JFNA Leadership

Our board members are consummate leaders committed to addressing pressing issues in the Jewish world today, and dedicated to cultivating and sustaining a strong global Jewish community—now and for generations to come.

View a full list of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Federations of North America.

Mark Wilf Chair, Board of Trustees

Mark Wilf

Mark Wilf is the chair of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Federations of North America. He has previously served as UJC National Campaign Chair, UJA National Young Leadership Cabinet Chair, and as President of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey. Most recently Mr. Wilf has chaired JFNA's national initiative that addresses the needs of impoverished Holocaust survivors living in the United States.

Mr. Wilf, an attorney and partner in Garden Homes, a real estate development firm is also owner/president of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. He graduated from Princeton University and then received his law degree from NYU School of Law.

Mr. Wilf has long been involved in efforts locally, nationally, and globally, to ensure the welfare and vitality of the Jewish community. As the son of Holocaust survivors, Elizabeth Wilf and Joseph Wilf, z"l, he has drawn upon his parents' experiences to become an unwavering advocate for needs of the Jewish people, wherever they may be. The Wilf family, a major and longtime supporter of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, is the largest contributor to its world-renowned Holocaust History Museum. The Wilfs are also key sustained benefactors of Yeshiva University in New York. In 2002, the family made a substantial donation to enhance the main campus, renamed as the Wilf Campus of Yeshiva University.

He serves on a variety of educational and philanthropic boards, including the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, American Society for Yad Vashem, NYU School of Law, Princeton University President's Advisory Council, Yeshiva University, Vanderbilt University, and NFL Business Ventures.

Mark and his wife Jane have four children Steven, Daniel, Rachel and Andrew.

Jodi J. Schwartz Vice Chair, Board of Trustees

Jodi J. Schwartz

Jodi Schwartz is the vice chair of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Federations of North America. She is the immediate past Treasurer and a past chair of JFNA's Retirement Fund Committee and its Governance & By-laws Committee. She serves on the board of the UJA-Federation where she chairs the Caring Department, is Chair of the Board of The Gateway School of New York, and serves on the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Ms. Schwartz, recognized as one of the world's leading lawyers in the field of taxation, is a Partner at Watchell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. She is a member of the Executive Committee and past chair of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association and also is a member of the American College of Tax Counsel.

She earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Pennsylvania; an M.B.A from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and an LL.M. from the New York University School of Law.

David T. Brown National Campaign Chair

David T. Brown

David T. Brown is the National Campaign Chair of The Jewish Federations of North America. He is the immediate past chair of Israel & Overseas at JFNA and also served as chair of the Domestic Policy & Government Affairs Committee.

Mr. Brown is an active Board member of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF). He is the immediate past-Chair of its Board of Directors and is a member of its Executive Committee. He has held multiple positions at JUF, including Chair of the Overall Planning and Allocations Committee (OPAC), End of the Year Chair for the 2004 and 2008 campaigns, Chair of the Government Affairs Committee, and President of the Young Leadership Division. He is active in AIPAC and is a regular visitor to Israel. He has run in the Chicago Marathon 11 times on behalf of the American Liver Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and most recently on behalf of JUF.

Mr. Brown is an accomplished attorney and committed civic leader. He is Chairman of the Chicago-based law firm, Much Shelist, P.C., where he is actively involved in strategic planning and leadership development for the firm. He is an experienced business and transactional attorney who also serves as a valued business advisor to his clients.

Mr. Brown is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law and the University of Illinois.

Shelly Kupfer Chair, National Women's Philanthropy

Shelly Kupfer

Shelly Kupfer proudly serves as the Chair of National Women’s Philanthropy of The Jewish Federations of North America. She has been involved in The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington for many years. She has served on its Board since 2006, was a member of the Executive Committee from 2013-2016, and was President of Women’s Philanthropy in Washington, DC from 2013-2015.

At JFNA, she joined the National Young Leadership Cabinet (NYLC) in 2004, and served as Co-Chair of NYLC from 2011-2012. Before Shelly was nominated as the NWP Chair, she held multiple portfolios including NWP Political Advocacy chair, NWP Class chair, and the Co-Chair of the 2016 International Lion of Judah Conference in Washington, DC. She has also travelled with Federation on numerous local and national missions and has received many awards.

Shelly’s impact does not end with Federation. She serves on the board of Capital Camps and Retreat Center and has served as a board member for the Jewish Primary Day School of the Nation's Capital, Sunflower Bakery, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning.

Shelly lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her husband, Jeff and their three kids, Danielle, Adam and Andrew. She is a graduate of Barnard College and Boston University and is a Wexner Heritage Fellow. Shelly also owns The Paper Chase, a stationery and gifts business.

Harold Gernsbacher Treasurer

Harold Gernsbacher

Harold Gernsbacher is the Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Federations of North America. He is a past National Campaign Chair and Chair of the Board of SCN, the Secure Community Network.

Mr. Gernsbacher has variously served as President of the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth, Chairman of Partnership Together, Vice Chair of the United Israel Appeal, and on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency. He has also served in multiple Federation roles on both a local and national basis. He currently sits as a board member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas.

A University of Texas at Austin graduate, Mr. Gernsbacher has served as President of FEDA (Food Equipment Distributors Association). He is the past CEO of Chain Link Services.

Currently Mr. Gernsbacher is an advisor for the executive committee of Juvenile Diabetes Association of Greater Dallas and is an investor and philanthropist.

Julie Platt Secretary

Julie Platt

Julie Platt is the Board Secretary of The Jewish Federations of North America and is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Concurrently she serves as Chair of the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

Prior to serving as Board Chair at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Ms. Platt served as their General Campaign Chair, Chair of their Ensuring the Jewish Future Strategic Initiative, and Chair of the Federation’s Sylvia Weisz Women’s Philanthropy.

She was honored with the Ruby Award for her commitment to leadership and community service, presented by Women’s Philanthropy.

Ms. Platt’s lifelong connection with the Jewish community began at Camp Ramah in Ojai, and today she’s a driving force behind raising funds to subsidize tuition for Jewish summer camps, allowing more families to provide this transformative experience for their children.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Ms. Platt serves on the Board of Trustees as well as Penn Hillel's National Board of Governors.

David J. Butler Chair, Israel and Overseas

David J. Butler

David J. Butler is the chair of the Israel & Overseas Committee of the Jewish Federations of North America. He is the immediate past chair of the Domestic Policy & Government Affairs Committee and also the former chair of the Global Planning Table. He has served as a President and Annual Campaign Chair for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and is a past president of the United Jewish Endowment Fund.

Mr. Butler is an active advocate for the Jewish community in the Washington area, where he has taken on many roles with local Jewish organizations. He has served as president of Kemp Mill Synagogue, president of Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy and as treasurer of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Mr. Butler has more than three decades of experience as a trial lawyer and is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Bingham McCutchen LLP. In addition to his active commercial litigation and dispute resolution practice, Mr. Butler is counsel to Hillel: the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life and special litigation counsel to the Orthodox Union.

David Golder Chair, Domestic Policy and Government Affairs

David Golder

David Golder is the chair of JFNA’s Domestic Policy & Government Affairs Committee. Mr. Golder also serves on the Board and chairs the Government Affairs Committee for the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

Mr. Golder is active on numerous other boards including the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois, and Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He also serves on committees for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and the Illinois Venture Capital Association.

Founder and former president of Lightfall Interactive Media, Mr. Golder is an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He currently manages investment strategy as managing partner of Golder Investment Management, LLC and serves as vice president and treasurer of the Golder Family Foundation.

Mr. Golder is a 1979 graduate of Drake University and continued his post-graduate education at the University of Chicago.

Ari Ackerman Co-Chair, National Young Leadership

Ari Ackerman

Ari Ackerman is Co-Chair of National Young Leadership. He serves on the Board of Directors of the UJA-Federation of New York as well as on the Board of Trustees of the Hampton Synagogue and the Advisory Board for Hillel’s Office of Innovation. Other leadership roles he has held in the Jewish community include co-founder of AIPAC’S Emerging Leadership Initiative and its Young Leadership division in New York, Board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council, and dinner chair for the Algemeiner Summer Benefit. As a Duke alumnus, he sponsors students to attend the AIPAC policy conference in Washington DC. He also has sponsored a Nefesh B’Nefesh flight of 232 North American Jews who were making Aliyah to Israel.

Mr. Ackerman was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bunk1.com, the technology company that allows parents to see pictures and send emails/Bunk Notes to kids at summer camp, until its sale to a private equity firm in 2017. One of his recent entrepreneurial ventures is Tribe, a Jewish dating app. He also is a partner and Board member in the Derek Jeter-led group that purchased the Miami Marlins in October of 2017.

Mr. Ackerman received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and an MBA with honors from Northwestern University (Kellogg).

Marisa Polin Co-Chair, National Young Leadership

Marisa Polin

Marisa Polin is Co-Chair of National Young Leadership. She joined JFNA’s National Young Leadership Cabinet in 2016 and has held multiple leadership positions, including Vice Chair of Engagement, Vice Chair of Membership and Vice Chair of Philanthropy. She also has been involved with multiple local Federations, serving on the Young Adult Philanthropy Cabinet for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Young Adult Board of the Jewish Federation of San Diego, as well as on the Emerging Leaders Group and the Women’s Professional Philanthropy Committee for the UJA-Federation of New York. She also is active in the ADL and served previously as co-chair of the ADL’s Glass Leadership Institute.

Ms. Polin is a Group Director at Crossmedia, an award-winning integrated media agency. Prior to joining Crossmedia, Marisa worked at MediaCom, Mindshare and most recently Grey Advertising in New York. She received her B.A. in English and film from the University of Colorado at Boulder

Cynthia D. Shapira Chair, United Israel Appeal

Cynthia D. Shapira

Cynthia D. Shapira is Chair of United Israel Appeal and the Immediate Past Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Federations of North America. Ms. Shapira has chaired JFNA’s Strategic Review Task Force.

She is the immediate past Board Chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

Ms. Shapira is President of the Shapira Foundation. With her husband David, she leads the development and implementation of the foundation’s initiatives, such as Onward Israel (which transforms young adults through professional summer internships with Israeli businesses) and the Comprehensive Excellence project with Hillel International (creating a data-informed culture to define and achieve a new standard for non-profit operational excellence.) She is a trustee of Brandeis University and member of the board of the Jewish Funders Network and Leading Edge.

Ms. Shapira is Chair of the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. She served as Vice-Chair of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf's transition team, and also serves on the Governor's Advisory Board on Education and Workforce Development. She was appointed by Governor Corbett to the Pennsylvania Commission on Women and was a member of the 2012 Pennsylvania Electoral College.

Her civic activity in Pittsburgh includes serving as a Board Member for the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Past service includes chair of the Pennsylvania Center for Women In Politics at Chatham University, the boards of Point Park University, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, The Pittsburgh Promise, United Way of Allegheny County, and WQED Pittsburgh.

Ms. Shapira was Honorary Co-Chair of Allegheny 365, an initiative to ensure access to individuals of varying abilities in Allegheny County, and founded the 21 & Able policy project to address the needs of youth with disabilities aging out. She was a management consultant for twenty years in the non-profit and education sectors, including ten years as executive vice president of Pappas Consulting Group, Inc.

Ms. Shapira has a Master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from Wellesley College.

Eric D. Fingerhut President and Chief Executive Officer

Eric D. Fingerhut

Eric D. Fingerhut is the President and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). Prior to his appointment at JFNA, Mr. Fingerhut served as the President and CEO of Hillel International from 2013-19. At Hillel, he led the organization’s Drive to Excellence, which resulted in doubling the number of students engaged by Hillel each year to over 130,000 and the total funds raised each year to nearly $200M. His emphasis on recruiting, training and retaining top talent for the system, and on building a data and performance driven organization, have become models for the non-profit sector.

Mr. Fingerhut has also had a varied and distinguished career in public service and higher education. He served as Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents from early 2007 to 2011, leading Ohio’s system of public universities and colleges; as Ohio state senator from 1997 to 2006; and represented Ohio’s 19th congressional district in the U.S. Congress from 1993 to 1994. In 2004, he was the Democratic Party’s candidate for U.S. Senate.

Mr. Fingerhut received a juris doctorate from Stanford University Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. He and his wife Amy have two sons, Sam and Charlie, and beagles Pedro and Lulu.

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