BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Bryan Weingarten
President
Bryan is a New York native that currently lives in Aspen, Colorado. Bryan is the retired Founder and CEO of WP Realty, a shopping center development company. Bryan has over 25 years of experience in the real estate industry, specifically in identifying acquisition targets, negotiating agreements and cultivating national corporate leasing contacts. Bryan graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1982 with a B.S. in Finance.
Bryan is a champion of JOIN Lifeline
Murray Dayan
Vice President
Murray is Finance Director of Bluestar Alliance, oversees all financial operations of the group and participates in deal analysis. He joined the company in April 2018 with eight years’ experience as Finance Director of a number of retailers, most recently Jacques Torres Adventures, a manufacturer and retailer of chocolate; and Ruby and Jenna, a retailer of womenswear. Prior to that, Murray spent 20 years in the investment industry; five years as Senior Analyst and Retail Team Leader at Janus Capital, and fifteen years as an equity analyst and co-portfolio manager at Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder. He graduated the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. Economics and holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. Murray has been involved with JOIN for over twenty years. He is married with four children, and now lives in New York City.
Murray is a champion of Our Own Way
Doug Cohen
Doug is a Managing Director at Fiduciary Trust International and a senior member of the Portfolio Management Team. Doug is responsible for delivering investment advisory services including asset allocation, portfolio construction and other portfolio management-related services. Prior to joining FTI, Doug co-founded Eachwin Capital in New York and was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. Doug received his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Doug currently lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.
Doug is a champion of JOIN Literacy
Daniel Goldberg
Daniel is Managing Director of IKOR of North Shore LI,. Daniel serves as a patient advocate and life care managing consultant to seniors and individuals with special needs. He gives these individuals a voice by preserving their wishes and helping them achieve the best quality of life considering their medical and financial status. After 30+ years on Wall Street, including his time as CEO and Founder of Velo Capital Management, LCC he decided to change careers in order to make a difference in people's lives. He graduated the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics and Finance and holds an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. Daniel currently lives with his family in the North Shore of Long Island.
Jeffrey Kleinhaus
Jeffrey is a lifelong New Yorker, supporter of Israel and proud member of the Jewish Community. He works at SNA Displays as Director of Finance and Accounting. As a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York he brings financial statement expertise to the board of directors. His education includes an MBA from Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business and a Bachelors of Arts from Brandeis University. Jeffrey enjoys to play hockey as well as cheer on his New York Sports teams. He also enjoys volunteering and networking for charitable causes.
Jeff is a champion of JOIN Lifeline
Anna Knoll
Anna is a Senior Manager at Salesforce, where she leads a team of Technical Architects focused on HealthCare and Life Sciences Sales efforts. Anna’s intimate relationship with Israel began when she moved to Israel, from Moscow, as part of the second class of Na’ale students from the former Soviet Union. Anna served in the Israeli Air Force, and then received her BA in Linguistics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before moving to the U.S. to pursue a career in the digital space. Anna studied Computational Linguistics in San Diego State University’s graduate program, and holds an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business. In addition to supporting JOIN Israel’s mission, Anna involves herself in other charitable causes including: pro bono work with Kivunim (an organization in Israel that helps young adults with disabilities to learn how to live independently, fundraising for Breast Cancer awareness, and various other causes . Anna currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and their three children.
Anna is a champion of Bolster Education
Daniel Nir
Daniel was the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Gracie Capital as well as a founding board member of JOIN Israel. Daniel received a BS in Economics and a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania. He also attended the Rothberg School of international studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He and his wife Jill Braufman are New York natives who recently moved to Miami, Florida. Daniel and Jill are active philanthropists who focus on Israel and the Arts. They both hold multiple board member positions.
Daniel is a champion of Bolster Education
Lauren Rieder
Lauren is a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. She is the Chief Risk Officer for the Investment Management business and is also Head of Operational Risk for the Institutional and Securities Group. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Lauren spent 15 years at RBS in various risk management roles and 3 years as an auditor at Deloitte & Touche. Lauren holds a BS in Accounting from New York University, Stern School of Business and is a Certified Public Accountant. Lauren was born and raised in Israel and is excited to leverage JOIN Israel as a way of giving back to her community. In addition, Lauren is very engaged in diversity and inclusion programs as a Board Member for Girl Be Heard. She lives in Greenwich, CT with her husband Mark and 11-year-old daughter Zoe.
Lauren is a champion of Middle School to University
Selig Sechzer
Selig Sechzer, PhD, has had a distinguished career in economics and risk management for top financial institutions, focusing on aligning fund returns and risks with client goals and regulations. After retiring from BlackRock in 2022, where he enhanced risk oversight in various financial products to mitigate the impact of recent financial crises, he now contributes to JOIN Israel. Previously, he held pivotal roles at Merrill Lynch and Alliance Capital, developing risk models and guiding teams through financial upheavals. A former Assistant Professor of International Economics at Rutgers University, Dr. Sechzer has a strong academic background with a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, he volunteers at SAVE animal rescue and in the past has worked with US veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce and volunteered as a First Responder, demonstrating his commitment to community service. Other interests include travel, vegetarian cooking, animals, and history.
Selig is a champion of Educational Consulting and JOIN Lifeline
Rick Smilow
Rick is the President, CEO and Owner of the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City and Los Angeles. As of 2019, ICE is the largest, accredited, for-profit culinary education brand in America. Rick built the Institute after acquiring a predecessor business, Peter Kump’s New York Cooking school in 1995. Prior to ICE, Mr. Smilow was an entrepreneur in the pet food business and held product management positions at Nabisco Brands USA. Rick earned a BA degree in history from Emory University and an MBA in marketing from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. Rick is also a board member of City Harvest and STREETS International (Vietnam). As well as a member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), on the Advisory Council for the Yale Sustainable Farm, and a board member/ partner in Dinex, Chef Daniel Boulud’s NYC based, international restaurant group. Smilow co-authored the book Culinary Careers: How to Get Your Dream Job in Food.
Rick is a champion of JOIN Lifeline
Neil Wessan
Neil is the Group Head and Managing Director of CIT Capital Markets, a financial holding company with more than $58 billion in assets. Neil’s areas of expertise include senior bank facilities and private high yield. He has held senior-level positions with various financial institutions over the course of his 35+ year career. Neil received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He and his wife Sharon reside in Westport, Connecticut, where they raised their two children, Eric and Lauren. A long-standing board member of JOIN Israel, Neil has also served on many other boards related to Jewish charities, including the Federation of Jewish Philanthropy of Upper Fairfield County and The Conservative Synagogue of Westport. JOIN Israel’s ability to see results way beyond its scale has been the key attraction for Neil. Over his 25-year involvement, he is proud of the organization’s ability to punch above its weight and provide meaningful help to those in need.
Neil is a champion of Educational Consulting