YOUNG LEADERSHIP BOARD
Idan Baum
Idan is currently an Account Executive at Salesforce’s Slack Mid Market Sales division in the NYC office. In his role, he manages and grows existing US accounts as well as brings in new customers. Prior to Salesforce, he held various Enterprise Sales and Account Management roles at Bloomberg LP, ADP and P&G in New York working with global clients and prospects.
Idan holds a BBA, Summa Cum Laude from Zicklin School of Business of Baruch College (CUNY). He is originally from Israel where he was a Research Team Leader in IDF’s Military Intelligence and later joined Eltel Technologists as a Sales Solutions Consultant before moving to NYC.
He is very passionate about philanthropy, mentorship and giving back to the community and his involvement includes Salesforce and Slack volunteering programs, CUNY & Baruch College Alumni Networks, Sigma Alpha Delta Honor Society, UJA-Federation of New York and previously Wiley, Pearson and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Yehudis Gottesfeld
Yehudis is a chemical engineer with a background in nuclear engineering and environmental engineering. She conentrates her work in the energy sector and has a conducted chemical engineering and environmental engineering research in various roles at Columbia University and The City College of New York. Yehudis has volunteered her time helping others with through multiple non-profits organizations for over 10 years.
Heath Hartman
Heath is from Westchester, New York and has lived in New York City since graduating college in 2017. Heath graduated from The University of Michigan with a BBA from the Ross School of Business. Heath currently works at One Madison Group as an Investment Associate where he is responsible for the sourcing, due diligence, and deal execution of new investments, as well as portfolio management of current investments. Before joining One Madison Group, Heath spent four years at Citi in Investment Banking. Heath is most passionate about supporting JOIN's Literacy project.
Eli Hanovitch
Eli, originally from Melbourne, Australia, has lived in Israel for the last 12 years. While in Israel, Eli completed his undergraduate degree at IDC in Herzlia and upon returning from law school abroad, worked for 5 years as a lawyer with an international law firm in Tel Aviv focusing on cross-border corporate activities on behalf of Israeli companies. Having moved to NY in early 2020, Eli is passionate about continuing to help Israel and in facilitating support for the sectors of society that need it most.
Moti Iluz
Thomas Isaacs
Thomas is currently a management consultant at Boston Consultant Group (BCG) in their NYC office. Prior to BCG, Thomas was a management consultant at PwC, advising private equity and corporate clients through mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. Thomas received a BS in Business Administration from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University. Thomas was born in Sydney, Australia, grew up in Las Vegas, NV, and currently resides in downtown Manhattan. Thomas is most passionate about supporting JOIN's Hot Lunch project.
Adam Koeppel
Adam was born and raised in New York City and has lived there ever since graduating college in 2019. Adam graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Public Policy and a minor in Social Entrepreneurship. Adam currently works at J.P. Morgan, where he is responsible for the due diligence and manager selection of private equity, credit and real estate fund investments.Adam is most passionate about supporting JOIN's Big Brother project.
Evan Stafford
Evan, originally from Los Angeles, has lived in New York for the past 5 years and now splits time between NYC and San Diego. Evan graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelors of Business and has since worked in a variety of executive roles in the tech industry. Evan founded his own company, DRYVRS, which was later acquired by a major rideshare company and has since held executive roles at Ford Motor Company and LeafLink. Evan is most passionate about supporting JOIN Israel’s Soup Kitchen program in Jerusalem.
Adam Sussman
Adam V. Sussman is a partner in the Private Investment Funds practice of Goodwin Procter LLP in New York and a member of the firm's Private Equity group. Adam counsels private fund sponsors on all aspects of their business, including the organization, marketing/fundraising and ongoing operation, compliance and management of private equity funds, hedge funds, co-investment funds and managed accounts, as well as the firm ownership and upper-tier organization of asset managers. He also advises institutional investors with respect to their participation in private equity and other alternative asset funds.
Before becoming a lawyer, Adam was an analyst at an early-stage investment fund and business incubator based in New York’s Silicon Alley and served in the War Room of Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign as part of the Media and Rapid Response Team. Adam earned his B.A., with Distinction, in History and Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale University, and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and holds an M.A. concentrating in Political Economy. Adam is excited to be part of an organization that leverages private resources to access and enhance available programs and improve the lives of vulnerable populations in Israel.
Melissa Sussman
Melissa Sussman, DO, MPH is currently a Family Medicine Resident Physician at Mount Sinai South Nassau. Melissa attended osteopathic medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), where she had the opportunity to spend time working in private and public hospitals and villages in Mumbai, India. She also spent a research year working at The Dr. Oz Show as a Medical Student Researcher from 2020-2021 where she covered breaking COVID-19 news, provided medical research for health, public health, and nutrition topics as well as participated in live segments on the show. Melissa has a recently published paper in the Hindawi Journal of Case Reports in Psychiatry and is currently working on manuscripts in Dermatology, and Lifestyle Medicine. Melissa graduated with a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she studied Theater and Psychology.
Following college, Melissa performed in Off-Broadway shows and commercials in NYC and also had a background in breast cancer research at the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. Melissa transitioned her career back into the field of science by working as a Head Biotech Analyst at Actin Biomed, an Orphan Disease therapeutics investment firm. This job inspired Melissa to learn more about the FDA, regulatory process, policy and public health. Melissa then obtained her Masters of Public Health at the CUNY School of Public Health prior to medical school. Melissa is thrilled to be joining an organization which focuses on helping those in need in Israel.
Catherine Weingarten
Liora Zaidner
Liora was raised in Jerusalem, did national service at Nefesh B’Nefesh and then a Bachelors in Computer Science at Bar Ilan University. Liora started working at Google as a student and relocated to New York City.