 years at Goldman Sachs, where he served as Head of Capital Markets, Co-Head of the Corporate Bond Department, and Chairman of Credit Capital Markets. He was the firm’s first Director of Alumni Relations and was on the firm’s Structured Finance Capital Committee.

Phil is an Emeritus Member of AIPAC’s National Board and Chairman of its Investment Committee. He is also Chairman Emeritus of the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History on Independence Mall in Philadelphia. He is a founding member of the K3 Council at the Japan Society, which promotes the US/Japan/Israel trilateral relationship. He is also on the Board of CLAL, the Jewish Center for Leadership and Learning, as well as the International Boards of the Anu Museum and the Henry Jackson Society. In 2012 Phil stepped down as Chairman of the Board of the University of Pennsylvania’s Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies and the Board of the university’s School of Arts & Sciences. He remains on the Board of the Katz Center and is an Emeritus member of the Board of the Wharton School.

Phil is a Chartered Financial Analysist (CFA) and earned his BSE and MBA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

 

Vanessa Elia is a philanthropist and art collector who has traveled and lived all over the world, including in Oman and in Singapore, where she worked for an import/export firm. While living in Paris she started an interior decorating company after working for a famous French architect, and she subsequently created a chain of orchid shops in and around Paris.

Vanessa graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Economics and a minor in Middle Eastern History. She also attended London’s Interpol School of Design, graduating with a degree in interior architecture.

 

Clement Erbmann is a managing director of First Analysis Corporation, where he is a General Partner in the Private Equity Funds specializing in education, marketing services, and clean-tech investing. He has been investing in education for more than 15 years, particularly in technology applications for Alternative and Special Education. He serves on the boards of Learning.com, AdvancePath Education, and Gapbuster (UK) Ltd. Previously he worked for Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. He served on the Education Industry Association Executive Board, the ADL Regional Board, and the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management Alumni Advisory Board. Mr. Erbmann serves on the Tel Aviv University (TAU) Board of Governors, Chair, Dean’s Advisory Board Coller School of Management at TAU, and on the Scientific Advisory Board of Minducate at TAU. He earned his MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and B. Bus. Science at the University of Cape Town.

Dr. Kathy Fields-Rayant is a Stanford-trained, board certified dermatologist who has been in private practice in San Francisco since 1987. She is an Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Stanford and an Assistant Clinical Professor Emeritus of Dermatology at UCSF. She is the co-founder with Dr. Katie Rodan of two billion-dollar skin care companies. In 1995 they created Proactiv Solution, a paradigm shift in the treatment of acne, helping millions of patients worldwide. The doctors are also the co-founders of Rodan and Fields, the number one premium skincare brand in North America, focused on life changing skincare available through a new platform of Consumer Connected Commerce. She is the co-author of two books, Unblemished and Write Your Skin: A Prescription for Change. Dr. Fields is active in numerous charities.

Allen L. Finkelstein, DDS, is the Chief Executive Officer of Bedford HealthCare Solutions and the former Chief Dental Officer of AmeriChoice/United Health Group, insuring over 3.5 million lives in dental government coverage. Dr. Finkelstein is a 1965 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1969, he graduated with honors from Temple University School of Dentistry in Philadelphia, PA, where he was awarded a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. Dr. Finkelstein was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the A.T. Still University (Hon.) and in 2011 was awarded the Dr. Harry Strusser Memorial Award from the New York University College of Dentistry.

He is a member of the American Dental Association, the Essex County Dental Association, and multiple dental associations of the States of New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.

Dr. Finkelstein is a former Post Preventive Dental Officer at Fort Bragg, NC, receiving the Army Commendation medal for the Preventive Dental Program developed to reduce caries and emergencies for the US Army Dental Corps during the Vietnam War.

He served on the Forensic Staff at the New York City Medical Examiners Office after September 11th and currently is an advisor to the New City Department of Health for the New York Cares Health Improvement Program. He is an adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry at the New York University College of Dentistry; Senior Advisor for Oral Health Strategies; an adjunct faculty member of the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health and A.T. Still University; a member of the Harvard University School of Dental Medicine Dean’s Advisory Board; a member of the Drexel College of Medicine Student Advisory Board; and a member of the Visitor’s Board of the Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University.

He currently maintains a dental practice, specializing in Periodontal Prosthesis located in Great Neck, NY. In addition to being an AFTAU board member, he is active in many philanthropies and dental outreach programs for the underserved.

Dr. Anita Friedman has a distinguished record of public service, both as a professional and as a volunteer leader. Her roles in the Jewish and general communities extend from the Bay Area to the national and international arenas.

Dr. Friedman heads Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the largest and oldest family service institutions in the United States. She is a noted expert and frequent speaker and lecturer on topics that include social policy and programming for diverse populations; the financing of health and human services; and the development of innovative business and social enterprise models.

Additionally, Dr. Friedman is an expert on Holocaust and genocide education. She is the editor of the English-language edition of Rywka’s Diary (Harper), which has also been published in more than a dozen other languages. She was a consultant on the documentary about the book.

Dr. Friedman has served on various local, state, national, and international commissions, including as Commissioner of the San Francisco Human Services Commission. She has received numerous awards for her public service leadership.

As a policy consultant to the State of Israel Ministry of Social Affairs, she has advised on effective policy strategies for human service provision and immigrant absorption. She also serves as a trustee on the national boards for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the University of Southern California’s Shoah Foundation, and the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture. She is the co-Chair of TAU’s global campaign.

Nomi P. Ghez, Ph.D., is a TAU alumnus and the Co-Founding Partner of Circle Financial Group, LLC, a private wealth management company. She served as Partner and Managing Director of Goldman Sachs until 2003. She is on the Executive Board of The Jewish Museum and a Member of the NYU Stern Board of Overseers. She also serves on the Management Advisory Council for the New York University Stern School of Business Michael Price Student Investment Fund. She is on the Board of TAU and the TAU Recanati School of Business. Dr. Ghez holds a PhD from NYU and a BA and MA from TAU.

Harold L. Kaplan is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP, leading the firm’s Corporate Trust and Bondholders Rights Team and a member of its Bankruptcy & Business Reorganizations Practice. Mr. Kaplan was Chair of an AmLaw 200 Law Firm (2004-2006) and has been Peer Review Rated as AV PreeminentTM, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell. He has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America since 2007 and as Chambers USA’s “Leaders in their Field” since 2006. Mr. Kaplan received his MA and BA from the University of Wisconsin and his JD from the University of Chicago.

Behzad Kianmahd is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Maxim Commercial Capital, a specialty finance company dedicated to providing capital to under-served small and mid-size businesses. He is also a Principal at Axiom Investments & Management, Inc., which manages multiple companies and investment vehicles. With over 35 years of entrepreneurial experience, he has been a co-founder and executive of several domestic and international companies involved in a range of activities including general trade, garment manufacturing and related notions, health care, deep sea water desalination and bottling, and finance. He has sat on the boards of several for-profit and not-for-profit companies, including as the chairman of the board of Scribes Stats (Essia Health) and is currently chairing the board of Cross Campus. He is a co-founder and serves as a Member of Advisory Board of TAU Ventures, a university-sponsored fund investing in start-ups. He received his degree in international finance at the University of Akron, Ohio. His favorite philanthropic causes are education, cancer research, and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.

Maya Kadar Kovalsky is a philanthropist and an activist who brings a unique background that combines experience in education, tech, and entertainment. She sits on several boards, including American Friends of Tel Aviv University, the Board of Governors of Tel Aviv University, the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), BrainPOP, and the Naomi Foundation, which was created in 2010 with her family to honor her mother, Naomi Prawer Kadar. The Naomi Foundation supports initiatives in education to inspire the next generation.

She is currently the Chief Culture Officer at BrainPOP, an award-winning educational platform that engages students and supports teachers.  As part of the senior leadership team, she has been instrumental in the company’s exponential growth. Prior to BrainPop, Maya worked for two prominent Israeli film and television companies — JCS Post Production and Spike Communications — before focusing on education.

She received her BA from Barnard College of Columbia University in Film Studies and Art History and Visual Art and her MFA in film production from Tel Aviv University. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and three children.

Michael Leit has been a fixed income financial analyst for more than 30 years. He recently retired from Pinebridge Investments, an $80+ billion mutual fund, where he was the Vice President of the Fixed Income Corporate Bond Research Department. Mr. Leit also held senior management positions at Gleacher & Company, MEAG New York, Corp., Prudential Securities Inc., and Bear Stearns Companies. He is a long-time member and former trustee of Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope. Mr. Leit is a board member, Treasurer of the Brooklyn Dreams Charter School, and a pro bono SAT tutor. He also practices Tai Chi.

Joan C. Lessing is a second-generation member of the TAU International Board of Governors. Her father endowed the Fred and Helen Lessing Professor of Ancient History; she created the Lessing-Yavetz Fund to provide ongoing support for the Department; and she and her mother endowed the Fred W. Lessing Institute for European History and Civilization. Ms. Lessing was the Coordinator of the Oral History Project of the Research Foundation for Jewish Immigration.  She serves on the Executive Committee of the American Friends of the Israel Museum and is a trustee of the Leo Baeck Institute of New York.

Norman H. Lipoff is Of Counsel for Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm based in Miami. He has practiced tax law for more than 50 years. He is extensively involved in community, national, and international non-profit organizations. Mr. Lipoff has a LLM Taxation from New York University School of Law, a JD with honors from University of Florida Levin College of Law, and a BSBA in Accounting from University of Florida.

Ralph B. Mandell is the Co-Founder of PrivateBancorp, Inc. and its subsidiary The PrivateBank (Chicago). He served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PrivateBancorp, Inc. and The PrivateBank and Trust Company from 1993 to 2007 and Executive Chairman from 2007 to 2011. He retired from the Board in 2016. Ralph is a long-time member of the Board of Directors of The 100 Club in Chicago and currently serves as its Chairman. He has been a Midwestern Board Member of Operation Hope and a board member of The Chicago Anti-Defamation League, and he has also served as Chairman of the Board of Gottlieb Hospital. Ralph has been honored by Keshet, which provides schooling for developmentally disabled children, for his outstanding service and longstanding support of the organization. Ralph is a graduate of University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Daniel Nazarian DMD is a retired Periodontist with 23 years of practice in Southern California. Since 2003, he has been an Angel and Seed Investor and the Principal at Transolam LLC, with a diversified investment portfolio of revolutionary, early-stage companies in both the US and Israel. Nazarian has either co-founded or been instrumental in establishing several companies including Essia Health (formerly Scribes-stat) and Maxim Commercial Capital. Nazarian was integral in the establishment of TAU Ventures, a first-of-its-kind fund that partners with Tel Aviv University to invest in startup companies emerging from the TAU community. He also serves as an advisory or board member to several private companies in the US and in Israel.

He received his Doctorate Degree in Dentistry from Tufts University and Postdoctoral Specialty Degree in Periodontics from the University of Southern California. Nazarian is the current Chair of the Health and Safety Commission for the City of Beverly Hills.

Daniel is very active in civil and non-profit activities and is a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community in Los Angeles. He is actively involved with The Atalef Foundation, and was the Founding President for the Young Professionals Division of the Magbit Foundation. At Sinai Temple, he is a member of the Executive Committee of the Men’s Club and the Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors and has served on the Endowment Committee.

Noga Niv, PhD, is a TAU alumnus and a California-based Clinical Psychologist with decades of experience and dedication to the mental health field. Her career began in 1985 as a psychologist in Israel, treating school children and their families and leading Gestalt groups for professionals.  She has had a private practice in Palo Alto, CA since 1998 where she specializes in Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and a variety of Adjustment Disorders.

In addition to her clinical work, she has had several university affiliations, including as an Adjunct Clinical Faculty at Palo Alto University from 2012-2016. Since 2000, she has served as an individual and group supervisor for clinical trainees at Stanford Counseling And Psychological Services (CAPS).

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Behavioral Sciences from Ben-Gurion University, Israel; a Master of Arts in Psychology from Tel Aviv University; and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Pacific Graduate School of Psychology in California. In addition, she has completed a number of predoctoral and postdoctoral training programs, including a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship at Stanford CAPS. She is currently a member of the California Psychological Association, the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis, and the American Psychological Association.

Garry A. Rayant, BDS, DDS, LDSRCS, MS, is a dental specialist in periodontics and implant dentistry and an entrepreneur. He practices part-time in San Francisco. He is the co-founder and a partner in Dear Doctor Magazine Inc., a print and online national consumer healthcare magazine.

Dr. Rayant sits on the board of Rodan & Fields, a premium skincare brand built on a legacy of innovative dermatology-based skincare products backed by clinically proven results. He has a master’s degree in behavioral science and has been active in education reform.

He serves on the advisory board of Stanford University’s Challenge Success program and the AIPAC National Council; the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania Advanced Judaic Studies Program; Tulane University’s President’s Council; and the Board of Directors of the Henry Jackson Society, London, UK. He is a member of the International Board of Directors of Tel Aviv University and Chairman of the Board of Directors for AFTAU.

Shira Ronen, a TAU alum, is a certified executive coach and leadership development facilitator, helping successful executives become more effective and more fulfilled in their work. She founded Spectrum Consulting in 2002, after working as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company for several years and at Johnson & Johnson. Spectrum allows Shira to follow her passion of coaching, training, and facilitating interactions between people.

She holds an MBA with distinction from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BA in Psychology and Management from Tel Aviv University. Shira served as a Psychological Assessor in Israel’s Intelligence Forces.

Harvey Rothenberg worked his way up from a project engineer to Executive Vice President/Partner at Ruben Companies, the New York-based developer and manager of prime real estate. He oversaw the development of eight million square feet of commercial and residential space. He also taught Real Estate Development at NYU. Mr. Rothenberg moved to Florida in 2005, expanding his business involvements and becoming a member of the New World Angels, and is now also a partner at Recognition Properties and EBF Partners. Harvey received a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Architecture from City College of New York and an MBA from Baruch College. Harvey is a member of the board and former treasurer of the America Israel Cultural Foundation and a member of Washington AIPAC.

Dr. Marc Rothman is a Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon in Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, and Chief of the Division of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Rothman is also Chairman of the United States Foundation of the Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity. He is on the Board of Overseers of Hillel at Temple University and a co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Health Care Affinity Group.

Timothy A. Schlindwein is Managing Principal of Schlindwein Associates, LLC, an independent investment advisor with US offices in Chicago and Dallas. He has over 45 years of experience in the investment management industry, creating and managing mutual funds and institutional portfolios and heading an investment firm with managed assets exceeding $28 billion. He earned his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from the University of Chicago. He has lectured on portfolio management and investment manager evaluation for the school’s Executive MBA program in Chicago and the Executive Education program in Chicago and the United Arab Emirates. He is a Chartered Investment Counselor.

Miri Segal-Scharia is the founder & CEO of MS-IR LLC, which provides fully-integrated investor relations services to public and pre-IPO companies. Her extensive capital markets network and expertise building IR programs from the ground up provides clients with a range of capabilities and experienced support throughout their lifecycle. She is a sought-after guest speaker on financial markets, IPOs, and global economic events.

Born and raised in Israel, Ms. Segal-Scharia is an alumna of Tel Aviv University, where she earned her BA in Communication and French Literature. In addition, she received her MBA from the University of Manchester. Her father, Professor Karl Segal, MD, was a faculty member at TAU’s Faculty of Medicine. Her husband, David Scharia, serves as the Director, Chief of Branch at the United Nations Security Council – Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) and is also a TAU alum.

Michael Shaoul is Chairman and CEO of Marketfield Asset Management. Mr. Shaoul is one of the founding partners of Marketfield, which was created in 2007. In 1996 Mr. Shaoul joined Oscar Gruss and Son Incorporated. He became its CEO in 2001 and held this position until 2014. He is a frequent contributor to the financial media, which values his views on economic cycles and investment markets. Mr. Shaoul is Treasurer of American Friends of Tel Aviv University and a member of the Board of North American Friends of Manchester University. He was awarded a PhD in Accounting and Finance from the University of Manchester (UK) in 1992.

Alan M. Silberstein is President of Allston Associates, bringing his clients 40 years of experience in consumer financial services, payments, and turnaround management. Early in his career, he worked for John Lindsay’s New York City Bureau of the Budget and as a design engineer for Ford Motor Company. He serves on the boards of the Columbia University Engineering School, the Forward Association, and the Seton Hall Sister Rose Thering Fund. Mr. Silberstein is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Business Executives for National Security. He received his BS in engineering from Columbia and his MBA from Harvard.

Edith Simchi-Levi graduated from Tel Aviv University with a BSc in Mathematics and Computer Science. She is an entrepreneur in supply chain and operations analytics. She was co-founder and executive of Opalytics, an advanced analytics cloud platform that is now part of Accenture, and co-founder of LogicTools, a supply chain optimization software company acquired by ILOG/IBM. She is also the co-author of the award-winning textbook Designing and Managing the Supply Chain. Edith’s father Ady Seidman, of blessed memory, was the founder and fourth dean of TAU’s School of Engineering. She and Prof. David Simchi-Levi of MIT supported the renovation and naming of the new Professor Ady Seidman Lobby in the Electrical Engineering building that was home to her father’s laboratory.

Michel Steinberger was born in Belgium in 1943. His parents were in hiding during the war, and the younger Mr. Steinberger was born in a convent and saved by Abbe Andre, a righteous Gentile. He graduated from Solvay Business School at the University of Brussels. He and his young family moved to Los Angeles in 1979. Mr. Steinberger founded Marble Arch Fine Arts more than 25 years ago, first concentrating on Old Masters and more recently expanding into contemporary art. Mr. Steinberger serves on the International Board of the Israel Cancer Research Fund as well as the Friends of Sheba Medical Center.

Rada Sumareva, DDS, is a healthcare innovator and notable advocate for humanitarian causes that benefit at-risk populations. She is the CEO and co-founder of Ziphycare, a digital health company with a mission to provide access to quality healthcare for all.

She is a co-founder and president of the Russian-Speaking American Dental Association and the Building Bridges Conference, which addresses the wide range of problems of people with disabilities — from access to health care to educational and employment opportunities — as well as a NY ambassador and a co-founding member of the Alpha Omega/Henry Schein Cares Holocaust Survivors Oral Health Program.

Rada serves on the Board of Alpha Omega Foundation, JCRC-NY, and UJA-Federation; the Executive Board of AFTAU; and the Tel Aviv University Board of Governors. She is also a member of the Health Care Disparities Coalition.

Rada is a recipient of numerous professional and humanitarian honors and awards.

Sara Summers moved from London to Israel in 1971 and from Israel to Denver in 1973. She worked for the Environmental Protection Agency as an air pollution meteorologist and, for many years, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), where she developed a program that uses unmanned planes for environmental measurements. Sara worked in the White House GLOBE Program, which enlists teachers and students from 12,000 primary and secondary schools in 48 states and 102 countries to take regular observations of weather and other variables. She was also a science educator for NOAA’s Science on a Sphere Program to expand climate and science education for people of all ages. She retired in 2014. She earned a BS in Meteorology from Denver Metropolitan University and an MS in Environmental Policy from the University of Denver.

Aaron Tartakovsky, TAU alum, is co-founder and CEO of Epic CleanTec, a San Francisco-based startup that has introduced a revolutionary new technology into the urban wastewater treatment industry. Before that, he directed business development for CB Engineers, a leading engineering and R+D firm. Aaron also co-founded the Israel-California Green-Tech Partnership in collaboration with Google to inspire business and technological exchange between the US and Israel. Aaron is a graduate of Tufts University, magna cum laude, and received a master’s degree in political science from TAU, specializing in security and diplomacy.

Marina Tikhman, DDS, emigrated from the Soviet Union to the Bay Area with her family in 1980. For the past 16 years she has served on a variety of Jewish Family and Children Services (JFCS) lay leadership committees, including Loans and Grants, Development, Program and Planning, as Emigre Development co-chair and currently as Vice President of the Board of Directors. Marina’s husband Anatoly is a leading technology software executive and a serial entrepreneur with an extensive portfolio of successful ventures.

 

Luba Troyanovsky is the principal of Solaris LLC, a California real estate development and investment corporation. In her work as a community volunteer, Luba serves on the Board of Directors of Jewish Family and Children’s Services. She is also a member of the Northern California AIPAC Board and the AIPAC National Council, focusing on strengthening the US-Israel strategic relationship. Having immigrated with her family to the US as a political refugee in 1978, she is also a longtime leader of the Bay Area’s Russian-speaking Jewish community.

Murray Zucker, MD, is the Corporate Medical Director of Innovation and New Programming at Optum Behavioral Health, a division of United Health Group. Previously he was a Medical Director with Health Net, overseeing behavioral health needs of military dependents and retirees. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MD from the University of Rochester. Dr. Zucker is a member of the TAU Board of Governors and serves on the San Francisco Federation Israel and Overseas Committee. He was a correspondent for the Jewish Forward during the Six Day War.

Advisory Board

Gaby Brill
Florida
William Cohen
New Jersey
Stewart Colton
New Jersey
James Dubin
New York
Robert Goldberg
Ohio
Jon Gurkoff
New Jersey
Chaim Katzman
Florida
Marshall Polk
South Carolina
Jacqueline Simkin
Florida
Jeffrey Stern
New York