Federation Leadership

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Danny Grossman

Chief Executive Officer

Danny, a successful business owner and entrepreneur, has served extensively on the Federation’s Board of Directors, Endowment and other committees, as well as on numerous Jewish and non-Jewish boards. He brings decades of experience as a leader in the Bay Area’s Jewish and civic communities, and many years of business and public sector leadership. Previously, he was CEO of SLOW Food for Fast Lives and CEO and founder of Wild Planet Entertainment. He also served for seven years in the U.S. Foreign Service, as a diplomat overseas and at the Department of State. He holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University and received his B.A. in Russian and East European Studies from Yale University. 

Joy Sisisky

Chief Philanthropy Officer

Before joining the Federation, Joy served as executive director of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York. Previously, she was selected as the 2007-2008 Ralph I. Goldman Fellow in International Jewish Communal Service at JDC, for which she lived and worked in Ukraine and Ethiopia. Joy is co-founder of Do Good Ukraine!, an organization dedicated to building civil society through volunteerism in Ukraine. Earlier, she served as the associate director for national women’s philanthropy at United Jewish Communities, where she worked with Jewish federations in the development of gender-based fundraising. Joy graduated from Brandeis University and earned a double M.A. in Jewish Communal Service and Public Administration at the joint program of Hebrew Union College and the University of Southern California.

Holden Lee

Chief Financial and Investment Officer

Holden oversees the mechanics and operations of Endowment and Philanthropic Services, as well as the Investment Committee and the Federation's independent investment consultant, Greycourt Advisors. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Cambridge Associates, advising endowments of mission-driven organizations on their investment portfolios and developing impact investing frameworks. Holden's career includes serving as a nonprofit CFO and as a private equity investor. He earned an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and an A.B. in politics from Princeton University.

Sue Reinhold, Ph.D.

Managing Director of Philanthropy

Sue Reinhold, Ph.D. is the practice lead of Federation Philanthropy Partners which advises, educates, and inspires donors through a Jewish lens using donor advised funds and supporting foundations. Sue co-founded and ran a B Corporation-certified social enterprise, independent investment advisory firm North Berkeley Investment Partners, and successfully transitioned the firm to her successors. Sue was also a co-founder of The Kitchen SF, and served as its first board treasurer. Sue’s entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial career spans twenty-five years, and includes roles as a market researcher and commentator, equity analyst, institutional portfolio manager, mutual fund manager, and corporate strategy team lead. Sue studies and teaches Torah at every opportunity.

Julie Golde

Senior Director of Community Impact

Julie has been working for the Federation in planning and community impact for over 9 years. During this time, she has collaborated with community partners on Israel and Global grantmaking, Jewish informal education and engagement locally, and, most recently, as the Director of Grants, helping to implement strategic grantmaking and community planning on behalf of the Federation. Previously, Julie served as the East Bay Regional Director of JCRC, among holding other positions in the Jewish community. Her passion for working in the Jewish world began after living in Israel. She has a B.S. in Speech and Hearing Science from Arizona State University and an M.A. in Special Education from San Francisco State University.

Kerry Philp

Senior Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing

Kerry oversees all aspects of marketing and communications and brings over a decade of experience working with local, national and international companies and non-profit organizations. Most recently she worked with the United Nations World Food Programme in Rome, Italy. Previously, she oversaw marketing initiatives for Schwab Charitable, which raised over $1 billion annually, benefiting over 100,000 charitable organizations. Kerry served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Albania and Guinea and holds an M.A. from Stanford University and a B.A from Allegheny College.  

Matt Youngner

Managing Director of Philanthropy

As the Managing Director of Philanthropy at the Federation, Matt Youngner is responsible for all aspects of fundraising that generates more than $20 Million annually. Prior to coming to San Francisco, Matt worked for  the Jewish Federation of Columbus. His last role in Columbus was Vice President, Campaign Operations.

After graduating from Ohio State University with a degree in philosophy, Matt co-founded a children's health education nonprofit called Road of Life: Cancer Prevention for Kids. Road of Life created health education and cancer prevention curricula that were delivered directly to educators and reached more than 250,000 children in classrooms around the country.   

Katherine Tick

Leadership Development Director

Katherine has worked in the Bay Area Jewish community for more than 25 years.  She brings an expertise in volunteer engagement and professional development, having raised over $40 million throughout her career.  After 15 years of service in both the Jewish and non-Jewish nonprofit community in both fundraising and volunteer management, she returned to the Federation to expand leadership development efforts.  Her three years of volunteer service in Israel helped inspire her commitment to a career in Jewish communal service. Katherine holds a B.A in History from UC Berkeley and a MSW and Certificate in Jewish Communal Service from the University of Michigan.

Steve Liebman

Chief Human Resources Officer

Steve came to the Federation with a wealth of experience having worked previously as an elementary school teacher, a corporate trainer, a coach, a facilitator, and a human resources expert for many years. He has held roles in HR, Training and Development, and Organizational and Process Development with the United Way of the Bay Area, Future Publishing, American President Lines, and Bank of America. 

In his current position with the Federation, he encourages staff to collaborate, learn, and grow together as a team and professionally in their own careers. He has  a BA from Antioch University in Communications and a coaching degree from New Ventures West.

Wendy Verba

Senior Program Officer

Wendy leads the Federation’s partnerships with Jewish organizations and works with them to build “cultures of belonging” across the Jewish landscape. She also facilitates grantmaking and manages a portfolio of agency relationships, including overnight camps.  Previously, she worked as an independent consultant with such clients as the Federation, Jewish Vocational Services, the San Francisco Foundation and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, to help them design, fund, and launch programs that improve life in the Bay Area.  Wendy has served on the boards of UpStart, the PJCC and the Berger Institute for Work, Family and Children. She received an M.A. in American Studies from the University of Iowa and a B.A. in History from Claremont McKenna College. 

 

Board of Directors 2018 - 2019

Jim Heeger
Chair 

Mark Abelson
Chair, Israel Committee

Julie Arnheim
At-Large Member

Ann Peckenpaugh Becker
At-Large Member

Valli Benesch
Treasurer
Chair, Finance & Administration Committee

Matt Berler
Chair, Investment Committee

Richard Fiedotin
Immediate Past Chair

Steven Ganz
Chair, Teen Initiative Advisory Committee

Sam Goldman
At-Large Member

Nancy Grand
Past Chair

 

 

 

Oded Hermoni
At-Large Member

Tom Kasten
Past Chair

Laura Lauder
Chair, Endowment Committee

Sara Gaviser Leslie
Chair, Board Nominating Committee
Chair, Marketing Committee

Alexander Lurie
At-Large Member

Sarah Persitz
At-Large Member

Varda Rabin
At-Large Member

Alex Rayter
Chair, Leadership Development Committee

Tali Ronen
At-Large Member

Sophie Ross
At-Large Member

 

 

 

 

David Saxe
At-Large Member

Jim Scheinman
At-Large Member

Lynn Sedway
At-Large Member 

Arthur Slepian
At-Large Member

Susie Sorkin
Chair, Executive Grantmaking Committee

Roselyne Swig
At-Large Member

Bob Tandler
At-Large Member

Carol Weitz
At-Large Member

Howard Zack
Secretary