Our TEAM 

We invite you to get to know BBYO's professional staff from our Washington, DC headquarters, as well our 40+ field offices across North America.

Team members in our DC office manage marketing and communications, finance, development and alumni relations, teen programming, and registration for international year-round and summer programs. Our diverse team, many of whom are BBYO alumni, works together to perpetuate BBYO's legacy as the world's leading pluralistic Jewish teen movement. To find a specific contact in one of our 40+ regions, please visit the BBYO Near You page and click on the region you’re searching for.

If you’re looking for our main address and phone number, look no further!

BBYO
529 14th St NW
Suite 705
Washington, DC 20045
P: 202.857.6633 / F: 202.857.6568

[email protected]

MEET OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Matthew Grossman
Chief Executive Officer
202.857.6580
Read Matt's bio

 

Karen Alpert
Vice President, IT Strategy and Measurement
202.857.6567
Read Karen's bio

Stacey Apter

Stacey Apter
Senior Director of the Executive Office
202.857.6580


Wendi Colby
Chief People Officer
202.857.6544
Read Wendi's bio

Jayme David
Senior Vice President, Philanthropic Engagement
Read Jayme's bio

Aryeh Furst
Chief Financial Officer
202.857.6692
Read Aryeh's bio


Stacy Friduss

Stacy Friduss
Vice President, Philanthropic Operations

Robyn Judelsohn
Chief Movement Experiences Officer
202.857.6588
Read Robyn's bio

Ian Kandel
Vice President, Global Movement Strategy
202.507.7304


Gary Levin
Senior Vice President of Community Impact
202.857.6543
Read Gary's bio

Liron Lipinsky
Vice President, Enrichment Strategy
202.857.6633
Read Liron's bio

Debbie Shemony
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications
202.857.6691
Read Debbie's bio


MEET OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

BBYO’s International Board of Directors is the organization's governing body, comprised of key Jewish philanthropists, Jewish community leaders, BBYO alumni, Jewish Federation leadership, BBYO’s International Teen Presidents (the Grand Aleph Godol and International N’siah) and local and regional BBYO lay leaders.

Board members are committed to Jewish youth and to building future Jewish leadership, influential in their communities and willing to help guide and assist the organization as it charts its course for the future. The Board of Directors' responsibilities include determining policy, supporting fundraising efforts, approving partnerships with other agencies, and establishing new organization committees and task forces.

Officers

Craig L. Weiss, Board Chair, Memphis, TN 
Craig is a native of Memphis, Tennessee and graduate of CBHS Class of 1985. He earned a BA from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990 and MBA from the University of Memphis in 2000. Craig is a co-founder and partner of Tower Ventures.  Tower Ventures is one of the largest privately-held tower companies in the United States.  Tower Ventures develops and leases towers for the cellular industry.  Tower Ventures currently owns over 400 tower assets in 35 states.  Craig manages the leasing department responsible for lease agreements with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Dish and others. Tower Ventures recently began multiple mixed-use, ground-up traditional real estate developments around Memphis as part of its CRE Division. In 2005, Craig purchased two Memphis-based security guard businesses and merged their accounts and created Central Defense Security.  Craig and his partners grew CDS to become the largest security provider in the MidSouth with its headquarters in Memphis and branch offices in Nashville and Little Rock. They successfully sold Central Defense Security in 2020. Craig is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Paragon Bank, a Southeast Regional Community Bank headquartered in Memphis with over $750 million in assets. Paragon currently has 4 branch locations in Memphis along with SE Regional Branches in Atlanta, GA, Oxford, MS and Wilmington, NC. Honors: Craig was selected by the Memphis Business Journal as one of their “Top 40 under 40” of local Community leaders in 2005. Craig was named by the Memphis Business Quarterly as one of the Region’s Power Players in Security in 2014-2020. Craig was elected to the Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2018, Craig received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis and was inducted into the FCBE Hall of Fame. Craig recently completed Class VIII of Leadership Tennessee. Non-Profit: Craig is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors for the Memphis Child Advocacy Center.  Craig serves on the Board of Directors of The Memphis Shelby Crime Commission and the Board of Visitors at the University of Memphis.  He serves on the Hutchison Board of Trustees Executive Committee as Treasurer and the Christian Brothers High School Board of Directors. Craig is a past President/Chairman of the Memphis Jewish Community Center Board of Directors and a past Vice Chair of Jewish Community Partners. Craig is the Chair of the Board for BBYO’s International Board of Directors. Craig and his wife Cathy have three children, Isaac, Ari and Ava.

Ruth Suzman, Past Chair, Scarsdale, NY
Ruth is a dedicated volunteer, philanthropist, and non-profit advisor. Having earned degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Yale University, she engages in deep partnership with organizations to help alleviate poverty, create pathways to all for higher education, and to grow engagement with Jewish life and identity. Nationally, Suzman is a board member of the Vanderbilt University Hillel (Nashville) and serves on the council for Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. She serves on the advisory council of the College of Liberal Arts at University of Texas at Austin on the board of directors of the MB and Edna Zale Foundation (Dallas). Suzman is an active member of the national board of Swipe Out Hunger, which seeks to end food insecurity on college campuses. In her local work, Suzman is Chair Emerita of the Board of the Westchester Community College Foundation, and a member of the advisory council to the Westchester Community Foundation (local division of the New York Community Trust). Additionally, Suzman serves as a member of the Visiting Committee to the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where she helps to lead the Judaica initiative at the museum. Ruth lives in Scarsdale, NY with her husband and three children, and is a member of Westchester Reform Temple.

Rachel Hoffer, Vice Chair, Paradise Valley, AZ
Rachel was born in Worcester, MA and as the daughter of a JCC executive, her family moved around to JCC Communities throughout the country before settling in Phoenix, Arizona. She attended Arizona State University and graduated with a BS in Management. Following college, Rachel began a career in Real Estate and was a private consultant before deciding to focus her efforts on raising her three children and philanthropic and volunteer leadership positions. Rachel is very active in both the Phoenix and global Jewish community. Rachel currently serves as the Board Chair for JAFINA, Board Chair of Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix, member of JFNA BOT and BBYO Board. Rachel was Co-Chair of National Young Leadership Cabinet representing JFNA and 350 leaders nationwide and she currently serves as Co-chair of Strategic Growth and Engagement Committee focusing on alumni engagement. She has chaired and co-chaired various events and campaigns within the Phoenix Jewish Community including Violins of Hope, a project of Federation which was one of the largest non-profit collaborative efforts in Arizona. Rachel is married to Jonathan Hoffer and her most important and rewarding role is mother to her three amazing daughters, Ilana, Talia, and Alexis.

Ruth Perlman, Vice Chair, Chicago, IL
Ruth is a Vice Chair of BBYO’s International Board of Directors and Chair of its Centennial Celebration. A graduate of Northwestern University, she is an accomplished actress and singer who worked professionally Off Broadway and regionally across the United States and is currently writing her first solo show "A Darkly Humorous Cautionary Tale." As an Artist-in-Residence with the Whirlwind Performance Company, she taught drama in Chicago Public Schools. She also worked as the Publications Coordinator in the Marketing Department of Arthur Andersen’s World Headquarters and subsequently as a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. Ruth feels most blessed to sing for and connect with the elderly at nursing homes and senior centers, in addition to performing in various concerts and charity events. Her past philanthropic endeavors include serving as a Director on the North Suburban Medical Research Junior Board of Chicago's Children’s Memorial Hospital; a Trustee for Am Shalom Synagogue in Glencoe, Illinois; and the PTO Vice President of Education and Cultural Arts Programming for Glencoe School District 35. Currently, she is an Executive Vice President of the Perlman Family Foundation Founded by Anita and Louis Perlman; an Advisor on the Board of JUF Encompass; a Director on the Board of Beber Camp in Mukwonago, Wisconsin; and is actively involved with the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science. Ruth is the proud mother of Emily, Jack, and Alec.

Jonathan Anschell, Treasurer, Los Angeles, CA
Jonathan is a former BBYO I-board member and Regional Aleph Godol from Northwest Canada Region and was on BBYO’s BOD immediately following independence. Jonathan plays a leadership role in the Los Angeles Jewish community, where he has served the Jewish Federation as Chair of the Legal Services Division, area Chair of the National Young Leadership Cabinet and as a member of Board of Directors and its Planning and Allocations Committee.  Jonathan also serves on the Los Angeles area boards for the American Jewish Committee and the American Friends of the Hebrew University.  Professionally, Jonathan was the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for CBS Television and the Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for CBS Corporation, overseeing the legal affairs for CBS's televised entertainment and news operations in addition to its corporate governance, securities, intellectual property and labor and employment practice areas. He is currently the Chief Legal Officer at Mattel.

Lisa R. Cohn, Secretary, Denver, CO
Lisa has been President and General Counsel of AIR Communities (formerly NYSE: AIRC) since 2020 when it separated from its predecessor company, Aimco (NYSE: AIV). In June 2024, AIR went private in an acquisition by Blackstone, and Lisa remains in her role and serves on the board.  Lisa also serves on the board of National Storage Affiliates (NYSE: NSA). Prior to her role at AIR, Lisa served for 13 years as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary for Aimco. Prior to 2002 when she joined Aimco, Lisa was in private practice with the law firm of Hogan & Hartson LLP (now Hogan Lovells).  She spent two years as a Federal judicial law clerk in the District of Colorado. Lisa earned her undergraduate degree (with honors and distinction) in public policy from Stanford University and earned her law degree (cum laude) from Harvard Law School and served on the Harvard Law Review, including as managing editor. Lisa is active in her community. Since 2018, she has served on the Board of Trustees of the Craig Hospital Foundation. She served as a trustee of the Rose Community Foundation from 2010-2020.  From 2012-2015, Lisa served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Denver Jewish Day School and served on the Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2016.  Lisa is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program and an alumna of the National Young Leadership Cabinet.  Lisa is a past member of the Board of Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado (now JEWISHcolorado) and various other community organizations.  Lisa is a Denver native.  She is a former International Mazkirah and Regional N’siah for Rocky Mountain Region (RMR). Lisa met her husband, Rich, at her first RMR BBYO event (14 years later they started dating and 15 years later they married). Lisa and Rich are the proud parents of Avi, a student at Indiana University and the fifh Grand Aleph Gizbor. When not advancing AIR’s success or involved in her community, you are likely to find Lisa with her family and friends, cheering the Denver Broncos or any other Colorado sports team, relishing a round of golf, or enjoying a concert.

Matthew Grossman, Arlington, VA
Matt has served as BBYO's Chief Executive Officer since 2004 and is currently responsible for working with the organization's teen, professional, volunteer and philanthropic leaders to set BBYO's vision and direction. For 100 years, BBYO has provided exceptional identity enrichment and leadership development experiences for hundreds of thousands of teens and now ranks as one of the Jewish community’s premier platforms for reaching and inspiring Jewish teens. Matt takes great pride in BBYO's ability to bring Jewish teens together so they can form powerful, authentic relationships with each other and with inspiring adult role models.  He plays a key role in hiring the professional team who bring to life the compelling Jewish environments where teens feel pride in who they are, in control of their own destiny and a part of something greater than themselves. 

Directors

Joelle Abaew (80th Anita M Perlman International N’siah) | Berlin, Germany
Jay Bernhardt | Boston, MA                                     
David Brown | Chicago, IL                                                         
Michelle Gerber | West Vancouver, BC                
Diane Greenwald | Scarsdale, NY
Eric Hoffman | Miami, FL
Dan Mezistrano (100th Grand Aleph Godol) | Mercer Island, Washington
Lois Kohn-Claar | Scarsdale, NY
Lee Kohrman | Cleveland, OH               
Todd Maurer | Indianapolis, IN               
Courtney Mizel | Los Angeles, CA         
Gabriel Mops | Barcelona, Spain
Jonathan Morris | London, England
Megan Nathan | Denver, CO                    
David Rittberg | Washington, DC                          
Leora Zabusky | Philadelphia, PA

If you are interested in joining the International Board of Directors, please contact Stacey Apter.