Jewish Philanthropy Podcast Dovid M Cohen

Topic: Learning from a Master
 
Guest: Richard M. Joel
 
Bio: 
 
Richard M. Joel became Yeshiva University’s fourth president on September 21, 2003, and was named Bravmann Family University Professor in April 2010. Over his tenure, President Joel built upon the illustrious tradition of this storied institution by placing a renewed emphasis on the student experience, academic excellence, Torah scholarship and communal involvement. Under his helm, Yeshiva University has built the Jacob and Dreizel Glueck Center for Jewish Study, established the Center for Jewish Future, established the Katz School of Graduate and Professional Studies, and developed programs in order to obtain an EMBA, Masters in Accounting, Masters in Quantitative Economics, Masters and PhD in Applied Mathematics, Masters in Marketing, and Masters in SLP. These initiatives have kept YU in the forefront of leading universities, along with expanding the use of technology by launching online education programs on the high school, college and graduate levels. 
With his characteristic charm and wit, President Joel can often be spotted around Yeshiva’s campuses engaging with students and learning about them; one of his great pleasures at Yeshiva is in serving on its faculty and teaching his weekly course. His devotion to the well-being of the students led to the establishing of new student life programs. Following his lead, the university has further developed a culture of warmth. President Joel is renowned as a charismatic leader and a captivating orator, and has traveled globally to dialogue with audiences on values-driven education, communal leadership, and Jewish identity. Just as Yeshiva University has embraced its role as the flagship institution of Modern Orthodoxy, President Joel has in many ways become more than a university president but a true spokesperson for the Jewish people. 
Growing up in Yonkers, NY, Joel earned his B.A. and J.D. from New York University where he was a Root-Tilden Scholar; he has received honorary doctorates from Boston Hebrew College and Gratz College. He also served as assistant district attorney and deputy chief of appeals in the Bronx, and Associate Dean and Professor of Law at YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. President Joel considers his greatest accomplishment marrying his best friend and partner, Esther, who holds a Ph.D. from Yeshiva’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. Together, they have six children, all of whom attended Yeshiva University, and eleven grandchildren, who are the great joy of their lives.
In this insightful episode we learn about an amazing career serving the Jewish community.

Topic: Diaspora Jewry
 
Guest: Chaya Yosovich
 
Bio: 
 
Chaya is the CEO of the Yael Foundation, a private charitable foundation, established by Uri and Yael Poliavich, dedicated to maintaining and developing Jewish educational institutions around the world. The foundation is committed to enabling Jewish children everywhere to receive a good general education including Jewish values and traditions for the betterment and future of our communities.
 
Chaya has throughout her illustrious career made big things happen at the intersection of philanthropy and large-scale impact investment. 
 
Her main areas of focus have been: 1. Beit Shemesh- urban-social development. 2. Shema Yisroel FSU- education & community building in the former Soviet bloc and Eastern Europe, and supporting refugees-émigrés in Israel. 3. Israeli Ministry of the Diaspora - building smart strategies for the implementation of a broad program to strengthen Jewish identity and nurture deeper connections between the Jewish Diaspora and Israel.
 
In this insightful episode we learn about the intersection of Israeli & Diaspora Jewry through the eye of someone who is leading the charge.

Topic: Columbia University & Antisemitism
 
Guest: David Schizer
 
Bio: 
 
David M. Schizer served as a dean of the Law School from 2004 to 2014 and is one of the nation’s leading tax scholars. His research also focuses on nonprofits, energy law, and corporate governance.He is the author of How to Save the World in Six (Not So Easy) Steps: Bringing Out the Best in Nonprofits. He is a founder and co-director of the Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy, a founder and co-chair of the Center for Israeli Legal Studies, and a founder and co-chair of the Charles Evans Gerber Transactional Studies Center. 

At 35, Schizer was the youngest dean in the Law School’s history and the longest serving dean since 1971. During his tenure as dean, Schizer recruited 43 new faculty members, doubled the school’s annual fundraising, led a $353 million capital campaign, helped the Law School navigate the financial crisis, oversaw the construction of Jerome Greene Hall’s ninth floor, significantly reduced the school’s student-faculty ratio, and forged a close relationship with Columbia Business School by introducing an accelerated J.D./MBA program and establishing the Richman Center. He launched centers and programs on national security, intellectual property, climate change, global legal transformation, Israeli law, and other cutting edge issues; fostered innovation in the upper-year curriculum; and increased support for students choosing careers in government and public interest organizations. In addition, Schizer developed partnerships, known as “Global Alliances,” with the University of Oxford, the University of Amsterdam, Sciences Po, and Paris I.
Schizer has won the Willis L.M. Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching and has served as a visiting professor at Yale, Harvard, and Georgetown. He also has taught at Tokyo University, Hebrew University, the Interdisciplinary Center in Herziliya, and Ono Academic College.
Before joining the Law School faculty in 1998, Schizer was a law clerk for Judge Alex Kozinski on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’59 on the U.S. Supreme Court. Schizer began his career in the tax department of Davis Polk & Wardwell.
While on a three-year leave from the Law School from 2017 to 2019, Schizer served as executive vice president and CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), a century-old international humanitarian organization. Schizer redesigned JDC’s planning process to allocate its $360 million annual budget more strategically, lightened JDC’s infrastructure, relied more on data and on other insights from the business world, increased and diversified JDC’s philanthropic support, and raised the organization’s public profile. 
Schizer serves on the boards of the Ramaz School and the Columbia Law Review, and he also has served on the boards of other nonprofits, as well as public and privately-owned companies, including 92NY, Seacor Holdings Inc. (an NYSE-listed company), Feil Properties, and the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In this powerful episode we discuss how David is co-leading the anti-semitism task force on campus.
 
On the heels of congressional hearings this week where David appeared, this is a can't miss episode.
 
***For a complimentary copy of David's new book on non-profits
send an email to IsraeliLegalStudies@law.columbia.edu
 
How to Save the World in Six (Not So Easy) Steps: Bringing Out the Best in Nonprofits

 

Topic: Senator Joseph Lieberman OBM
 
Guest: Rabbi Daniel Cohen
 
Bio: 
 
Rabbi Cohen has served in the rabbinate for over thirty years and currently serves as senior Rabbi at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, CT, the largest modern orthodox synagogue in New England. Rabbi Cohen is author of What Will They Say About You When You Are Gone? Creating a Life of Legacy, and the newly released book The Secret of the Light, published by Union Square Publishing. He is in the midst of writing another book with former NBA All Star and Olympic Gold medalist Allan Houston. Engaging in hundreds of end of life conversations and delivering thousands of eulogies provide him with a unique perspective on the essence of a meaningful life, Rabbi Cohen speaks nationally on leading a life of legacy. He is co-host with Reverend Greg Doll of the nationally syndicated Radio Show, The Rabbi and the Reverend. He enjoys doing magic shows, playing sports, writing, searching for God, and living life with joy and ever-present smile! Rabbi Cohen and Diane are the grateful parents of six daughters and multiple grandchildren.

 
**A wonderful episode commemorating an extraordinary Jewish role model and a life well lived.

Topic: Sports & Philanthropy
 
Guest: Saul Garlick
 
Bio: 
 
Saul Garlick’s career has been dedicated to how technology and human connection can intersect to drive engagement and progress in live experiences and education. His interest in merging digital solutions with the power of personal interactions has not only redefined educational models but has also elevated fan experiences at major sports events. As Co-founder & CEO at Fabric, Saul has built Fabric into a fast-emerging leader in the mixed-reality space for live events. Fabric's platform allows teams, leagues, venues, and events to publish and deliver gamified mixed-reality experiences instantly at live events while collecting real-time data and analytics from fans. Fabric’s customers can easily launch loyalty and rewards programs, payment integrations, social interactions, and much more at any time and any place. Fabric is currently working with NBA, MLB, and NHL among others. Fabric underscores the potential of harnessing technology to foster deeper, more immersive human connections during live events.
 
Prior to Fabric, Saul founded Unleesh, a digital platform that reimagines engagement through an experiential learning management system and custom development agency and ThinkImpact, a global immersion program, emphasizing teamwork and innovation to build new ventures in rural economies. For several years he led the expansion of a charter school network in West Africa from one school to 19 schools, serving 4,000 students. 
 
Saul is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at ArtCenter College of Design and served as Social-Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the University of Southern California's Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab. He is a board member of the West Coast Sports Medicine Foundation and Johns Hopkins Second Decade Society. Saul is a Truman Scholar and Inc. 30 under 30 entrepreneur, and graduated from Johns Hopkins University and its School of Advanced International Studies. He lives in LA with his wife and two sons.
 

**In this episode we learn about a fascinating new technological solution in the world of sports.
Saul has been a contributor across multiple philanthropic pursuits.

Topic: Comedy & Philanthropy
 
Guest: Modi Rosenfeld
 
Bio: 
 
Voted one of the top 10 comedians in New York City by The Hollywood Reporter, Modi is one of the comedy circuit’s most sought after performers. Featured on HBO, CBS, NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, and E! Entertainment, Modi has received rave reviews in The New York Times, Time Out NY and The New York Post.

Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Modi emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of seven and was raised on Long Island. After graduating from Boston University, he worked as an investment banker until his first open-mic night made him realize that stand-up was his true calling. Equipped with a sharp wit and a knack for reading an audience, Modi has gone on to become a successful fixture in New York's vibrant comedy scene, often doing bits that incorporate his heritage, and he is a hit with diverse Jewish audiences as well as fans of all backgrounds and beliefs.

Now a regular performer at the New York and Los Angeles comedy clubs, Modi also headlines around the country and across the globe. 
 
Modi has played himself on HBO's Crashing and Netflix's When Jews Were Funny. He's also appeared in several feature films and played leading roles in two: Waiting for Woody Allen, which won the LA Film Festival, and Stand Up, a feature-length film. In 2018, Mayor Bill De Blasio declared June 26th 'Mordechi Modi Rosenfeld Day' in the city of New York for his accomplishments and contributions to the artistic community.
To clarify a point made in the audio recording about the recommended percentage of charitable contributions, The Jewish Future Promise encourages individuals that if any charitable contributions are made upon passing, whether that be $10 or $10 million, at least 50% will be allocated to Jewish causes and/or the State of Israel. To make the promise, please visit: https://jewishfuturepromise.org/sign-the-promise. 

 
In this riveting episode we learn how to enjoy the art of giving back.
 
Thank you to the Jewish Future Promise for arranging this episode.
https://jewishfuturepromise.org/