Keynote Speaker

Larry S. Moses

Senior Philanthropic Advisor, Wexner Foundation

Larry Moses became President of The Wexner Foundation in July 1998, after serving as the Founding Director of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program since 1987. He assumed responsibility for the Wexner Heritage Foundation in 2003. As President, Mr. Moses also exercised leadership in the Wexner Israel Fellowship Program, which brings Israeli government officials to Harvard's Kennedy School for an MA in Public Administration and for extensive leadership development activities. As Leslie and Abigail Wexner's senior philanthropic advisor, he organizes the grantmaking activities of the family, works closely with Jewish philanthropists and public leaders in North America and throughout the world, and maintains a special relationship with the agencies and institutions of Central Ohio. Prior to joining the professional staff of The Wexner Foundation, Mr. Moses served as the International Director of Hillel (1984-1987) and as Executive Director of the Bureau of Jewish Education in San Francisco. Mr. Moses' scholarly interests rest largely in the arena of Holocaust studies. His mother was a survivor of the concentration camp Auschwitz.

Mr. Moses received a B.A. in philosophy from Indiana University, an M.A. in modern Jewish history from the Baltimore Hebrew University, and an M.S.W. from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and Community Planning. He holds an honorary doctorate from the Baltimore Hebrew University and has received numerous community and organizational awards and distinctions. Mr. Moses serves on numerous boards and advisory committees, including the Jewish Funders Network, the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education, and others. He is married to Dr. Susan Steinman, who is a psychotherapist, researcher, and author. They are the parents of Alana Moses (Brandeis '08), who is currently a clinical psychology PhD. student at St. John's University, and Danielle Moses, who is a senior at Bard College.

 

Guest Speakers

Ellen Alexander

Development Director, URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp

A true Southerner, Ellen was born in Mississippi, and raised in Alabama, where she graduated from Auburn University. Ellen joined the team at the URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp in 2010 after a number of years working in the non-profit world. Prior to coming to Jacobs, she served as Executive Director of the American Cancer Society- Jackson, Mississippi Metro Market. Ellen realized how special Jacobs was in the summer of 2004 while attending a Dan Nichols concert. After watching the campers sing and jump with exhilaration that night, she immediately downloaded his songs to her iPod! She is so excited to connect her love of Judaism with her strength in fund development to benefit Jacobs Camp.

 

Debra Askanase

Founder, Community Organizer 2.0

Debra Askanase is the founder of Community Organizer 2.0, a strategic digital media consulting firm to businesses and nonprofit organizations. Before founding Community Organizer 2.0, Debra worked for 20 years in nonprofit organizations in many positions, among them executive director, program director, fundraiser, and community organizer.

In June 2007, Debra moved to Israel with her family and received her MBA from Bar Ilan University, and founded her own digital media consulting firm, Community Organizer 2.0. In 2010, Debra returned to Boston and worked as the Community Marketing Manager at FirstGiving, an online fundraising platform, through April 2011. She is now consulting full-time as a digital engagement strategist, helping organizations and brands engage with their stakeholders in a deep and real manner. She is also a digital strategy expert at Socialbrite.org, and blogs regularly there as well. Debra's award-winning professional blog, www.communityorganizer20.com, offers advice, strategies and opinions about how nonprofits can use digital communications effectively. Community Organizer 2.0 won Web Host Magazine's Editor's Choice Award for Practical Application of Web 2.0 Concepts, and was selected as an Alltop nonprofit blog. You can always connect with her through her website, follow per presentations on Slideshare at http://slideshare.net/debask, or talk with her on Twitter @askdebra or Google Plus at http://gplus.to/askdebra.

 

Adrian Bailey

Director of Operations, The PJ Library®

Adrian Bailey is Director of Operations for PJ Library. In her position, Adrian works with more than 40 publishers, purchasing books for PJ Library in North America and Israel. She also heads the marketing of the PJ Library as well as managing numerous special projects. Before coming to PJ Library, Adrian worked in research at the Austen Riggs Center, a private psychiatric hospital in Western Massachusetts. Adrian holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a MBA degree.

 

Seth Cohen

Program Director-Campership Incentive Program, Foundation for Jewish Camp

Seth Cohen is the director of the Foundation for Jewish Camp's popular One Happy Camper program, working to engage Jewish community leaders and institutions into the 'camp conversation.' Prior to joining FJC in June 2009, Seth was the Deputy Executive Director at Common Cents, a nonprofit organization that runs Penny Harvest-a program that teaches children about citizenship, service, and philanthropy. During his seven-year tenure, Seth focused on growing the program nationally as well as overseeing the operations of the organizations. Prior to his time at Common Cents, Seth worked at Young Judaea as the NY regional director, spending summers at Camps Young Judaea-Sprout Lake and Midwest. Seth also has worked for Masada Israel Programs and B'nai B'rith Youth Organization. Seth spent 15 summers at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin as a camper, counselor and specialist. Seth was awarded his MSW from Columbia University's School of Social Work.

 

Tammy Cohen

Associate Executive Director, Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester

Tammy Cohen is Associate Executive Director for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester. She is responsible for Membership, Marketing and Financial Resource Development. Tammy implements and executes the strategic fundraising plan for the Center including Camp Seneca Lake; with a dedicated group of CSL volunteers and staff. Since being accepted as a Grinspoon Camp, Camp Seneca Lake has successfully raised more than $1 million for a variety of capital, program, and endowment needs.

She came to Development in Jewish communal service after an early career in health care marketing and public relations working at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Maryland's Hospital for Children. Prior to joining the JCC she served as the Development Director of Hillel of Rochester Area Colleges. Her experiences in informal Jewish education include programming for Hillel of Rochester Area Colleges, staffing Birthright to Israel experiences and a Pardes Israel experience. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Political Science, Tammy holds a Master's degree in Journalism from Temple University. Tammy and her husband reside in Rochester, NY. They have five children between them, ranging in age from 12 to 21. Each enjoyed positive Jewish camping experiences at Camp Seneca Lake.

 

Doris Feinberg

Founder and President, The Prospero Group, LLC

Doris Feinberg is the founder and president of The Prospero Group, LLC, which counsels nonprofit boards, executive leaders, and fundraising staff. An expert in capital campaign planning and strategy, donor cultivation and stewardship, face-to-face solicitation training, major gift fundraising, and board training and development, Doris works in both the Jewish and secular worlds. Doris' approach to philanthropy reflects a "donor-centered" philosophy which engages individuals in the fabric of the organization. Doris and her husband, Alan, reside in Newport, RI, and are the parents of 30-year-old twins. Doris is the immediate past president of the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island. Her entire family attended Jewish overnight camps.

 

Michele Friedman

Director of New Camp Initiatives, Foundation for Jewish Camp

Michele Friedman has been the director of New Camp Initiatives at the Foundation for Jewish Camp since 2005. She serves as the point person for all new camps and specialty programs, works with camps that are in growth mode, and is the director of the Specialty Camps Incubator. Her work at FJC is based a lifetime of camp experience, highlighted by 30 years in her own family-run business, as pioneers in the operation of specialty camps on university campuses throughout the United States; as well as working with many successful summer camp organizations through her marketing consulting firm.

Michele was a board member and officer of the American Camp Association, New York for more than 20 years, where she was a foundling Steering Committee member and chair of the Tri-State Camp Conference, the largest conference for camp professionals in the world. Michele has an MA in the field of learning disabilities from Teachers College, Columbia University.

 

Jeffrey Greim

Director-MS in the Nonprofit Philanthropy and Management program, Bay Path College

Jeffrey Greim has been the Director of the MS in the Nonprofit Philanthropy and Management program at Bay Path College since 2007. The MS in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy degree emphasizes leadership, strategic thinking, fundraising and other areas critical to nonprofit organizations. This degree has been specifically designed for mid and senior professionals and leaders working in and with nonprofit organizations and their unique business environments and day-to-day operational demands.

Greim brings a wealth of experience to this Conference. From 1998-2006, he served as Chief Operating Officer for Partners for Community, a management services organization in Springfield. In this role, he was responsible for the field operations of three affiliated programs with 250+ employees operating 20 different programs located throughout New England. He provided management services to administrators in these organizations, and also monitored and developed program budgets totaling $50 million supporting mental retardation, employment and training, criminal justice, homeless families, education and income transfer programming.

 

Kim Hirsh

Development Officer, Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest

Kim Hirsh is the development officer with the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest, New Jersey. She works on major gifts and endowment fundraising to support key Jewish identity programs. Over the past two years, Kim helped raise significant gifts for MetroWest's Jewish Camp Enterprise, a comprehensive program designed to double the number who attend Jewish camp. Previously, Kim worked as a fundraising coach for the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE). Kim worked as development director for the Hebrew Academy of Morris County (HAMC) in Randolph, NJ. She worked for close to 20 years as a newspaper and magazine journalist, as well as a public relations professional for the University of Iowa and other nonprofit organizations. Kim's three children attend Jewish summer camp.

 

Sue Kline

Director, Create a Jewish Legacy of Western Massachusetts

Susan Kline manages Create a Jewish Legacy of Western Massachusetts, a successful collaboration between the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and the Jewish Endowment Foundation to encourage broad-based legacy giving. For five years, she directed the Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy and is a former trustee of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Sue also provides business training in writing and speaking to major companies and institutions. For over thirty years, she taught high school English. An active volunteer, she is a past president of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts; a board member of National Women's Philanthropy; and 1st vice-president Jewish Geriatric Services. A graduate of Harvard University and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Sue resides in Longmeadow with her husband Edward.

 

Gail Littman

Vice President of Endowments and Communications, Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego

Gail Littman is Vice President of Endowments and Communications at the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego. Drawing upon her experience as a Jewish educator and community volunteer, Gail directs the Create a Jewish Legacy© program, the Endowment Leadership Institute (ELI) and the Governance Leadership Institute (GLI) at the Foundation. Through these programs she works with families, organizations and synagogues to help build endowments to support a strong Jewish future. Gail served as director of adult education at the Agency for Jewish Education in San Diego before joining the Foundation in 2000. She is a graduate of the Hussian School of Art where she received a degree in fine arts.

 

Rabbi Avi Orlow

Jewish Education Specialist, Foundation for Jewish Camp

Rabbi Avi Orlow is the Foundation for Jewish Camp's Jewish education specialist. Before joining FJC, Avi was the campus rabbi and assistant director of the St. Louis Hillel at Washington University for four years. Prior to this experience, he held numerous positions as a rabbi, educator, and youth leader. Avi spent 17 years as a camper and then educator at Ramah Camps in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and YUSSR Camps in the Former Soviet Union. Avi has a BA in religious studies from Columbia University. He was ordained in the charter class at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, the open Orthodox rabbinical school. Avi lives in White Planes with his wife, Cantor Adina Frydman, ad their children Yadid, Yishama, and Emunah.

 

Claudia A. Pazmany

Director of Development, Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts

Claudia is currently Director of Development for the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts. She served as Director of Alumni/ae & Development for the Bement School in Deerfield, MA, for over 8 years, serves as President of Friends of Amherst Recreation for the 8th year, and has been a volunteer, community fundraiser for over 10 years. With ten years of fundraising experience, Claudia believes that building relationships is the key to success in the growth and expansion of all donor programs, which are vital to sustaining a non-profit's mission. She also comes with a wealth of experience in coordinating communications strategies for effective marketing of all fundraising, including print and electronic media, website content, and press releases, critical to maintaining these relationships. In her role at the Women's Fund, she is building relationships and changing the face of philanthropy to strengthen the women and girls of Western Massachusetts.

 

Amy Sales

Associate Director, Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University

Dr. Amy L. Sales is the associate director of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University and Associate Professor in the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. Trained as a social psychologist, she conducts research on Jewish institutions and their role in creating Jewish life and community. Most recently, she has conducted an eight-year follow up to the seminal study of Jewish summer camps (Limud by the Lake Revisited: Growth and Change at Jewish Summer Camp, funded by The AVI CHAI Foundation); a multiyear study of change in congregational religious schools (with the Experiment in Congregational Education); and a study of teen engagement in Jewish life in Greater New York (with Jewish Education Project). She is responsible for the creation and development of JData.com, the Foundation for Jewish Camp's new platform for gathering census data from Jewish camps (funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation). As director of the Fisher-Bernstein Institute at Brandeis, she is one of the founding faculty of Development at the Core, a program designed to help Jewish organizations create a culture of giving and improve their annual fundraising. She is the author of How Goodly Are Thy Tents: Summer Camps as Jewish Socializing Experiences (with Len Saxe) and numerous articles and reports related to the American Jewish community.

 

Teresa Utt

Nonprofit Direct Marketing Specialist, Andrew Associates

Teresa has worked with and for Andrew Associates for over 21 years. As their nonprofit direct marketing specialist, Teresa and her team develop and implement strategies that increase donor bases and donations, promote volunteer opportunities and strengthen mission awareness. Teresa serves on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Hampden County and is a member of Women in Philanthropy, the New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA), the Ad Club of Western MA and Printing Industries of New England. She has recently spoken at the Small Business Administration, Western New England College's Communication Conference, Fresh Genius Seminars, AFP Connecticut and the Taste of Philanthropy Conference.

 

Laura Watkins

Founder and Principal, Dovetail Associates

Laura Watkins, Ph.D., is the Founder and Principal of Dovetail Associates, a strategic planning and organizational development consulting firm. She has led four organizations; most recently she was the CEO of Patriot's Trail Girl Scout Council in Boston, MA. She works with organizations to develop mergers, coalitions, and strategic alliances. She has recently co-authored "Managing leadership transition for nonprofits: passing the torch to sustain organizational excellence," an indispensable guide on how to systematically identify, introduce, support, and monitor leaders in ways that enhance performance and promote the organizational mission. Watkins holds an MBA from Illinois Benedictine College and a Ph.D. from the Union Institute. She has taught nonprofit courses at Suffolk University and Northeastern University.