FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Rabbi Ellen Flax,
Director, The Hadassah Foundation
212-451-6245

February 7, 2017 - NEW YORK — The Hadassah Foundation, which invests in social change to empower girls and women, is excited to announce eight new board members, hailing from Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington State, and Wisconsin.

The Hadassah Foundation seeks to augment the work of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, by investing in social change to support women and girls in Israel and the American Jewish community. The Foundation is a philanthropic pioneer in the fields of improving economic security for low-income Israeli women and developing leadership and self-esteem programs for adolescent Jewish girls and young women in the United States. Marking its “Chai” Anniversary (the number 18 in Hebrew) in 2017, the Hadassah Foundation has awarded more than $7.6 million in grants to over 90 nonprofit organizations.

The Foundation’s new board members (their biographies are below) are:  Jacquie Bayley, of Seattle, WA; Sue Beller, of New York City; Elizabeth Brenner, of Milwaukee, WI; Roz Holberg, of Philadelphia, PA; Sarah Okin, of Ann Arbor, MI; Diane Sigel, of Seattle, WA; Roz Garber Toledano, of Chestnut Hill, MA; and Roselle Ungar, of Metairie, LA.

Julie Morris, the Chair of the Foundation, said: “These highly-accomplished women will be wonderful additions to our Board.”
Jacquie Bayley, of Seattle, WA is the immediate Past Region President of the Pacific Northwest Region of Hadassah, and is a former President of the Seattle Chapter of Hadassah.  In her community, Jacquie has served on the boards of the Jewish Day School, Jewish Education Council, Seattle International Children’s Festival and the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.  She is also on the board of the Shalom Hartmann Institute of Jerusalem, Israel. Jacquie has a BA from the University of British Columbia and a Sales and Marketing Certificate.  Her professional work included Sales, Sales Management, Promotions, Incentives, Advertising and Public Administration.

Sue Beller, of New York City, has been a member of the Hadassah National Board since 2009.  Her roles on the National Board have included: Strategic Planning Chair, Young Judaea Chair, and Southern New Jersey Region President. Sue is also a board member of the National School Climate Center (NSCC) which helps schools integrate crucial social and emotional learning with academic instruction to enhance student performance and improve the overall school environment.  Sue worked at Bell Labs/Bellcore/Telcordia for 17 years as a systems engineer and as a Director.  She received her Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University, and her Masters degree in Engineering Economic Systems from Stanford University. 

Elizabeth (Betsy) Brenner, of Milwaukee, WI, a 39-year veteran of the newspaper industry, was named publisher of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in January 2005. For nearly 12 years, she directed Wisconsin’s largest newspaper, websites, community newspapers and related businesses, and served as a regional president for Journal Sentinel’s new owner, the Gannett Company, until her retirement in June 2016.

Prior to coming to Milwaukee, Brenner was publisher of The News Tribune in Tacoma, WA and The SUN in Bremerton, WA. She had senior leadership responsibilities at The Denver Rocky Mountain News; The Miami Herald; and The New York Times. Brenner attended North­western University, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1976 and a Masters of Management (MBA) in 1978. She began her newspaper career as a city news reporter for The Chicago Tribune in 1977.

She serves on the boards of The Medical College of Wisconsin; The Boys & Girls Club, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and is a member of the Greater Milwaukee Committee.  In 2012, she was the President of ‘ABCD’- After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, a Milwaukee area resource for cancer patients and their families; she was re-appointed to serve as Vice-Chair in December 2016. Since 2006, she has co-chaired Milwaukee’s United Way Teen Pregnancy Prevention Oversight Committee, a community-wide effort that successfully reduced teen pregnancy rates by -50% in eight years.  She formerly represented media interests nationally on the boards of the Associated Press and the Newspaper Association of America.

Roz Holberg of Center City, Philadelphia, is the former President of Hadassah of Greater Philadelphia, has served on the National Board of Hadassah, and in 2015 and 2016, served as the Chair of Brand Marketing in the Marketing and Communications Division. She had a long career in marketing and advertising, working with clients such as Nutri/System, Mazda, Marriott Hotel and Steelcase Furniture. She retired as a Vice President/Management Supervisor from the Philadelphia office of True North Communications. She has a BA in Business Administration majoring in marketing and economics and an MBA in organizational management from Temple University.

Sarah Okin, of Ann Arbor, MI,  is the co-founder of Kava Solutions, an HR strategy firm that supports clients to enhance talent. Having studied, lived and launched businesses in London, England, Sarah brings international experience and strong business acumen to the Hadassah Foundation Board of Directors. Most recently, Sarah worked for Jewish Family Services in Ann Arbor, where she launched several revenue-generating endeavors to secure long-term financial sustainability for the agency. Sarah has a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan State, and an MBA from Regent’s University, London.

Diane Sigel, of Seattle, served for more than 30 years as CEO for her family business, Duffle Bag, Inc., a small chain of retail stores specializing in camping, hunting, fishing goods and clothing.  For most of her adult life, Diane has also dedicated herself to sharing her skills and her knowledge as a mentor, advisor, sounding board and shoulder to lean on for friends, colleagues and organizations from Temple Beth El in Tacoma to local, regional and national levels of Hadassah to arts organizations and academic councils.  Diane grew up in Tacoma. She graduated from Western Washington State University/Fairhaven College with a degree in Business, joined the family business in 1977, and assumed the role of CEO shortly thereafter.  

Roz Garber Toledano, of Chestnut Hill, MA, is the former President and CEO of Garber Travel Services, Inc.  She was the primary architect of the Company's vision as well as its chief strategist and executive leader. Possessing more than 30 years of organizational leadership experience, she oversaw the management and development of the Company's staff, services, operations and resources. Earlier in her career, Roz served as Executive Director of Hadassah in Boston and, prior to that, as Assistant Director of the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts, and Executive Director of Temple Beth Shalom Religious School in Needham, Massachusetts and Temple Emanu-el in Toronto, Canada. Roz holds an M.A. from Brandeis University, a B.A. from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Travel School of America. She is an Executive in Residence at the Brandeis International Business School, and recently served on the Boards of the Jewish Women's Archive and Mayyim Hayyim, Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Center. She currently serves on the boards of the International Business School of Brandeis University and The Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston.

Roselle M. Ungar, of Metairie, LA, is the Executive Director of Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans (JFS). Roselle is also the immediate president of the New Orleans Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  Prior to her current position at JFS, Roselle served as the Director of Community and Philanthropic Affairs for Crescent Bank & Trust. In this position, Roselle directed the execution of existing as well as new community and philanthropic initiatives by serving as a liaison and/or consultant. Roselle was the Assistant Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans for 8 years including when Hurricane Katrina affected the greater New Orleans area in August 2005. She remained in this position until October 2006 working closely with staff and community leaders to reconnect and rebuild, post Hurricane Katrina. Roselle is a former National Vice-President of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America. She currently serves on the National Assembly as an advisor to the Development Division. Roselle is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), and a graduate of the Association of Fundraising Professional’s Faculty Training Academy. She is also a registered nurse and graduated from the Touro Infirmary School of Nursing.

The Hadassah Foundation, founded in 1998 by Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is an investor in social change to empower girls and women in Israel and the American Jewish community. For more information, visit www.hadassahfoundation.org.