Founding Executive Director of the Good People Fund, Naomi assumed her role after more than 10 year as the Managing Director of the Ziv Tzedakah Fund until its closing in early Spring 2008. In that capacity Naomi worked closely with Danny Siegel, Ziv’s founder and chair, to guide Ziv’s expansion and growth. Originally trained and employed as a high school history teacher, Naomi has had several entrepreneurial experiences while raising her children. These included successful kosher catering, plant decorating and care, and needlework businesses. In 1982, Naomi and her husband assumed ownership of a family retail business which they ran until 1996 when the business closed and Naomi became Ziv’s first full-time employee. Naomi and her husband, Gerry are the parents of a son and daughter and grandparents of 5.

Debbie Klein joined the staff of the Good People Fund in March 2011. On February 1, 2013 she assumed the role of Associate Director, working side by side with the organization’s Executive Director and Board of Trustees.

An attorney who practiced law for several years at Davis Polk & Wardwell, Debbie has been an active volunteer in her synagogue and other Jewish community institutions. Prior to law school, she served as a corps member in the Teach for America Program. A graduate of Stanford University, Debbie holds a law degree from Yale Law School. She and her husband, Jeremy, reside in Short Hills, New Jersey, with their three daughters, Hannah, Abby and Molly.

Dr. Arthur Brenner is a historian who teaches history and Judaic Studies at the University at Albany. He previously worked at Siena College, William Paterson University, and the City University of New York. He is active in a number of Jewish community institutions in Albany, where he resides with his wife and four children, and was a founding member and past president of Jewish Educational Resources of New York (JERNY).

Born in 1950 to German-Jewish refugees, Peter is a former New York City resident who moved to the Midwest almost 40 years ago and currently resides in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. He has been a board member of Temple Israel Ner Tamid for more then 25 years and the social action chair since 2005. After retiring in 2003 from a successful art framing business, he directed his energies toward furthering the cause of social justice. Peter leads by example: Among his accomplishments, he has organized his Temple’s ongoing Friday night Peanut Butter and Judaism (PB&J) project. Sandwiches are distributed to homeless people and shelters, along with donated food items from area restaurants, five nights a week. In 2006, Peter was honored as his Temple’s Man of the Year. In 2010 he was selected as an “Upstander” by the international group Facing History/Facing Ourselves. He has two sons, Adam and Joel.

Gordon Fuller has been the rabbi of Congregation Agudath Jacob in Waco, Texas, since July, 2004. Previously, he spent 20 years as a Jewish educator in various positions around the country, both in informal and formal education. Originally from Detroit, Gordy moved to Dallas in 1990 to be the Director of Education at Congregation Shearith Israel, and then spent seven years as the Director of the Jewish Education Department for the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas. He holds a bachelor’s in Human Development from Northwestern University, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Chicago. His ordination was given privately in Dallas by two Orthodox rabbis. He currently serves on the boards of Caritas of Waco and Jewish Children’s Regional Service, and is on the poverty solutions steering committee for the City of Waco. Gordy and his wife, Sharon, are the parents of Eliana Holgate and Evan Fuller, and the grandparents of Maya Fuller, Naomi Fuller and Gabriel Holgate.

Evelyn Herwitz is a marketing consultant and principal of Herwitz Associates, based in Worcester, Mass. She served for more than 12 years as the Director of Marketing and Communications at Hebrew College in Boston, where she was instrumental in developing the school’s web site as well as all marketing and public relations materials. Her past experience includes time spent as an adjunct faculty member at Clark University as well as a producer-reporter for Massachusetts NPR affiliates. Evelyn holds master’s degrees from both Carnegie-Mellon and the University of Illinois-Springfield. She has been an active member of Congregation Beth Israel in Worcester and has served as both the president of the congregation as well as of its Sisterhood. Prior to joining the board of the Good People Fund, Evelyn served on the organization’s Marketing and Communications Committee. She and her husband reside in Worcester and are the parents of two adult daughters.

Allen Katzoff brings to our work a critical mix of experience in both the for-profit and non-profit world, specifically in the areas of marketing and strategic planning. In addition to management positions in technology companies, he has served as the Director of Camp Ramah in New England as well as the Director of the Center for Adult Jewish Learning at Hebrew College in Boston. A graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Allen also holds an MBA from Northeastern University. Allen and his wife, Joan Leegant, are the parents of two sons. Currently, Allen and Joan reside in the Boston area.

Erik Lindauer is a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP with a practice focusing on transactional banking, commercial law, reorganizations and bankruptcy. He also currently serves as a Director and Secretary of the Third Street Music School Settlement, the nation’s oldest community music school, founded in 1894 to serve impoverished immigrants of the lower East Side of New York. He served as President of Congregation B’Nai Israel, Millburn, NJ from 2001-2003. He also oversees Sullivan & Cromwell’s continuing legal education programs and regularly teaches in the areas of his expertise. Erik and his wife Lisa are the parents of Jacob and Sam.

Ben Plotkin joined the Good People Fund board in October, 2011. He presently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Stifel Financial Corporation and Executive Vice President of Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, a national financial services firm. Ben joined the predecessor company to Stifel, Ryn Beck & Co., in 1987 and served as Chairman and CEO for over 10 years. With more than 30 years of experience in advising financial institutions, he frequently is called upon to provide strategic advice to financial institutions and governmental agencies, including the United States Department of the Treasury and the FDIC. Ben received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida. He holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Ben is active with the World Presidents Organization, American Jewish Committee, School of Business of the University of Florida and the Club at Admirals Cove.

Roni is a tried and true New Yorker, born and raised in New York. She is an attorney by training and has practiced law as a litigator at a large corporate firm and as a prosecutor at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, specializing in sex crimes. She has been involved in several pro bono activities, including human rights work in South East Asia and work with victims of 9/11. Roni has completed the Wexner Fellowship program, which has inspired her to become involved in various communal activities. She is now the head of a foundation dedicated to the integration of immigrants in Israel and the United States. Roni is also involved with organizations helping lone soldiers in Israel, AIPAC and Alma. She is married to Barry, a radiologist, and lives in Manhattan with their three children, David, Andrew and Hayley.

Originally from New Jersey, Bella has been living in Jerusalem since 1982. Bella is a clinical social worker and was a founding member of The Counseling Center for Women in Israel (CCW). In addition, she did pioneering work in the development of groups for children of Holocaust survivors. Bella is currently serving on the Boards of a number of non-profit organizations including Akim-Jerusalem, and Hadassah Foundation. She is actively studying piano, literature and Arabic. She and her husband George are the parents of Chanan, Yael and Adi.

Over the past twelve years, Lisa has been a volunteer for, and is now outgoing Chair of the Rachel Coalition, a New Jersey group dedicated to fighting domestic violence through education, counseling, legal assistance, and by providing shelter and transitional housing (kosher available) to its clients. During the school year, she also presents an NCJW program in area high schools to teach students about healthy relationships and to identify and prevent teenage dating abuse. Lisa is a trustee of the Jewish Family Service of Metrowest New Jersey. She has previously served as President of her local Hadassah chapter and on many other committees and boards. She’s married to Erik and left a career in scientific publishing at Academic Press, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich and Scientific American to raise two sons, Jacob and Sam.