Jim Joseph Foundation Announces Three New Members of Board of Directors

New Members Bring Expertise and Passion to Help Meet Needs of Today’s Jewish Communities

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Continuing pursuit of its vision of more young Jews engaging in ongoing Jewish life, the Jim Joseph Foundation today announced three new members of its Board of Directors: Alisa Robbins Doctoroff, Dan Safier, and Joshua Joseph. They join the current five directors of the Foundation, which since 2006 has granted $270 million to foster compelling, effective learning experiences for young Jews.

The new Board Members bring unique expertise, backgrounds, and passions that will be valuable assets as the Foundation continues to evolve to meet the needs of 21st-century Jewish communities. Many of the Foundation’s initial large, multi-year grants have concluded, yielding positive outcomes and lessons learned. The new Board members look to help the Foundation capitalize on those learnings and build on those successes.

“What excites me about joining the Jim Joseph Foundation is its firmly established role as a preeminent force in the field of Jewish education,” says Alisa Robbins Doctoroff, currently Chair of the Board at UJA-Federation of New York. “The Foundation thinks deeply about what works today in Jewish education – how we can take the rich traditions that we treasure and make it possible for more Jews to benefit from them, understand them, and to see their deep relevance and meaning in the modern world. The Foundation is intent on both thoughtful experimentation and learning from its past initiatives to make it possible for Jewish life to flourish in the 21st century in the U.S.”

Doctoroff’s involvement with UJA-Federation of New York has included a major focus on Jewish education and Jewish identity building. She is also a past president of the Abraham Joshua Heschel School and was instrumental in founding its high school division in 2001 and its expansion in 2012. Doctoroff is a strong believer in the importance of supporting older institutions that remain vital, as well as younger, entrepreneurial organizations that offer new ways of approaching the field.

“It is a great honor to join the Jim Joseph Foundation Board and help pursue its important vision,” says Dan Safier, currently Chair of the San Francisco Jewish Community Endowment Fund and a Board Member of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation. “The Foundation has a tremendous history of positive impact on our people, our community, and our next generation.  I have been very impressed by the Foundation’s strong research-based approach to funding, its focus on education and youth, and the visionary Board and staff who are building our Jewish future.  I look forward to continuing Jim Joseph’s vision and his enduring legacy to our community and our people.”

Safier has also served on the boards and committees of the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, Brandeis Hillel Day School, and the American Friends of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.  His community work has been primarily focused in three areas: helping to maintain a financially strong and stable Jewish community; ensuring that donor capital is invested wisely in its institutions; and supporting innovation by providing seed funding to organizations and ideas that connect the next generation to our community and build our community’s leaders for tomorrow. Dan is President of The Prado Group, a privately held real estate investment and development company based in San Francisco.

Joshua Joseph, son of Jim Joseph z”l, says, “I am excited to have the opportunity to play an active role in the significant and important work that my father’s foundation is accomplishing. I look forward to working with the distinguished directors and staff to find new opportunities to create vibrant Jewish life for today’s youth throughout the country.”

Joshua serves on the boards of the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, the American Jewish Committee (AJC), and the AIPAC Northern California region.  He is also active on numerous non-profit committees specializing in business, real estate, and finance. He is a co-founder of RentMethod, an apartment leasing brokerage in San Francisco.

“It is vital to bring in new eyes to help think critically and to overcome modern day challenges to effectively educate young Jews,” says Al Levitt, president of the Jim Joseph Foundation. “Welcoming Alisa, Dan, and Joshua to the Board of Directors is an exciting and important development as the Foundation continues to collaborate with grantees to pursue this goal. Each of their expertise will be integral to the Foundation’s evolution and to our desire to utilize lessons learned and evaluations to inform future grantmaking. We know that Jewish youth and young adults today engage ‘Jewishly’ and develop Jewish communities differently than previous generations. We have a responsibility to meet those Jews wherever they may be and to help them shape their own Jewish journeys.”

The Jim Joseph Foundation has three strategic grantmaking priorities: 1) Increase the Number & Quality of Jewish Educators; 2) Expand Effective Jewish Learning for Youth & Young Adults; and 3) Build a Strong Field of Jewish Education. Its newly released Summary Report profiles numerous grant initiatives and evaluations from 2008 through 2012. The Foundation’s newly released study, Effective Strategies for Educating and Engaging Jewish Teens, examines and compares the work of twenty-one respected programs serving young people both inside and outside the Jewish world. Both publications are indicative of the Foundation’s strong desire to share best practices and lessons learned with the field.

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Jim Joseph was a dedicated Jewish philanthropist who cared passionately about the education of Jewish youth and young adults. He believed that focusing on young people was the best way to preserve a strong Jewish faith and proud heritage, thereby ensuring success of the Jewish people for the future. Jim passed away December 19, 2003, and was buried by his family in the Jewish tradition in Israel. The Foundation’s Board of Directors and its Foundation professionals are building on the philanthropic mission that Jim pursued.

By investing in promising Jewish education grant initiatives, the Jim Joseph Foundation seeks to foster compelling, effective Jewish learning experiences for young Jews in the United States. Established in 2006, the Jim Joseph Foundation has awarded $270 million in grants to engage, educate, and inspire young Jewish minds to discover the joy of living vibrant Jewish lives. www.jimjosephfoundation.org