Our Advisory Council.
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Meredith Jacobs is CEO of Jewish Women International (JWI), a 125-year old nonprofit dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. Since assuming the role of CEO in 2020, Jacobs has shepherded the development of numerous JWI initiatives, including the National Center on Domestic & Sexual Violence in the Jewish Community; the Collaborative of Jewish Domestic Violence Agencies; the Women’s Financial Empowerment Institute; ReStart: job readiness for survivors; the Jewish Communal Women’s Leadership Project; and the Jewish Gun Violence Prevention Roundtable. Under her leadership, JWI is spearheading state-wide advocacy efforts to achieve justice lending practices that would give survivors of financial abuse access to bank loans that would set them on the path to long-term economic security.
In the aftermath of October 7th, Jacobs led JWI’s partnership with the Seed the Dream Foundation to launch I Believe Israeli Women — a global movement standing in solidarity with Israeli women and fighting the denial of and disinformation about the sexual atrocities committed by Hamas.
Jacobs is an award-winning journalist and former editor-in-chief of Washington Jewish Week. She is the author of The Modern Jewish Mom’s Guide to Shabbat (HarperCollins) and co-author, with her daughter Sofie of the bestselling series of interactive journals, Just Between Us (Chronicle Books). Prior to joining JWI, she founded ModernJewishMom.com, the first Jewish parenting website (now part of Kveller), and was the host of the WYPR radio show, Connecting Family and The Jewish Channel television holiday specials, Modern Jewish Mom. Named one of the “50 Most Influential Jews of 2020” by The Jerusalem Post, Jacobs is a sought-after speaker, moderator and writer. Her opinion pieces appear frequently in outlets such as JTA, eJewishPhilanthropy, and the Forward. She is a member of the advisory board of the Women’s Business Collaborative (WBC) and serves on the Women’s Economic Empowerment Council for the State of Maryland — an advisory council to Brooke Lierman, Comptroller of Maryland. Jacobs served on the expert panel on Improving Access to Services for Domestic Abuse Victims in the Military, sponsored by the Department of Defense. She earned a B.A. in English from Haverford College and holds a Masters of Science in Business from Johns Hopkins University.
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Alana Zeitchik is an Israeli-American advocate based in Brooklyn. Her advocacy was born from personal tragedy when six of her family members were taken hostage on October 7th, an experience that transformed her into a public voice for her family and humanity. She has made countless national media appearances, written op-eds for The New York Times and The Forward, spoken at the United Nations, and built a community on social media to connect with diverse audiences across political lines. After facing the harsh challenges of advocacy in a deeply fractured world much of her work now centers on compassion, courageous communication and relationship building as essential tools for social and political change. Alana also serves as Executive Director of The Narrow Bridge Project, a radical strategy for addressing polarizing divides among Jewish activists. Prior to becoming an advocate she spent over 15 years working in digital media and has an expertise in the field.
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Andrew J. Weinstein is the Managing Attorney at the Weinstein Law Firm, a position he has held since 1996. Focusing his practice on civil litigation, Weinstein has handled thousands of cases, receiving recognition for professional performance and ethical integrity along the way. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and been listed as one of the top attorneys in Florida by Super Lawyers and named one of the state’s Legal Elite by Florida Trend magazine. Weinstein also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Justice Association and the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice.
Weinstein is particularly proud of his work with gun violence victims and activists in his hometown of Parkland and across the country advocating for common-sense gun safety reforms. In September 2022, President Biden nominated Weinstein to serve as United States Public Delegate to the United Nations. In that role, Weinstein coordinated the first United States-led multilateral event at the UN focused on combating antisemitism and represented the United States in bilateral meetings and at the United Nations General Assembly. Weinstein also served on the White House policy committee that drafted the United States National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and assisted with the creation of the United Nations Action Plan to Enhance Monitoring and Response to Antisemitism.
In January 2025, Weinstein was selected as an inaugural Visiting Fellow for the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism, and Citizenship, where he is working to develop public dialogues aimed at addressing the rise in antisemitism, religion-based hatred, and intolerance and bridging the divides between the American Jewish and Palestinian communities.
Weinstein holds a BA from the University of Central Florida and a J.D. from the NSU Shepard Broad College of Law. He resides in Florida with his wife, Anne, and has two children.
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Noah Katz Assoc CIPD is a researcher, facilitator and published writer committed to fostering genuine organizational diversity and ensuring diverse perspectives are represented within the Jewish community.
Currently working at the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Noah supports Jewish workplace inclusion and previously spent three years as a UJS Deputy (representative), serving on the Executive as the inaugural Chair of the Under 35 Assembly.
Noah’s commitment to student representation extends to their seat on the National Union of Students (UK) Board, where they were elected on a platform of having a mainstream Jewish voice in the room following a damning report into institutional antisemitism.
Less than two weeks before October 7, Noah was elected as the youngest Chairperson of a Jewish community in the world. They now serve as Vice Chair of Lancaster & Lakes Jewish Community and have just joined the Advisory Council of Jewish on Campus, selected for their expertise within the Jewish Student Movement.
With an academic background focusing on Jewish staff belonging and a track record of pioneering innovative youth representation, Noah is also deeply engaged in interfaith work, believing in building bridges wherever possible.
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Naftali Brawer is the Executive Director of Tufts Hillel. Prior to coming to Tufts, Naftali served as a congregational rabbi in London, UK under the then Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who was a much-respected mentor.
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Denise S. Wolf, Esq., has been an executive leader in government and non-profit institutions. For most of her career, she proudly served as a federal prosecutor, and Criminal Chief, in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where she prosecuted public corruption, economic fraud, and civil rights hate crimes. She has been the lead counsel in over 25 federal jury trials. She further served as Inspector General at SEPTA, a public transportation agency in southeastern Pennsylvania. As Inspector General, she led a team of investigators, detectives, auditors and former prosecutors in rooting out fraud, waste and abuse.
Currently, Denise is on the National Litigation team of the Anti-Defamation League where she represents victims of antisemitism nationwide in legal actions.
Denise was President of her synagogue in Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania, a congregation of over 500 families. In 2024, she launched a non-profit called Chaverim118. Chaverim118 is a growing group of friends who gather socially to share their commitment to Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people and to raise money for Jewish and Israeli organizations. Years ago, during the first Intifada, Denise lived in Nablus (Shechem) where she worked for the British Council teaching English to Palestinians. She also lived in Tira, an Arab village in Israel, where she taught English to young Arab Israelis. She spent one summer working at Kibbutz Sha’ar HaAmakim in Haifa. She is proud that her 3 sons were involved in Jewish causes on their respective college campuses and have traveled to Israel multiple times.
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Miami and Broward Development Director at American Jewish Committee, with a decade of frontline fundraising experience, Jeff has consistently demonstrated strong interpersonal, leadership, and problem-solving abilities. Praised as a positive and calming force by his colleagues and clients, Jeff is a sincere, authentic, charismatic, and passionate community member. His empathetic leadership style and detail-oriented focus has fostered his ability to successfully implement and oversee multiple successful fundraising campaigns.
The Board Chair of Goodwill South Florida, Jeff’s former client, shared the following regarding his efforts leading the creation of an eight-figure capital campaign – “You have helped us reach a very important tipping point in our ability to engage in philanthropic efforts. Your warmth, engagement, knowledge and leadership have been much appreciated by me, and certainly by the organization as well.”
A selection of the organizations Jeff has served include Bermuda High School, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, Center for Cyber Safety and Education, CSS Fundraising, Florida Grand Opera, Friends of the Underline, Goodwill South Florida, Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Jewish National Fund-USA, and United Way Miami.
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Vlad Khaykin leads North American advocacy and social impact initiatives for Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), a leading global human rights activism organization that confronts antisemitism and hate, defends the safety of Israel and Jews worldwide, and uses lessons of the Holocaust to teach tolerance.
A leading expert on antisemitism, Vlad’s expertise on antisemitism, extremism, and disinformation has been internationally sought after by social media and other Fortune 500 companies, as well as major news media outlets, NGOs, lawmakers, universities, and law enforcement agencies.
In his role, Vlad spearheads policy changes that reduce acts of antisemitism and hatred, create positive changes in behavior toward Jews and other persecuted communities, and increase public support for the State of Israel. He strengthens relationships with the highest levels of government, law enforcement, and faith leaders to protect against extremism and denounce hatred in the strongest terms.
Prior to his leadership with Simon Wiesenthal Center, Vlad served as the Director of Public Research and Knowledge at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). He led international advocacy efforts, represented the Jewish community with social media and technology companies in Silicon Valley, helped put out cutting edge research, and delivered programs confronting antisemitism and extremism.
A former refugee from state-sponsored antisemitism in the Soviet Union and a grandson of Holocaust survivors, Vlad is proud to advance Simon Wiesenthal Center’s role mission as a legendary force against antisemitism in Florida and throughout North America.
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Yos Tarshish is a speaker, educator, consultant and community strategist with over a decade of experience empowering students and strengthening Jewish campus communities. Most recently the Senior Director of Hillel Queen’s, he played a key role in expanding Jewish life on campus and building effective advocacy strategies to address antisemitism and support student voices.
Yos’s leadership journey began in the UK, where he served as President of the Union of Jewish Students of the UK & Ireland and later as President of the World Union of Jewish Students. He has held senior roles internationally, including serving as Vice President of the World Jewish Congress and as a Presidium Member of the World Zionist Organization.
Throughout his career, Yos has mentored hundreds of emerging leaders, developed initiatives that inspire a sense of collective purpose, and championed cross-communal collaboration. His work is rooted in the belief that Jewish life flourishes when individuals feel empowered to bring their unique voices to a shared table, engage complex issues with nuance, and invest in communities grounded in respect, responsibility, and hope.
Yos holds a BA (Hons) in Youth and Community Work from Manchester Metropolitan University. He serves on the Steering Committee of IPF Atid Toronto and is graduate of the eighth cohort of the Senior Educators Cohort of M²: The Institute for Jewish Experiential Education. He lives in Kingston with his wife Leora and a very opinionated cat.
