Barbra Streisand, Honorary Chair
Barbra Streisand is a film director, producer, writer, actress, singer and composer, as well as a leading spokesperson and fundraiser for social and political causes. Her production company, Barwood Films, has focused on creating television movies and documentaries that explore pressing social, historical and political issues. Barbra Streisand established the Streisand Foundation in 1986, which since its inception has made grants totaling more than 11 million dollars to organizations that promote and support women’s rights, civil rights and race relations, environmental causes, youth-related issues focusing on the economically disadvantaged, and AIDS research. Brandeis University awarded Barbra Streisand and Honorary Doctorate in Arts and Humanities in 1995. She is a recipient of the National Medal for the Arts.
Debra Silberman Weinberg, Chair
Debra Weinberg is the current Chair of The Hadassah Brandeis Institute. Debra is passionate about building warm and welcoming communities, and reading. This provided a great basis for establishing one of the HBI pilot projects in Baltimore, called HBI Conversations.
Professionally, Debra is a leadership coach with particular expertise and interest in not for profit organizations and in empowering leaders, especially women of all ages. She is currently the Coordinator of ACHARAI: The Shoshana S. Cardin Leadership Development Institute. For eight years she was the Director of the Darrell Friedman Institute for Professional Development (formerly the Baltimore Institute for Jewish Communal Services). Ms. Weinberg also served as the Madricha, or Facilitator for the first class of the HADASSAH Leadership Academy, an innovative pilot program in leadership development, that combines leadership training with informal Jewish studies.
She is also a founder and the past Chair of KEHILLAH: Jewish Communal Professional Association of Greater Baltimore and a founding Board member of GEM (Girls Empowerment Mission). Debra has served on the United Jewish Communities National Young Leadership Cabinet, held a number of portfolios for THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish community Federation of Baltimore Federation.
Debra earned an M.A. from the Baltimore Hebrew University and an M.S.W. from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and Community Planning in 1984 as part of the Darrell Friedman Institute (DFI) formerly the Baltimore Institute for Jewish Communal Service. A lifelong learner, Debra earned a certificate in “Women, Leadership and Change” through the Johns Hopkins University and recently completed the Leadership Coaching certificate program at Georgetown University
Her awards include JWI Women to Watch 2005 and A Woman of Distinction ( Baltimore Chapter of Hadassah).
Ms. Weinberg is married to Joe Weinberg and the mother of three children, Jenna, Danielle and Benjamin.
Rita Blitt
Painter/sculptor Rita Blitt has exhibited and permanently
installed works in the United States, Israel, Japan, Germany,
Italy, Taiwan and Singapore. She has been invited to represent
America in Italy's Florence Biennale this year. In 2000, Brandeis
University and Ram Publications co-published Rita Blitt: The
Passionate Gesture. "Caught in Paint," a six-minute
collaboration with the Parsons Dance Company and photographer
Lois Greenfield has been a featured selection at 21 film festivals.
Rita’s artwork, book and films, including the 1984 film
"dancing hands: Visual Arts of Rita Blitt" are all
award-winning. Rita's words, "Kindness is contagious.
Catch it!" planted the seed for a kindness program which
is in schools all over the world. Rita serves on the board
of the Trio Foundation for Children with her husband Irwin
and daughter Chela.
Claudia Koogan Breitman
A person of diverse talents and interests, Claudia Koogan
Breitman pursued her collegiate studies at Pontifícia
Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, receiving
a Bachelor of Law degree. She continued her law studies at
the University of Chicago, earning a Master of Law. From 1992-1995,
Claudia worked in Brazil as an intellectual property attorney
and later, a shareholder at Hyper Midia Editora Ltd., a company
she co-owns with her brother. Hyper Midia started out as a
publishing house and is now thriving in animation. In 1999,
after returning to the U.S., she received an M.F.A. in Playwriting
from the Actors Studio MFA program at the New School. Her
play The Yellow House was produced at the historic Circle
in the Square in Manhattan. Her full-length piece A Sea Of
Sunflowers had a reading at New Dramatists, an organization
dedicated to creating a space for gifted playwrights to work
and explore their dramatic endeavors. Claudia’s plays
ask questions about the relationship between art and religion.
She earned an Advanced Certificate in Modern Art, Connoisseurship
and the History of the Art Market at Christie's in May of
2002.
Talia Carner
Talia Carner worked for Redbook magazine and was the publisher of Savvy Woman magazine. The founder of a prestigious marketingconsultant to Fortune 500 companies, she taught marketing at Long Island University and was a volunteer counselor and lecturer for the Small Business Administration. In 1993 she was sent twice by the United States Information Agency to Russia, and in 1995 participated in the NGO women's conference in Beijing. Ms. Carner's first novel, Puppet Child, was listed in The Top 10 Favorite First Novels 2002 by BookBrowse and launched a nationwide legislation that became the platform for two Senatorial candidates. China Doll was the platform for Ms. Carner's presentation at the U.N. in 2007 about infanticide in China the first ever in U.N. history. Carner's award-winning essays and stories were published in The New York Times, in prestigious anthologies by Simon & Schuster and Adams Media, and in literary reviews such as Rosebud, Midstream, Confrontation, Lilith, The North Atlantic Review and The Best Jewish Writing 2003 (John Wiley & Son).
Cheryl Edelman
Cheryl A. Edelman is a special counsel in the Boston office of Foley & Lardner LLP, a national law firm which is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Prior to joining Foley & Lardner, Ms. Edelman was an associate at Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. Ms. Edelman earned her LL.M. degree from the Boston University School of Law in 1990 and her J.D. from the New York University School of Law in 1983. She received an M.S. degree in Real Estate Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1996, and received a B.A. from Yeshiva University, summa cum laude, in 1980. Ms. Edelman lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with her husband, Elazer, and their three sons.
Leslie Gaffin
Leslie B. Gaffin of Boston, Massachusetts, is a member of the National Board of Hadassah and Chair of the Legacy Conference for Society of Major Donors. She is also serving as Liaison to the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute. She is the past Chair of the Hadassah Northeast Area Development Center and served as the first Northeast Liaison for Keepers of the Gate from 2000-2002.
Previously, as a member of the National Membership Division, Leslie served consecutively as National Liaison to two regions, Chair of National Members, and Co-Chair of the Gifting Initiative. She is a past President of the Southern New England Region, and is a Life Member of the Sudbury Wayland Chapter where she was President from 1982-84.
Leslie and her husband, Michael, a Hadassah Associate, were founding members of Temple Shir Tikva in Wayland where Leslie served on the Board of Directors from 1978-88.
They have three children, one grandson and two daughters-in-law, all Life and Associate Members.
Phyllis Hammer
Phyllis Hammer has been active in the Boston Jewish community for close to twenty years. She served as president of Ma’ayan, Boston’s Torah Studies Initiative for Women, which she helped found. Phyllis was a founder of Congregation Shaarei Tefillah in Newton and served as its Vice President. She also has served on the boards of Maimonides School, Boston’s Bureau of Jewish Education, and Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Phyllis is also a founder and member of the Board of Directors of Edah, a national organization dedicated to strengthening Modern Orthodoxy. Phyllis earned a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and was a National Science Foundation Fellow at MIT, conducting research in immunochemistry. Until 1983, she was a member of the research staff of MIT, working in biochemistry and biophysics.
Tony Hananel
Tony Hananel has a degree in Humanities from the American College For Girls
in Istanbul. She is fluent in Turkish, English and French and speaks some
Spanish, Hebrew and Greek.
She is active in the Turkish Jewish community. Currently she is serving as
the Vice President of the Board of Representative of the Turkish Jewish
Community. She is also co-chair of the Turkish Limmud.
Shirley Kalb
Shirley Kalb is director of strategic planning at National
Hadassah where she helped found the Hadassah Leadership Academy.
She currently serves on the Advisory Board of Jewish Braille
Institute International and volunteers as a reader, taping
books for people with limited vision. Shirley served for 10
years as a volunteer on the National Board of Hadassah and
then worked professionally as director of campus services
for the American Professors for Peace in the Middle East.
One of the first board members of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute,
she helped establish HBI by obtaining its first major gift.
Joyce Kramer
Joyce Kramer is executive director of Deputy General Counsel
at Morgan Stanley in New York. She has previously worked as
managing director of CIBC Oppenheimer Corporation, as an associate
at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and as staff
attorney of the Division of Enforcement at Securities and
Exchange Commission. Joyce is also affiliated with and has
held a number of positions with both the National Association
of Securities Dealers Regulation, INC. (NASDR) and the Securities
Industry Association (SIA). She is a member of the New York
Bar, District of Columbia Bar, and the Georgia Bar. Joyce
received a Bachelors degree with distinction from the University
of Rochester and her law degree from Emory University School
of Law.
Janis Levine
Janis Levine combines her professional experience as a social
work consultant in corporate, social service and international
fundraising organizations, with experience as a volunteer
leader and fundraising campaign co-chair. Janis has worked
as a volunteer leader and manager, in business, government,
non-profit and fundraising settings in Canada and internationally,
and brings a unique perspective “from both sides of
the table”. Janis received a Masters degree in Social
Work from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the
McGill-McConnell Program, Master of Management for National
Voluntary Sector Leaders, McGill University. Janis is active
in a number of voluntary sector organizations in Canada, including
the Program Committee, Philanthropic Foundations Canada, the
Grants Committee of the Foundation of Greater Montreal, the
YM-YWHA of Montreal, and the Family Philanthropy Institute
of the Jewish Community Foundation of Montreal. Janis is currently
co-president and executive officer of the Henry & Berenice
Kaufmann Foundation based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Sylvia Neil
Sylvia Neil received an A.B. with high distinction from the University of Michigan, a J.D. /cum laude/ from Northwestern University School of aw, and an M.A. in religious studies at the Universityof Chicago.
Ms. Neil began her legal career as a poverty law litigator with Legal Assistance Foundation. For many years she was the executive director and legal counsel of the American Jewish Congress for the Midwest region where she litigated cases, testified before legislative bodies, authored legislation and developed initiatives positively impacting religious liberty, civil rights, women’s rights and peace in the Middle East.
Ms. Neil subsequently was associate dean for external affairs and planning at the University of Chicago Law School. Ms. Neil has taught courses on religious liberty, legal philosophy,
gender, law and politics and legal writing. She is currently teaching at Northwestern University School of Law focusing on religion, law and politics, and she is founder and chair of the Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law at Brandeis University. Ms. Neil has been a consultant to not for profit organizations and institutions and has served on various civic and national boards. She was appointed commissioner to both the Illinois and CookCounty commissions for human rights. Currently she serves on the board of directors of the Spertus Institute and the national advisory committee of Human Rights Watch Women’s Rights Division. She is on the board of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.
Suzanne Priebatsch
Suzanne Priebatsch is a senior vice president of investments
at Smith Barney, where she specializes in developing investment
strategies for individual and institutional clients. Suzanne
is a frequent speaker and has given seminars on the subject
of "Wealth Management: Transferring Assets and Aspirations
from Generation to Generation". She was a panelist at
a national conference on the subject of "Girls, Women
and Money: Financial Empowerment for the 21st Century"
and has spoken on social investment issues for the Investment
Management Institute in New York. Suzanne is active in the
Jewish community though Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Hebrew
College, and Hadassah. In May 2005, she was honored at the
Hadassah "Women of Distinction" event in Boston,
and was profiled in a recent issue of "Transformations",
produced by Combined Jewish Philanthropies. She is a trustee
of the Boston Children's Museum and is on the board of the
American Repertory Theater.
Elaine Reuben
Elaine Reuben received her PhD from Stanford University in English, American and Dramatic Literature, areas in which she taught at the University of Wisconsin, Madison campus. Furthering her academic and professional work in Women’s Studies, Elaine was a visiting Associate Professor and the first full-time faculty Director of Women’s Studies at The George Washington University Graduate School. When she became National Coordinator of the National Women’s Studies Association, she also taught in the American Studies Program at the University of Maryland/College Park, where NWSA was based, and directed the NWSA/FIPSE Project to Improve Service Learning in Women’s Studies. She has served as a Special Assistant to the Deputy Undersecretary for Management at the U.S. Department of Education and on a host of academic, governmental and service boards. Additionally, she is a member of the board of The Feminist Press, and one of the founding trustees of the Tikkun Olam Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Washington.
Annie Sandler, Past Chair
Annie Sandler is president of Annie Sandler Ltd., a company
that breeds and shows Arabian horses. She is a leader in a
variety of volunteer organizations, including the executive
committee and board of directors of the United Jewish Federation
of Tidewater. She has served on board of Women’s National
Philanthropy for the past 12 years. Annie co-chaired the International
Lion of Judah Conference and was awarded the Kipnis-Friedlander
Award for Leadership. She serves on the Brookdale Institute
Board of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
(JDC), as an observer to the JDC Board, and on the advisory
board of the New York City Choreographic Institute (of the
New York City Ballet). Annie also has served on the boards
of National BBYO, Panim and the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater.
She continues to devote her time to Jewish education and helping
the development of the Jewish community locally and internationally.
Laura Schor
Laura S. Schor is a member of the Hunter College History Department, former provost of Hunter, founding dean of the CUNY Honors College, and an esteemed scholar the field of women's studies. She has just published a pioneering study of Betty de Rothschild's philanthropic initiatives in Jewish affairs. She served as National Executive Director of Hadassah for two years, during which time she facilitated the endowment of the HBI.
Roselyne Chroman Swig
Roselyne Chroman Swig is founder and president of ComCon International,
is a member of the board of directors of The Swig Company
and was the founder of Roselyne C. Swig Artsource (1978-94).
She has devoted decades to philanthropic and community service
efforts at the local, national and global levels with the
principal focus on women’s and social welfare issues,
fine art, political advocacy and education. She was appointed
by President Bill Clinton as director of the U.S. Department
of State Art in Embassies Program. Roselyne is the founder
of SF Partners Ending Domestic Abuse. Her additional board
memberships include KQED, Mills College, SF Art Institute,
UAM/PFA Berkeley, NPR Foundation, AIPAC, American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee, Jewish Community Federation of SF,
the Peninsula, Marin & Sonoma Counties, the SF Museum
of Modern Art, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum of SF, where
she presently serves as chairperson. She has served the City
and County of San Francisco as a past president of the SF
Arts Commission and the SF Library Commission and co-chairperson
of the design committee of the Holocaust Memorial in San Francisco.
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Diane Troderman, Past Chair
Diane has held numerous leadership roles in the Jewish community,
nationally and in Western Massachusetts, and has worked actively
on women’s issues. She was the first chair of the Hadassah-Brandeis
Institute. Diane is involved in the renaissance and renewal
of Jewish life throughout the world, especially in the Former
Soviet Union. She currently serves as chair of JESNA (Jewish
Education Service of North America) and on the boards of the
American Jewish World Service, the Jewish Funder’s Network,
BBYO and Hebrew College. Diane and her husband Harold Grinspoon
are partners in the PEJE collaborative (Partnership for Excellence
in Jewish Education). From 1993-1998, Diane directed the Grinspoon
Charitable Foundation and from 1989-1996 oversaw the six-year
“I Have A Dream” project co-sponsored by the Grinspoon
Foundation and Mass Mutual, enhancing the lives of disadvantaged
children and providing them with an opportunity to graduate
from high school and further their education. Diane and her
husband travel extensively around the world as hikers. Between
the two of them, they have six children and nine grandchildren.
Ever a student, Diane is learning Hebrew and jazz piano.
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Jane Zolot
Jane Zolot is a member of the national board of Hadassah and formerly a national vice president. She has chaired Hadassah committees for marketing/communication, strategic planning and children at risk. Jane is a member of the board of the Jewish Braille Institute and One Voice: Jewish Women for Israel. She serves on the boards of trustees of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Har Zion Temple and Women's Division State of Israel Bonds. She served on the National Commission on American Jewish Women, a cooperative study between Hadassah and the Cohen Center at Brandeis University that provided the impetus for the creation of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute. Jane has served on the HBI Board since its founding. She and her husband, Stanley, have three children and five grandchildren.
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