MEET THE OROT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Bardach
Marc N. Blumenthal
Sarina Gerson
Anat Geva
Deborah Hamilton
Carol Henriques
Lindy Hirschsohn
Lisa Portnoy
Bonnie Lovitt
Jeffrey S. Jacob
Dr. Janet Lynn Holmgren, Ph.D
David Bardach
David is a business leader focused on innovation, marketing, strategy, and problem solving. A healthcare entrepreneur, David was the COO and Chief Marketing Officer of TapCloud, a healthcare technology company using patient reported information to create a clinical early warning system. Previously, he led global innovation and ran numerous businesses at Kraft Foods – ranging from Philadelphia Cream Cheese to the iconic Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. David began his career at Procter & Gamble as a product development engineer working on “glamorous” products like Pepto Bismol and Metamucil. Currently David is a “leisure specialist” . . . an avid traveler – visiting 120+ countries and all 7 continents, a creative cook, and a fair-weather runner. An active volunteer and life-long learner, David works with a variety of organizations.
Marc Blumenthal
Recognized in Illinois Super Lawyers for 2007 and 2012-2023, and also recently in Leading Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America, under the category Franchise/Dealership, Marc has been practicing law and advising clients since August, 1981, concentrating in franchise, trademark and copyright law. In addition to maintaining his own law firm, Marc has become Senior Counsel for Loftus & Eisenberg, a litigation boutique, where he deals with franchise and intellectual property matters. Marc also serves as an expert witness and served as a consultant in franchise law, has authored and co-authored articles, and delivered lectures on many franchise topics. He divides his practice between litigation, transactional, disclosure work, and trademark prosecution nationally and internationally. Marc also serves on the board of the Jewish Law and Judaic Studies Program of the DePaul University College of Law, the Illinois Attorney General Franchise Advisory Board, and since 2011, the Small Business Advocacy Council. He received both his B.A. in Political Science and his Juris Doctor from Tulane University, and spent one semester in Jerusalem with Brandeis University's Jacob Hiatt Institute. Marc lives in Skokie with his wife, with whom he enjoys taking long bike rides.
Sarina Gerson
Sarina is the Director of Springboard, a teen engagement initiative at The Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. In this role she is responsible for working with community partners to create exciting new points of engagement for Jewish teens, while also strengthening the organizational infrastructure that supports teen programs and professionals. She began her career in the nonprofit sector, working in government affairs and public policy. Later she worked as a consultant focused on strategic planning and leadership development. She received her BA from Indiana University and her MBA from the University of Maryland.
Anat Geva
Anat Geva, has a B.Sc. in psychology from the University of Toronto, a Ph.D. in clinical and experimental psychology from the University of Michigan, and a J.D. from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. As a clinician, Anat provided psychotherapy treatment for adults and adolescents and worked in a mood and anxiety partial hospitalization program. As an attorney, she litigated civil rights and employment discrimination disputes; she had a particular interest in cases in which mental health was a key element. More recently, Anat has held leadership positions with Chicago Jewish Day School, a multi-denominational, progressive Jewish day school in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood. As Development Chair, she oversaw all aspects of the school’s annual campaign, which doubled under her leadership. From 2015 - 2019, Anat was President of the school’s Board of Trustees. In that capacity, she oversaw the school’s fundraising efforts, programming, strategic planning, and financial and budget planning. She oversaw the school’s move into a newly renovated campus and continues to play a leadership role in the school’s ongoing $30 million capital campaign. Anat is on the board of Camp Young Judaea Midwest and is a recent graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program. She lives in Evanston with her husband and two teenage children.
Deborah Hamilton
Deborah is passionate about high quality Jewish education for adults because she has experienced its impact in her own life. Deborah is a graduate of the Florence Melton Adult Jewish education program. Deborah earned her B.A. from University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from the University of Michigan and works as an attorney for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces the federal laws against employment discrimination. Deborah is mom to three girls, including one who is a member of Orot's inaugural class of high school students. Deborah, her husband Jim Rosenberg, and their family live in Evanston and are active members of the Jewish community there. Deborah also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Jewish Day School.
Carol Henriques
Carol Henriqueshas worked in the field of Organization Effectiveness consulting for over 25 years, and has led business transformations in a variety of industries. Carol obtained an MBA from Columbia University and a Bachelors’ from University of Texas. While Carol has worked inside of companies and consulting firms for much of her career, she started her career out of college in the Jewish Community working for National United Jewish Appeal. Since then she has stayed connected to the Jewish community, sending her children to Jewish Day School, actively participating in her synagogue, serving on the Board of JCFS Chicago, the Advisory Board of Orot Center for Jewish Learning, and frequently providing pro-bono consulting service to Jewish organizations. Personally, Carol not only enjoys learning life’s lessons from her three young adult kids, dear friends, two cats and a dog, but she loves cooking and entertaining, preferably with someone else doing the dishes.
Lindy Hirschsohn
Lindy is a seasoned strategy consultant with over 30 years’ experience in the private and non-profit sectors. As an alumna partner from the Boston Consulting Group, she has served as an advisor, board member and/or committee member to 16 secular and Jewish non-profit organizations. Lindy was a founding trustee of Chicago Jewish Women’s Foundation, was active at Bernard Zell Day School and Francis Parker, and has supported Anshe Emet Synagogue in a variety of roles. With a deep passion for educational equity, Lindy has also been deeply involved in Teach For America since its inception in Chicago, served on the board of Chicago Children’s Museum and is currently an active board member at VOCEL, a pioneer in early education benefitting teachers, principals, parents and children in Chicago’s low-income communities.Lindy is married to Chris Coetzee. Their pride and joy are their two adult children, Nick and Gaby. Lindy is equally passionate about mentoring millennial women and helping female-led start-ups with strategy, operations, messaging and fundraising.
Lisa Portnoy
Lisa (she/her) is a retired partner with Ernst & Young. She is currently the Board chair of Mishkan Chicago and a member of the International and Chicago regional councils of New Israel Fund. Lisa graduated from Franklin and Marshall College. Since retiring, Lisa spends her time traveling, visiting bakeries (check out @2hotcookieschicago) and cooking for friends.
Bonnie Lovitt
Bonnie was a Principal and Chief Financial Officer of a boutique real estate development company and the sole proprietor of a Family Business Office. She served on the Board of the American Jewish Committee and is a Founding Trustee of the Jewish Women's Foundation of Chicago. Now retired, Bonnie is a philanthropist focusing on Community Violence Interruption in under-resourced neighborhoods of Chicago and an advocate for trauma informed responses to violence impacting women and children in Chicago and Israel. Personally, Bonnie enjoys listening to live music, hiking and biking outdoors in nature and spending time with her grandchildren at the beach in Michigan.
Jeffrey Jacob
Jeffrey Jacob has over 25 years of strategic, financial, operational, and legal experience. Jeff was most recently the Chief Financial & Administrative Officer for the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America where in addition to overseeing the finances of the organization, he is responsible for Human Resources, Facilities, Legal/Risk, and General Administration. Before honing his skills as a lead finance professional, Jeff held numerous positions over a thirteen-year career at the New York Blood Center (NYBC). As a member of the Office of the President, Jeff was responsible for driving many of the corporate-wide strategic planning and business development initiatives for NYBC. From detailed business planning to working with the entire senior management team on specific functional projects, Jeff served an integral role to make certain that all aspects of the organization are considered when moving forward on initiatives. Before joining NYBC, Jeff worked with a number of major retail companies (Toys ‘R’ Us, Inc., 1-800-flowers.com) as well as serving as a business strategy consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers (now IBM Consulting Services). Jeff received his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, his Juris Doctor from New York Law School, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Economics from Rutgers College. One thing Jeffrey loves to do for fun--Watch the New Jersey Devils!
Dr. Janet Lynn Holmgren, Ph.D
Jan grew up in the Chicago area, went to college in Michigan at Oakland University, did her graduate work in New Jersey at Princeton, where she later served as Vice Provost and still later on the Princeton Board of Trustees. She has had a lifelong career as an educator and higher education leader with special emphasis on expanding opportunities for all students and learners, Her longest service to a single institution was her 20 year tenure as President and Susan Mills Professor at Mills College (Oakland, Ca) and is now designated as President Emerita. Currently she serves as a consultant and advisor to a variety of higher education and nonprofit organizations, among them D3 (drilling down on diversity), the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, and she has in the recent past chaired the boards of numerous national organizations, such as the American Council on Education, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, the National Council for Research on Women, and Upstart - an organization supporting innovative Jewish leadership. Jan has two daughters and five grandchildren and her favorite pastime is spending time with her 'grands.'