ORT America Leaders Elected to World ORT Governing Bodies

July 31, 2008

A distinguished group of longtime, respected ORT America leaders have been elected to serve on the World ORT Governing Bodies for 2008.
 
“All have impressive portfolios of senior leadership positions and have taken on important roles on the World ORT stage,” said World ORT Director-General Robert Singer. “I am confident they will make important contributions and bring to World ORT their collective knowledge, management skills and vision, and diligently work to enhance our critical mission of advancing technological training and education.”
 
Elected treasurer of World ORT’s Board of Trustees, Judy Menikoff (Salisbury, CT) is a member of ORT America’s Board of Directors and serves on its Executive Committee. She is the immediate past national president of Women’s American ORT (WAO) and has been a member of ORT for more than 35 years. Mrs. Menikoff has visited ORT schools and programs around the world, both participating in and leading missions to Israel, the former Soviet Union and France. During her term as WAO president, she challenged and strengthened the organization, advanced its fundraising capabilities, reached out to new members and supporters in their communities, and increased the effectiveness and productivity of their actions.
 
Joe Cohen (Atlanta, GA) was named honorary chair of the World ORT Board of Trustees. He is immediate past president of American ORT (AO) and is now a member of the ORT America Board of Directors Executive Committee. Mr. Cohen’s numerous leadership positions at AO included first vice president, executive committee chair, vice chair of the National Campaign Cabinet and treasurer. In addition, he served as a member of both the World ORT’s Strategic Alliance Committee and Control Commission.
 
Mrs. Menikoff and Mr. Cohen are also co-chairs of World ORT’s 1880 Society, an elite donor group that acknowledges members who pledge a minimum of $100,000 over three years. It was their combined leadership and vision that led to the successful merger of AO and WAO into ORT America in 2007.
 
Doreen N. Hermelin (Bingham Farms, MI), national president of ORT America and a member of its Executive Committee, has joined the Board of Trustees of World ORT. Mrs. Hermelin was married to the late U.S. Ambassador to Norway, David B. Hermelin, a former president of AO and World ORT. Much of Mrs. Hermelin’s time is spent with numerous charitable endeavors and traveling extensively to countries where ORT has schools and programs. She is one of the organization’s most effective ambassadors. Mrs. Hermelin is a recipient of the Women of Valor Award from State of Israel Bonds; the Humanitarian Award from B’nai B’rith; the Heart of Gold award from United Foundation; and the Vision of Hope Award from the WAO Michigan Region. She was also presented with an award from Yad Ezra and has been named Woman of the Year by B’nai B’rith Women.
 
ORT America Lifetime Trustees Murray Koppelman, (New York, NY) and Reese Feldman (Englewood, NJ) have been elected to serve as honorary vice presidents of World ORT. Mr. Koppelman is an honorary chair of World ORT’s 1880 Society, and was a past AO president and vice president of World ORT. Mrs. Feldman (Englewood, NJ) is a former WAO president and chair of World ORT’s Administrative Committee. She also serves on the World ORT Trust.
 
Chairing World ORT’s Audit and Risk Committee is Dorene Berger (Virginia Beach, VA), a past national treasurer and former member of WAO’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Joining Mrs. Berger is Herbert W. Ackerman (Oceanside, NY), treasurer of ORT America’s Board of Directors and member of its Executive Committee. Mr. Ackerman helped to establish AO’s Finance and Investment Chapter and was chair of its Executive Committee. A certified public accountant (CPA) and former member of the New York Stock Exchange, Mr. Ackerman was a 17-year partner with Neuberger & Berman, a money management firm in New York City.
 
Roslind Vermut (Jericho, NY), a vice president of ORT America and member of the Executive Committee of its Board of Directors, has been elected to serve as vice chair of World ORT’s Finance Committee. Mrs. Vermut has been an active ORT member since 1972, serving on WAO’s Executive Committee, as national chair and treasurer, and as chair of various committees. She was also a member of the Financial Management Team, Restructuring Committee and the Finance Committee for both AO and WAO. She is the current chairperson of U.S. ORT Operations and was chair of Bramson ORT College’s Board of Trustees. Mrs. Vermut has visited ORT schools in Israel and in the United States.  
 
Serving as an observer on World ORT’s Finance Committee is longtime World ORT board member Michael Broida (Beverly Hills, CA). A CPA for 30 years, Mr. Broida, a member of AO for more than 25 years, served several terms as vice president and chaired its Finance, Budget and Investment Committee, Planned Giving Committee, and National Campaign Cabinet. He also served as vice chair of U.S. ORT Operations for AO for a number of years, and was vice chair of World ORT’s Finance Committee, as well as liaison to its International Cooperation Committee.
 
Chairing World ORT’s Allocations Committee is Shelley B. Fagel (Naperville, IL), who currently serves as executive committee chairman on ORT America’s Board of Directors. A member of WAO for more than two decades in the Metropolitan Chicago Region, previously she served a three-year term as first vice president of WAO, was a member of both its Restructuring Committee and Interim Governing Committee, and was on the organization’s Board and Executive Committee. Visiting ORT schools and programs in St. Petersburg, Russia; France; Argentina; Italy; and Israel, Mrs. Fagel was co-chair of WAO’s Mission to Montreuil, France in 2002 and associate chair of the 2000 Mission to Israel in celebration of ORT’s 120th anniversary.
 
As the former chair and co-chair of the By-laws Committee of World ORT, ORT America’s National Leadership Development and Outreach Chair Terry Azose (Mercer Island, WA) is now a member of World ORT’s Constitution and By-laws Committee. Previously, Mrs. Azose served on WAO’s National Executive Committee for nine years, serving as vice president and holding various chairmanships.  

ORT America provides cutting-edge training and strategic educational initiatives that empower 300,000 people annually in 62 countries to become productive citizens and lead their families and communities forward. This is a responsibility ORT America welcomes as part of its commitment to supporting Jewish values, strengthening Jewish identity and providing the educational opportunities that help people help themselves. For more information, please visit www.ortamerica.org