American Committee members Bio
Wendy C. Abrams currently serves as Board Chair for the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Chicago and is a past Chair of National Women's Philanthropy (NWP) of The Jewish Federations of North America. Wendy is a past President and Campaign Chair of the Young Women’s Board and the Women’s Board of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and has held many positions on both boards. She has served on and chaired many committees within JUF. Wendy received the Kipnis-Wilson Friedland award in 2022 and the JUF/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago Young Leadership Award in 2002. Wendy is married to Steve, they have three children: Josh (Gabi), Daniel (Rhonda) and Lauren; and four grandchildren: Jennie, Quinn, Maya, and Noah.
Caryn Rosen Adelman has spent her life devoted to family and community. In her personal life she is a mother of 5 children, and grandmother to 13 grandchildren. She has a BS and MA and graduate certificates in Business, Law, and Health and Healing. In her civic career, Caryn was an Elected Trustee of the Village of Winnetka, President of Winnetka Villagewide PTA, and President of The League of Women's Voters Local chapters. In the Federation and philanthropic world, Caryn was President of Young Leadership Division, President of Young Women’s Board, served as a Federation Board officer, and chaired many committees. She was an officer and Board member of UIA, JFNA, and UJA. Caryn also chaired two General Assemblies (Chicago and Toronto). She is currently a member of the Board of Governors of JAFI, and Past President and Board Chair of JTA and FIDF. Caryn has received awards for Young Leadership, American Women, FIDF and is a Wexner Fellow. Caryn has become the North American Chair of The Ethiopian National Project (ENP). In her professional career, she works as a consultant to and for philanthropists and philanthropies. She advises family foundations, donors, and a myriad of world-wide organizations.
Leslie Apter
Gregory Apter
Scott Bakal
Gita Berk worked in marketing and development for The Skin Care Center, achieving its successful merger with Dermatologists of Central States. She earned her MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, and her BA from Yeshiva University/University of Toronto. Gita is currently chairing JUF’s Encompass Committee which is charged with expanding Jewish community-based services for adults with disabilities. She is also serving on JFNA’s Israel Emergency Allocation Committee. Gita is a member of the JUF Board, the Board of Trustees of JFNA as well as a member of JFNA’s Israel and Overseas Committee. She serves on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and is a Board Member of JAFINA. Gita was JUF/ Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago’s Women’s Board 2021 VP Campaign: past chair of JUF’s Israel & Overseas Commission as well as past chair of JUF/JF’s Community Building and Jewish Continuity Commission. She has been active on the Overall Planning and Allocations Committee, the Partnership Together Committee, the Marketing and Communication Committee, and the Health and Human Services Commission of JUF/JF. Gita is a past member of the Keshet Board of Trustees and was an honored recipient of the Summit Award from GE Capital. Gita was born in Caracas, Venezuela, has four children who attended Jewish Day Schools and camps, and currently lives in Lincolnwood. She enjoys art, traveling, continuing to learn, and has a passion for Jewish education and continuity.
Debbie Berman
Edward Best
Jane Best
Richard Biller
Jennifer Brown has been involved with JUF Women’s Philanthropy since 2018, and she is involved with other areas of JUF, including the Partnership and Scholarship Committees. She is also on the Women’s Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
Jennifer’s previous career was as a Communications and Marketing Executive, after a BS in Magazine Journalism from Syracuse University and an MBA from Columbia University. She lives in Glencoe, IL with her husband, Alex, and an extremely emotionally needy Bernedoodle named Pippa. Her two kids are launched: her daughter Sophie is at Boston Consulting Group in Chicago, and her son Sam works for Heelstone Renewable Energy in Durham, NC.
A huge tennis fan- both playing and watching-Jennifer also enjoys fashion, food, art, design, pop culture and travel.
Susan Spier Chapman is an Honorary Director, Women’s Board and is a member of the board of directors of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and is currently the Assistant Secretary. Susie serves on OPAC, MarCom, the Community Building & Jewish Continuity Commission, the Health and Human Services Commission, the Hillels of Illinois CHaNGE Committee, the Government Affairs Committee, and the P2G Committee. She chaired the 123rd Annual Meeting of the Jewish Federation of Chicago in 2023. She was the Co-Chair of the CBJC Commission Day School Innovation Fund working group for several years. Also, Susie has been involved in many leadership positions in the Chicago Jewish community and greater Chicago community since moving here in July 1985 which includes the JUF Women's Board, 2020 Campaign Vice President, the Young Leadership Division, and the Young Women's Board. She is the co-founder of the Women's City Council. Nationally, Susie was a member and now alum of the JFNA National Young Leadership Cabinet. Currently, she is a member of the JFNA National Women's Philanthropy. Additionally, Susie held other leadership positions at Anshe Emet Synagogue, Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, Gan Shalom, Francis W. Parker School, Beber Camp, Jewish Children's Bureau, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Planned Parenthood. After receiving her B.S. Ed and M. Ed in speech pathology, audiology, and education of the hearing impaired from the University of Georgia, she completed post-master's studies in audiology at Emory University. Susie is married to Terry, an attorney, and lives in Lincoln Park, Chicago. They have two children: Max, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Alex, a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Both boys live in New York. Max is employed at Morgan Stanley and Alex is employed at Genesco Sports.
Richard Edelheit
Roberta Edelheit
Michael Frazin
Deborah Goldberg
Craig Goldsmith
Richard Goodman
Dana Westreich Hirt is the founder of Dana Hirt Parenting and a PCI Certified Parent Coach®, offering parents both new and experienced, concrete skills and personalized guidance and support. Her commitment to Intentional Parenting enables clients to identify their core values, appreciate their strengths, and increase their competence and confidence as parents. She is also passionate about effective co-parenting for all couples, including those navigating separation and divorce. Dana is the grateful and proud mother of three adult children, all products of the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School where she served on the Board of Trustees for 14 years. In that capacity, Dana chaired Development, Institutional Advancement, Capital Campaign & Project, and Governance. She is a trustee of the Jewish Women’s Foundation and served four years on the JFNA Board as a representative of our Chicago Federation. She is currently serving as the OPAC Chair.
Aaron Hoffman
Sarah Hoffman
Kenneth Hoffman
Melissa Hoffman
Susan Insoft is a former litigator who now prefers to spend her time engaged in charitable and political endeavors. Originally from New York, Susan moved to Highland Park from Boston in 2006 with her husband Steven and her three children, Jason (now 31), Ali (27) and Lizzie (24). She currently splits her time between Highland Park and Snowmass Village, Colorado. At JUF, she currently serves as a member of the JUF/JF Board of Directors, co-chairs the Health and Human Services Commission, sits on the OPAC committee, the Partnership Together steering committee, the Israel and Overseas Commission, the oversight committee for the Encompass Jewish Community Fund for Adults with Disabilities, and various subcommittees. Susan has previously served on the Young Women’s Board of JUF and has participated in several JUF-Tiferet missions including co-leading the 2019 mission to Berlin and Israel. Susan’s other involvements include being on the Executive Board and V.P. of Research for JAC, a women’s pro-Israel political action and advocacy group; and a member of the Giving Network, a collective giving organization providing support for basic needs in Colorado. Susan is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Law.
Linda Kupfer
Steven Levine is the President and CEO of Simplecomm Solutions, where he has led the company for over two decades in architecting and deploying scalable AI infrastructure solutions. Under his leadership, Simplecomm has become a trusted partner for enterprise clients building high-performance computing and GPU-based systems to power artificial intelligence and advanced analytics. His work focuses on designing secure, cost-efficient environments that bridge cloud and on-premise deployments while enabling organizations to modernize legacy systems and scale data-driven innovation.
In addition to his professional achievements, Steven is an active community leader. He currently serves on the Board of Partnership Together (P2G) for the Jewish United Fund, having recently completed his term as Chairman. He also serves on CJE SeniorLife’s Executive Board as Chair of the Governance Committee and leads both the IT Steering Committee and the Associate Board. Steven is Vice President of the Board of Education for Bannockburn School District 106 and serves as House Chair for Congregation B’nai Tikvah. He lives in Bannockburn, Illinois, with his wife, Natalie and their children, Daniela and David.
Ken Lorch
Frederic Margulies
Trisha Margulies
Robert W. Matanky has served on the Partnership Together committee since 2012 and has served in leadership positions in the Jewish community of Chicago and for the State of Israel for more than 50 years. He graduated with Honors from both the University of Illinois at Chicago/College of Engineering, and Illinois Institute of Technology/Chicago-Kent College of Law and earned the degree of Associate of Hebrew Literature from Hebrew Theological College. Subsequently, he earned an MBA degree with a specialization in finance from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.
A Past President of the Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago, Mr. Matanky was first elected to that board in 1982. Among his many ATT accomplishments were the standardization of tuition courtesy for teachers in the ATT system, which was accomplished when he chaired the 1984-85 Commission on Teacher Retention and Recruitment, and the structuring and approval for the sale of the ATT building so that the ATT would participate in the new Ida Crown Jewish Academy building with reduced operating costs and an increase of more than $1 million in their endowment.
As a past Chairman of The Hillels of Illinois, he also served on the International Board of Directors of Hillel. He is a Past President of The Decalogue Society of Lawyers, a former Editor-In-Chief of The Decalogue Journal, and since 2016 has served as President of The Decalogue Foundation. Mr. Matanky is a Founder and Past President of Chicago Eruv, Inc., and has designed, built, and consulted on more than 20 metropolitan Eruvin in the United States. He serves and has served as a Board member, officer, or committee member of more than a dozen other boards and organizations including: Jewish National Fund, State of Israel Bonds, Hebrew Theological College, the Jewish Neighborhood and Development Council of Chicago and the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
Professionally, Mr. Matanky is President of Matanky Realty Group, Inc., a commercial brokerage, management, and real estate development firm, and Matanky and Matanky, Ltd., a boutique law firm which concentrates in business and commercial real estate. He has lectured on real estate and legal topics for multiple institutions, including the University of Illinois, IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law, DePaul University College of Law, the National Association of Realtors, and the Chicago Jewish Historical Society.
He and his wife, Lee, are the proud parents of six children (four of whom have made Aliya) and ten grandchildren. When he first joined the Partnership Together committee, he never imagined that one of his children and her family would live in Kiryat Gat.
David Nankin: Committee Co-chair
Robin Nankin: Committee Co-chair was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey. After attending Boston University, she obtained my CPA and moved to New York City. It was there that she met her husband, David.
When their boys were young, they moved to Illinois so they could start a business of their own. Together they have a business investing and managing apartment communities in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Robin's love for Israel began in 1978 after spending a summer on a teen program. Since then, she has visited numerous times, but the most inspiring visits are with JUF Chicago’s Partnership Together Committee. Being able to connect to the Jewish community in the region and work together to provide meaningful programs has been very rewarding. When Robin in not working, she enjoys playing tennis, traveling and spending time with family and friends.
Danielle Pearl
Abby Polin
Carlton Resnick
Paula Resnick
Randee Romanoff has three adult children and is a budding mosaic artist!
Jeff Rosenkratz founded Metronome in 2010. He has been in Investment Banking for over 30 years, most recently spending 6 years at Piper Jaffray where he was Head of M&A and Chairman of the Opinion Committee for the firm. Prior to his tenure at Piper Jaffray, Jeff spent 14 years at Merrill Lynch in New York and Chicago where he was a Managing Director in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group and ran the middle-market group in Chicago. In addition to completing over 100 M&A transactions, Jeff has been extensively involved in strategic advisory assignments, capital raising transactions and has been on the Board of Directors of numerous companies. He has also served as an expert witness in a variety of legal cases. His experience spans many industries including manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, consumer products, food and beverage and business services.
As a result of his experience in the M&A business, Jeff has appeared on TV numerous times including on CNBC, MSNBC, and Bloomberg. He has also been quoted extensively in the written press and was profiled in Portfolio magazine and the Mergers and Acquisitions Journal.
He graduated with honors from Washington University and received his MBA, with honors, from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. In addition, he previously was the head of Washington University’s Alumni Board of Governors and served on the University’s Board of Trustees.
Jeff is an avid runner, having run more than 50 marathons, and a passionate Chicago Cubs fan, having suffered through decades of futility and one season of bliss. He is married with two sons and lives in Chicago and Florida.
Lisa Rosenkrantz has been involved with Jewish United Fund for over 20 years. Prior to this, she had a 20 plus year career in marketing and product development for diverse consumer goods and healthcare companies ranging from Procter & Gamble to Tupperware to Baxter Healthcare. She received her BSBA from Washington University and MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, both with honors.
Her roles at JUF include chairing the Community Building and Jewish Continuity (CBJC) commission as well as serving on and ultimately chairing the Marketing, Education and Scholarship committees. She has also served on the Overall and Planning Commission (OPAC) and the Board of Trustees as well as served on the Young Women’s and the Women’s Boards. In addition, she has served on the Hillel commission and nominating committees.
She serves on the board of SketchPad, an intentionally Jewish start up co-working space in Ravenswood including leading the hiring of two Executive Directors. In
Florida she is involved in the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County including serving on the Safety Net Services allocation committee and as a Trustee of the Jewish Women’s Foundation.
Outside of the Jewish world, she’s very involved with Washington University in St. Louis. She previously served as the chair of the Alumni Board of Governors and on the University’s board of trustees and is currently a member of the Chicago and
Florida Regional Cabinets. In addition, she has been a mentor to low income and first generation WashU students for the past 3 years.
Lisa is married to Jeff and together they have two grown sons. They split their time between Chicago and Florida.
Susan Sacks is a passionate advocate for Jewish teens and youth. Having worked in this space for more the 25 years, Susan currently holds the role of President of the Board of Directors of the Alexander Muss High School in Israel, part of Jewish National Fund-USA’s commitment to Zionist Education.In addition to her roles at JNF-USA and Muss, Susan currently serves on the Foundation for Jewish Camp (“FJC”) National Board of Directors. FJC, the leading umbrella organization for 180+ Jewish summer overnight camps and 200 Jewish Day Camps across North America. Susan has also been a very involved lay leader in the Chicago Jewish community, having recently served on the Jewish United Fund’s Board of Directors, having previously chaired community outreach and oversaw the P2G Israel Partnership committee, Israel and Overseas committee, Next Gen committee as well as the JUF Education Committee. In addition, Susan is on the Judaism Alive Board of Directors, helping to create leadership opportunities for teens and young adults.Susan previously worked as a public school and college social worker as well as a human resource professional. Susan holds a BS in Education and Psychology from SUNY Oneonta and an MSW in Social Work from CUNY Hunter College. Susan and her husband Marc live in Deerfield, IL, and Rancho Santa Fe, CA. They have 3 amazing adult sons and 2 incredible daughters-in-laws.
Marci Shapiro
Kimberly Shwachman was the JUF 2021 General Campaign Chair and past Co-Chair of the JUF Health and Human Services Commission. Kim serves on the Board of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. She is also a director on the JUF Women’s Board, and she is a Trustee of The Jewish Women's Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. Kim has served on numerous JUF committees, including Community Outreach and Engagement and Israel and Overseas. She has Chaired the Partnership Together Committee and the Missions Committee. Kim is a member of Congregation Beth Shalom in Northbrook. She lives in Northbrook with her husband Perry and they have 3 children, Blair, Danielle and Tyler.
Susan Silver
Melissa Weiss Spellman was born and raised in Skokie, IL. She is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, and her upbringing was based on tradition, education, tzedakah, tikkun olam, Israel and making sure that she could stand up and loudly say NEVER AGAIN. After attending Solomon Schechter Day School, public High School and the University of Illinois, she began a 25-year career in Senior Housing Administration. Melissa retired to pursue her true passions of education, tikkun olam and Israel. Over the years she served and still serves in many leadership and board positions nationally and within the greater Chicagoland Jewish community. Melissa has been actively involved with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago since 2001 and was the 2018 Vice President of Campaign for the Women’s Division. Melissa is blessed with a loving husband of 34 years, Marc, and they have 3 children. Zach is 31 living in Glencoe with his wife Sarah and their adorable daughter Goldie. Ari and Alana are 27-year-old twins, both living in New York. Ari is married to Dani and is a Urology resident at Mt. Sinai and Alana works in PR and Marketing and is getting married in July.
Ellen Saken Steinberg
Michael Steinberg
Pam Friend Szokol
Barbie Taylor
Jay Tcath
Michael H Traison is a partner in the Wall Street law firm of Cullen and Dykman LLP where he practices business law. He travels regularly between his homes in Warsaw, Tel Aviv and Chicago. For 35 years, he has been engaged in over 125 programs in Poland focused on remembrance, understanding, and the promotion of Jewish life and values. Traison is a recognized authority on Shoah history and Polish Jewish relations. A former teacher of history, Traison was awarded a degree in law by Michigan State University. He is a member of the board of governors of the University of Haifa, the International Association of Jewish lawyers and Jurists, and former member of the board of directors of Yidisher Visnshaftlekher Institut (YIVO) as well as many other NGOs. Traison writes and lectures widely on the subject of the relationship between the Polish and Jewish nations. He is a recipient of numerous awards including the Jerusalem Peace Award from Shaare Zedek Medical Center and the Cavaliers’ Cross from the president of Poland. His parents fled the pogroms of the Pale of Settlement in the early 20th century, and he is a proud citizen of both the United States and Israel.
Doug Weinberg
Melissa Widen
Andrea Yablon is a member of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago Board. She has chaired a wide variety of JUF's committees and campaigns, including Overall Planning & Allocations Committee, Community Building & Jewish Continuity Commission, Jewish Education Committee, Israel/Overseas Committee, Legacies and Endowments, Resource Development Policy Committee, Audit Committee, and Trades, Industries and Professions Campaign. She is active on several of the Jewish Federations of North America's (JFNA's) committees and is a past Chair of its Endowment Committee and former member of its Executive Committee and Board of Trustees, for which she chaired three JFNA emergency committees for assistance in Ukraine and Israel. She is a board member of the Norton & Elaine Sarnoff Center for Jewish Genetics, and she is a former trustee and Chair of the Grants Committee of the Michael Reese Health Trust. She has held leadership positions with the Chicago Sister City Committee for Petach Tikva, America-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Anshe Emet Synagogue, and the League of Women Voters of Chicago, and has held board and committee posts with the American Jewish Committee Chicago Chapter and the United Way. In 2018 Andrea was awarded the Julius Rosenwald Memorial Award, the Federation's highest honor. It is presented each year to an individual who has demonstrated a lifetime of outstanding dedication and service to the Federation and the entire Jewish community. She has been honored by The Hillels of Illinois and was appointed to the Illinois Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board now named the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. Andrea is president of Diversified Health Resources. She and her late husband, Marshall, have been longtime members of Anshe Emet Synagogue. She has one married daughter and two grandchildren.
Marcia Zakroff
Eteri Zaslavsky
