Debra Askanase
Founder, Community Organizer 2.0
Debra Askanase is an Engagement Strategist and the founder of Community Organizer 2.0, a consulting firm in digital strategy and engagement for mission-driven organizations. Before founding Community Organizer 2.0, Debra worked at mission-driven organizations in many positions, among them executive director, program director, fundraiser, and community organizer. In every position, she engaged stakeholders in decision-making processes. Debra holds a B.A. from Emory University and a M.B.A in International Business from Bar Ilan University. Debra is also on the faculty of Marlboro College Graduate School, where she teaches courses on social media strategy and implementation to graduate students in the management program. Debra’s award-winning professional blog,
communityorganizer20.com offers advice, strategies and opinions about using social media. She can also be found on Twitter @askdebra, Linkedin at
linkedin.com/in/debraaskanase and contacted via email at
debra@communityorganizer20.com
Tamra L. Dollin, MSW, CPCC
LIFE & LEGACY Legacy Community Consultant
Tamara Dollin has worked in the Jewish community for over 25 years. Prior to joining LIFE & LEGACY, she directed the establishment of Ramah in the Rockies, focusing on project management, fund raising, and board development. She is a certified professional Co-Active coach, holds Masters Degrees from Columbia University (MSW) and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley. Tammy is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and can be contacted at
Tammy@hgf.org.
Nanette Fridman
Founder, Fridman Strategies
Nanette Fridman founded Fridman Strategies to assist organizations with the strategies, structures and training to advance their missions and maximize their impact. Today her work focuses on strategic planning, governance, financial resource development, and leadership coaching. Nanette’s clients range from small start-up organizations to large international organizations. Nanette is the author of
On Board: What Every Board Member Must Know about Nonprofits and Board Service, and blogs about management and leadership at nanettefridman.wordpress.com. Before founding Fridman Strategies, Nanette was a corporate attorney at Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo, PC. While at Mintz Levin, she helped launch their Israel Business Practice. Prior to her legal career, Nanette was the national field director for an advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Nanette earned her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, and Masters in Public Policy from Georgetown University. She received her BA, summa cum laude, in political science from Tufts University. Nanette is honored to be a Harry S. Truman Scholar and has received numerous other academic, professional and philanthropic awards for her work. Nanette can be contacted at
fridmanstrategies@gmail.com or fridmanstrategies.com.
Aron Goldman
Mentor, JCAMP180, Consultant
Aron Goldman has over fifteen years of experience working as a consultant with grassroots, regional, national, and international organizations in the areas of capacity-building, strategy, and systemic change. He previously taught public policy and political economy at UMASS Amherst and Springfield College. He earned a BA in Political Science from Macalester College, and an MPA from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs. Aron can be reached at
Aron@hgf.org.
Russell Goldstein, CFP, CAP
Senior Vice President, Institutional Client Advisor, U.S. Trust, Bank of America
With over 18 years of experience in financial services, Russell Goldstein is responsible for identifying the needs and advising philanthropists, foundations and nonprofits. He provides guidance and sets the strategic direction for individuals and organizations focused on the community. This experience consists of education, advice, implementation, execution and monitoring focused on their needs and mission. Russell is certified as a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer, has been a Mentor in the Arizona Endowment Building Institute program through the Arizona Community Foundation, and a member of the Community Foundation’s Professional Advisory Board. He is also a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®). Russell is the President and Advisory Board Member of Planned Giving Roundtable of Arizona and Chair of their Leave a Legacy program He is a graduate of the Social Impact Strategy program at UPenn through the School for Social Policy and Practice. Russell can be reached at
Russell.goldstein@ustrust.com.
Harold Grinspoon
Founder, Harold Grinspoon Foundation
Harold Grinspoon, the founder of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation along with his wife Diane Troderman, is a real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is also the visionary behind HGF’s key programs: PJ Library, JCAMP180, LIFE & LEGACY and Voices & Visions. Harold and Diane have also established the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, which supports educational initiatives for inner city youth in Springfield, MA, recognizes Western MA teachers for professional excellence, encourages entrepreneurship and supports educational and health projects in Cambodia. In June 2015 Harold and Diane signed Warren Buffet’s Giving Pledge, committing to donate more than half their wealth to charitable causes.
Rabbi Amy Katz
Temple Beth El, Springfield, MA
Ordained 25 years ago from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Rabbi Amy Katz loves teaching Jewish texts. She can be reached at
rabbikatz@tbespringfield.org.
Dena M. Kaufman, CFRE
LIFE & LEGACY Community Consultant
Prior to joining HGF, Dena Kaufman served as the Director of Philanthropy for Sojourner Center, the nation’s largest domestic violence shelter. In her role as the Development Director at URJ Camp Newman, she established an annual campaign and a Legacy Society while planning and implementing a $30 million capital campaign. Dena has a B.A. in Business, Public and Private Administrative from the University of California at Riverside and is a Certified Fundraising Executive. Dena can be contacted at
Dena@hgf.org.
Christine Kutnick, CFRE
LIFE & LEGACY Community Consultant
For the 18 years prior to joining HGF, Christine Kutnick assisted numerous individuals to have a philanthropic impact on valued non-profit organizations. While at the University of Texas at Austin, Christine worked with alumni to create planned gift agreements which will result in the fulfillment of their dream of leaving a legacy to their alma mater. In addition, she has volunteered for many Jewish organizations. Christine received her B.A. degree from California State University and, in 2006, her Certified Fundraising Executive credentials. She is currently working on her Certificate in Fundraising Management from Indiana University’s Lily School of Philanthropy. Christine can be contacted at
ckutnick@hgf.org.
Linda Meisel, LCSW
Principal at LFM Solutions
Linda Meisel is currently a Principal at LFM Solutions, a not for profit consulting firm specializing in providing not for profits with expertise in board training and governance, strategic planning, and fundraising . For 18 years Linda served as the Executive Director of Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County in New Jersey and for 10 years prior she was the Executive Director of Corner House Counseling Center. She has taught not for profit management classes at Mercer County College. Linda was the 2014 recipient of the Princeton Chamber of Commerce Community Leader award and the 2016 recipient of the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks Merrye Shavel Hudis Community Leader Award. She is graduate of the Rutgers, Graduate School of Social Work. Linda can be contacted at
lfmeisel@hotmail.com.
Kathryn W. Miree
President, Kathryn W. Miree & Associates
Kathryn W. Miree is President and primary consultant for Kathryn W. Miree & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm that since 1997 has worked with boards and staff of nonprofits and foundations to develop or fine tune planned giving programs and endowments. She received her undergraduate degree from Emory University and her law degree from The University of Alabama School of Law. Ms. Miree is a past president of the National Committee on Planned Giving, a past president of the Alabama Planned Giving Council, a past President of the Estate Planning Council of Birmingham, and past President of the Alabama Bankers Association Trust Division. She is currently the Board Chair of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. Her clients include a variety of nonprofits and foundations across the country and she has served as a frequent trainer and speaker for Create a Jewish Legacy and endowment-building events across the country. Kathryn Miree can be contacted at
kwmiree@me.com or kathrynmireeandassociates.com.
Julia Riseman
Mentor, JCAMP180, Consultant, Executive Coach and Fundraiser
ulia Riseman is a Mentor for JCAMP 180 and a consultant, executive coach and fundraiser to non-profit organizations. She has co-founded two non-profit organizations, served as the development director for a private elementary school, and has helped raise more than $200 million for organizations with which she has worked. Julia has a breadth of experience that includes youth leadership and community service-learning programs, international environmental, and human health programs, peace and social justice organizations, universities and independent schools. Julia earned a B.A. in Psychology from Reed College and received her M.B.A. at the Simmons School of Management. She can be contacted at
julia@hgf.org.
Arlene D. Schiff
National Director, LIFE & LEGACY
Prior to joining HGF, Arlene served as the Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires. During her 12 year tenure she provided visionary leadership while devising and executing strategic plans that centered on community building and garnering support for philanthropic giving. Arlene is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and holds an M.A. from Harvard University. Arlene can be reached at
arlene@hgf.org.
Dr. Jeffrey R. Solomon
Senior Advisor to Chasbro Investments
For almost twenty years, Dr. Jeffrey Solomon was the President of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, a group of foundations operating in Canada, Israel and the United States. Among the foundations’ innovative launches were Birthright Israel and Reboot, two initiatives aimed at connecting young, assimilated Jews to their tradition, The Gift of New York, a powerful response to September 11, helping to heal families of victims through the power of culture, and Project Involvement, an educational reform program serving some 265,000 Israeli elementary school students. He currently sits on the Boards of the Leichtag Foundation in San Diego, the Jim Joseph Foundation in San Francisco and FJC: a Foundation of Philanthropic Funds in New York. He is the Chair of Leading Edge, an organization aimed at talent acquisition and retention in the Jewish community. Jeffrey’s widely acclaimed book,
The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets a Business Plan, co-authored with Charles Bronfman, was published by Wiley/Jossey-Bass in October, 2009. It has been awarded the Axiom Gold Medal in philanthropy and has been translated and published in South Korea. The sequel,
The Art of Doing Good: Where Passion Meets Action, also published by Wiley/Jossey-Bass (September, 2012), explores the principles and practices of nonprofit social enterprise, extracting the lessons from the journeys of eighteen social entrepreneurs.
Debra Stein
Senior Director of Consulting and Community Development, Jewish Federations of North America
In her role at JFNA, Debbie Stein she works directly with the 67 Small Federations. Debbie has worked as a consultant to federations for the past 26 years. She facilitates board retreats, works with communities on their strategic planning and fundraising issues and focuses on the creation of programs to insure the success of federation professional and volunteer leaders. Prior to serving at the national level, Debbie was the Executive Director of the United Jewish Federation of Stamford, (CT). Debbie has worked directly with the small Federations and their Life and Legacy efforts and has made her own legacy commitments to the Jewish Community. Debbie can be reached at
Debra.Stein@jewishfederations.org.
Debra Stein
Executive Director, The Conversation Project
Harriet Warshaw is the Executive Director of the Conversation Project. Harriet has over forty years of experience in the health care sector. As Vice-President at the Boston Hospital for Women she oversaw the development of the first NICU in Boston, the first midwifery program in Boston and the integration of the Boston Hospital for Women into the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Harriet served as Vice President for Strategic Planning, Corporate and Professional Services at the New England Baptist Hospital for ten years. During that time she oversaw the development of a The Jenks Building a $34 million patient care and surgical facility, the building of the first-free standing surgery center and the development of interdisciplinary teams for the delivery of patient centered care. Harriet spent five years at Genzyme Corporation as National Director of Client Services in their genetic testing business unit and then went on to plan the commercialization of a genetic test for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. She has served on various Boards and Commissions including Jewish Family and Children Services, Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Wellesley Council on Aging. She holds a B.A. from Goucher College, and a Masters in Community Organizing from Boston College. Harriet can be contacted via The Conversation Project website:
theconversationproject.org.
Rabbi Michael Uram
Executive Director and Campus Rabbi for UPENN Hillel and Author of Next Generation Judaism: How College Students and Hillel Can Help Reinvent Jewish Organizations
Rabbi Mike Uram has spent time in all of the different denominations and is most passionate about breaking down the personal, spiritual, and intellectual boundaries that prevent people from having full self-actualized Jewish identities. Mike helped to create a Jewish engagement ‘start-up’ called the Jewish Renaissance Project (JRP) that reaches thousands of students on the Jewish periphery with cutting-edge methods for building alternative Jewish communities and delivering content-rich Jewish experiences. JRP was included in the 2014-2015 Slingshot guide for most innovative Jewish organizations in North America. Mike has consulted and written on the changing nature of the American Jewish community and new models that can help promote thriving Jewish life. Mike was named to the 2012 Forward 50 Jewish leaders who made the most significant impact on the news in the past year. In the winter of 2007, Mike received Hillel’s highest award for professional achievement, the Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence. Mike has taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Rabbinical Assembly Conference, LimmudNY, and Hillel’s International Staff Conference and New Professionals Conference. He serves as a Jewish educator for the Philadelphia Federation’s Men’s Cabinet and Round Table. Mike serves a senior faculty member for the Schusterman Fellowship, a prestigious leadership development program for the most promising talent in Jewish professional sector. Mike holds a B.A. in History and Religious Studies from Washington University and Rabbinic Ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Mike can be reached at
muram@pennhillel.org.