Susan Kline, Director
Director since January 2004, Sue Kline is a former long-time trustee and friend of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Charged with managing the Institute’s rapid growth, she oversees consultants’ work with an expanding number of camps and other organizations as well as the planning of additional Institute programs. Professionally, Sue has broad experience as a consultant to businesses and nonprofit organizations in writing and speaking skills and as a high school English teacher. An active lay leader in many Jewish organizations in Springfield, Massachusetts, Sue has been instrumental in creating new educational and outreach programs, including the Resource Center for Jewish Education, which was the first program funded by the Grinspoon Foundation in 1994 and is today a cutting edge institution serving hundreds of teachers throughout the region. Currently Sue chairs the 2006 Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation of Greater Springfield and serves on the executive board of Jewish Geriatric Services. She holds a BA from Harvard University and a Masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
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Joanie Cohen-Mitchell, Legacy Program Manager
Joanie Cohen-Mitchell has worked for twenty years as an organizational consultant to non-profits, governmental bodies and international non-governmental agencies in such far ranging places as St. Lucia, Namibia, Guatemala and Haiti in addition to her work throughout Massachusetts.
Prior to joining GIJP, Joanie worked extensively in the areas of adult literacy, early childhood education, and community development, providing organizational, program, evaluation and staff development services. Additionally, Joanie has taught courses at the University of Massachusetts and the School for International Training.
A graduate of the University of Vermont, Joanie holds a M.Ed. in International Education and a doctorate in Educational Policy, Research and Administration from the University of Massachusetts.
Joanie lives in Orange, MA with her husband Tim, her son Noah and their two cats.
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Natasha Dresner, Mentor
Prior to joining the Grinspoon Institute, Natasha was the Executive Director of Congregation Knesset Israel is Pittsfield, MA, where she lives with her husband. Natasha emigrated to the United States in 2001 from Kiev, Ukraine, where she was deeply involved in Jewish life. She was a co-founder of her synagogue, Congregation Ha Tikvah, where she served in numerous capacities. In 1996, she left her formal synagogue roles to work for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Kiev, where she quickly worked her way up to become head of the Finance department. She also has a BA in Management and an MBA in Finance from the Ukrainian-Finnish Institute of Management and Business in Kiev.
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Royster Hedgepeth, Mentor
Principal Consultant with CWC/Hedgepeth Group, an organizational development firm serving universities and other social service organizations, Hedgepeth specializes in creating vibrant, performance-based boards of directors and increasing organizational fund-raising capacity. He has 26 years’ experience in educational fundraising for universities, and has helped to reposition organizations in the competitive marketplace. Hedgepeth received his BA from Wake Forest University, his MEd from the University of Florida, and his PhD in Educational Administration from Cornell University. A recipient of numerous education and service awards, Hedgepeth is an editor and author of professional books and a highly sought after presenter on topics related to organizational development and fundraising.
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Laurie Herrick, Mentor
Laurie Herrick, a veteran consultant in fundraising and organizational development, joined the Institute staff in January 2007.
Through Laurie’s firm, Rainmaker Consulting, she has provided services to a large number of nonprofit organizations such as The Care Center of Holyoke, the Northampton Community Music Center and Solutions CDC. Laurie also has experience as an executive coach.
A social activist and volunteer, Laurie chairs the board of the National Priorities Project. She previously served on the boards of Women in Philanthropy and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. She was recently trained by Al Gore as a Climate Project Presenter.
Laurie lives in Holyoke, MA.
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Rabbi Mark S. Kram, Mentor
Combining his unique leadership experience in non-profit management, mediation, and rabbinics, Mark Kram has worked with Jewish organizations from campus to congregation for nearly 30 years. A veteran administrator, rabbi, and mentor, he has led state-wide not for profit organizations, directed multi-million dollar fundraising campaigns, and provided training, supervision, and counseling to organizations in capacity-building and change management. Today, Kram has his own consulting firm focusing on organizational development and fundraising with clients that range from Jewish summer camps, foundations, Hillel, synagogues and not for profit organizations. He also continues to serve as a spiritual guide and Jewish leader in his community. Rabbi Kram was ordained, holds a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters, and Doctor of Divinity (honorary) from the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. He earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Miami and is certified by the Supreme Court of the State of Florida as a Family Mediator.
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Adrianne Levine, Grants Associate
Prior to joining the Grinspoon Institute in June 2007, Adrianne was the manager of Donor/Prospect Research at the College of Our Lady of the Elms. Currently, Adrianne manages all aspects of the Matching Grants programs offered by the Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy. She also assists with the Legacy Pilot Program and the planning and organizing of the Grinspoon Institute annual conference. Adrianne received her B.A. in Liberal Arts from Elms College and a Masters Degree in Communications and Information Management from BayPath College. Other positions held at Elms College include Project Manager, Planned Giving Manager and Systems Administrator. Adrianne has been affiliated with Women in Philanthropy, Planned Giving Group of New England, New England Development Research Association and the United Way campaign.
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Kevin Martone, Technology Program Manager
Kevin comes to the Grinspoon Institute with a background in systems development and analysis, with a focus on project management. After receiving a B.S. from Cornell University in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, Kevin pursued a career in Management Consulting at Deloitte Consulting in New York City. Working mainly in the Financial Services industry, Kevin worked with teams on all stages of the systems development lifecycle. While being promoted from Systems Analyst to Manager, Kevin gained a wealth of experience managing projects and teams of all sizes.
Since joining the Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy as Technology Program Manager in September 2007, Kevin has managed the implementation and maintenance of the subsidized DonorPerfect Online with integrated Alumni Portal for all camps and organizations participating in the Technology Program. He continues to add more value to the program by offering new resources to help all Grinspoon Institute camps and organizations utilize technology effectively to reach their fundraising and alumni outreach goals.
Kevin spent a few years before joining the Grinspoon Institute working at the University of Massachusetts part-time and helping care for his two young sons (Patrick and Brendan) while his wife, Drey, pursued her Doctorate in Education. They reside in Belchertown, MA.
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Michael Miloff, Mentor
For 30 years, Miloff has been an entrepreneur, executive and consultant to the private, public and nonprofit sectors. He has overseen 200-plus projects in a wide range of sectors in areas such as strategic planning, marketing and governance. He has also help to found and lead several major business enterprises. Involved in Jewish education, Miloff currently serves as Co-President of the Paul Penna Downtown Jewish Day School in Toronto. He is a consultant to the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education and co-facilitator of a community of practice for heads of Jewish day schools in Boston. Michael holds a Bachelor of Psychology from McGill and Masters Degree in Environmental Studies from York University.
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Jill Paul, Mentor
Jill Paul comes to the Grinspoon Institute with a successful 25-year career in nonprofit management and fund development. In her prior position as the CEO of Girls Scouts in Western Massachusetts, she completed a successful capital campaign, with new construction and modernization of the oldest Girl Scout camp in the nation. As a former camp director, she values how vital the camp environment is in developing future leaders.
A global perspective permeates her approach to management. Before coming to New England, she established West Pacific Girl Scouts for military families in Japan, Korea and the Philippines, living in Japan and Korea for five years. She has a passion for coaching high performance teams to create optimal solutions to support organizational initiatives that value the unique contributions of individuals.
She holds a B.A. from Whittier College, an M.A. in Asian Studies from San Diego State University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
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Eric Phelps, Mentor
Prior to joining the Institute in November 2007 as a full-time mentor, Eric served as the Executive Director of the New Art Center in Newton, MA. Eric has also served as Executive Director of VSA arts of Georgia, a nonprofit organization working to making the arts accessible to people with disabilities, and as Development Director of IMAGE Film & Video Center in Atlanta. Eric has been working in nonprofit administration since the age of 16, serving as a conference planner and musician with the National Episcopal Church. He earned his B.A. in Adolescent Psychology from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst and holds a Certificate in American Sign Language Interpreting from Georgia Perimeter College.
Eric lives with his wife Felicia, a cantor, and their son Elijah in Northampton, MA.
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Deborah Kaplan Polivy, Ph.D., Mentor
Deborah began her professional career at Allied Jewish Community Services in Montreal, Quebec and since then she helped establish two Jewish Federation foundations and also served as the Director of Total Financial Resource Development for the New Haven Federation. She was the Director of Development of Goodspeed Musicals, where she also managed the initial stages of a capital campaign for a new theatre. Most recently Deborah served as a major gift and endowment consultant for Connecticut Public Broadcasting. She has served as a Research Associate at Yale’s Program on Nonprofit Organizations, has taught at McGill University, Smith and Trinity colleges, and has published numerous articles on fund raising and the nonprofit sector. Her doctoral degree is from The Florence Heller Graduate School at Brandeis University.
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Sara Schley, Mentor
Prior to her association with the HGF, Sara was a founding partner of SEED Systems, a company that uses systems thinking and organizational learning to creating sustainability in corporations and in society. Sara’s clients and partners in this work included major organizations such as Burlington Chemical, The Coca-Cola Company, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Hewlett Packard, Interface, Nike and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Sara is the co-author with Peter Senge, Joe Laur and Bryan Smith of “The Necessary Revolution: Thinking and Acting Intelligently in an Increasingly Interdependent World,” to be published by Doubleday in Spring 2008.
Sara has led organizational and community development experiences for more than 25 years through Outward Bound and through Sherut La’Am, kibbutz and IDF experiences during three years in Israel. She is a lay leader of Shabbat chanting services in synagogues in Western Massachusetts. Sara has an MBA from the University of Massachusetts and a BA from Brown University. She lives in Wendell, Massachusetts with her husband, 6 year-old twins, and one loyal old lab.
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David Sharken, Legacy Program Director & Mentor
David has been doing organizational development consultanting to non-profit organizations and small businesses for over 20 years.
He recently completed a 13-year tenure as the Executive Director of The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. He has broad experience in community organizations and has been a keynote speaker and presenter at national conferences on topics of nonprofit management, fundraising, program development and social and economic justice. For five years David was a top assistant and director of economic and community development for veteran U.S. Congressman John Olver of Amherst.
A graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Organizational Development, he holds a Master’s degree from Claremont Graduate School in Public Policy Analysis.
David and his wife Joanne Jaffin, an obstetric nurse, midwife, and massage therapist, reside in Amherst, MA. They have two children: son Corey, 20, a freshman and Ithaca College, and daughter Jamie, 16, a sophomore at Amherst, MA High School.
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Herb Tobin, Mentor
Herb Tobin is principal of Herb Tobin Consulting, a Boston-based firm dedicated to helping non-profit organizations reach their potential capacity and maximize their financial resource base. He currently serves a number of start-up philanthropic organizations, as well as those undertaking significantly new projects. He also serves as senior consultant to Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, where he was the architect of a successful $200 million comprehensive campaign addressing capital, endowment and current-use funds on a local, regional and national basis. Prior to his work with Hillel, Herb was an executive with two Boston-area medical centers, and with several Jewish federations. A Reconstructionist rabbi by training, Herb also holds a doctorate in theology from Boston University.
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