Together We Thrive Gala 2024

Dr. Michael Berenbaum
Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute

Michael Berenbaum is the Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute: Exploring the Ethical and Religious Implications of the Holocaust and Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at American Jewish University. The author and editor of 24 books, he was also the Executive Editor of the Second Edition of the Encyclopedia Judaica. He was Project Director overseeing the creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the first Director of its Research Institute, and later served as President and CEO of the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which took the testimony of 52,000 Holocaust survivors in 32 languages and 57 countries. His work in film has won Emmy Awards and Academy Awards. He has developed and curated Museums in the United States, Mexico, North Macedonia, and Poland, and his award-winning exhibition “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away” has been in Madrid, Malmo, New York, Kansas City, and most recently at the Ronald Reagan Library in California and will soon open in Boston.

Rabbi Elliot Dorff
Rector and Sol & Anne Dorff Distinguished Service Professor in Philosophy

Elliot Dorff, Rabbi, Ph.D., is the Rector and Sol & Anne Dorff Distinguished Service Professor in Philosophy at the American Jewish University.  He brings over five decades of experience to his roles. He has taught at American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism) since 1971, directing its rabbinic program between 1971-1994, serving as Chief Academic Officer between 1980 and 1985, and as Rector since 1994.  As a visiting professor at UCLA School of Law from 1974 to 2020, he imparted his knowledge of Jewish law to law students there. He has written 15 books and edited or co-edited 14 more on Jewish thought, law, and ethics as well as over 200 articles on those topics.  Recognized for his scholarly contributions, Rabbi Dorff has received the Journal of Law and Religion's Lifetime Achievement Award and holds four honorary doctoral degrees, complementing his rabbinic ordination by the Jewish Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University. Within the Conservative Movement, he has chaired the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, for which he has written 29 rabbinic rulings, and he made significant contributions to the new Torah commentary, Etz Hayim. He has also chaired four scholarly organizations.   Beyond work in the Jewish community, Rabbi Dorff's leadership is evident in his chairmanship of several interfaith organizations and his involvement in critical bioethical initiatives for the U.S. and California governments and several educational and scientific organizations. Locally, he actively engages with Jewish Family Service, where he served as President, as well as the Ethics Committee at UCLA Medical Center. 

Niv Ashkenazi
Violinist

Virtuoso violinist Niv Ashkenazi has captivated audiences with his heartfelt musicianship and emotional performances. Praised for his “extremely colorful interpretations, characterized by maturity and authority” (Pizzicato Magazine), he has made several Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center appearances, and has performed in Europe, the Middle East, and across North America. Recent highlights include being Artist in Residence at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, his internationally critically acclaimed album, Niv Ashkenazi: Violins of Hope, named one of the 10 best classical recordings of 2020 by the Chicago Tribune, recognition by the City of Los Angeles in 2021 for his humanitarian work, being a featured soloist, alongside Yo-Yo Ma, for the soundtrack of the PBS documentary Harbor from the Holocaust, and being featured on ABC7, Good Day LA, Spectrum 1 News, Telemundo, in the Los Angeles Times, and other major news outlets. Niv has performed chamber music with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Juilliard String Quartet, Cavani Quartet, and Ariel Quartet. Other performance highlights include solo recitals at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall, Terrace Theater, and Millennium Stage, The Soraya, the Granada Theatre, and the Perlman Music Program Alumni Recital Series. Niv holds both a B.M. and M.M. from The Juilliard School, where his teachers included Itzhak Perlman and Glenn Dicterow.

Leah Kohn 
Bassoonist

Bassoonist Leah Kohn is a versatile musician with a passion for unusual repertoire. She has performed with a variety of ensembles around Los Angeles, including Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, the Young Artist Symphony Orchestra, Brentwood Westwood Symphony, and the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony. Dyad, her violin and bassoon duo, has performed on concert series around Los Angeles, and also works with Street Symphony, an organization that brings music to underserved communities. Previously, she was a fellow at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and has performed at the Banff Centre’s master class program. She has given premieres of new chamber and orchestral works at Constellation in Chicago, at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto, and with the New Juilliard Ensemble. Ms. Kohn received her M.M. from The Juilliard School and her B.M. from the Manhattan School of Music, both as a student of Frank Morelli. She is currently enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of Southern California, where she studies with Judith Farmer. She is also a baroque bassoonist, and recently performed a Vivaldi Concerto with the USC Thornton Baroque Sinfonia. She has appeared in performances at several Tafelmusik institutes, the Amherst Early Music
Festival’s Baroque Academy, and the American Bach Soloists Academy.

Ellie and Mark Lainer 
Virginia and Frank Maas
Amy and Harold Masor                                             
Stacy and Bryan Palbaum

Elana Artson and Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson
Annie and Scott Austin
Vanessa and Rabbi Ari Averbach
Sharon and Michael Bacharach
Josh Berenbaum
Lev Berenbaum
Melissa Patack Berenbaum
Mira Berenbaum
Ronald Blanc
Bonnie and Mitchell Bloom
Suzy and Stephen Bookbinder
Susan and Michael Bordy
Susan and Jonathan Brandler
Joyce Brandman
Ellen and David Braun
Dr. Andrea Jedwab and Mr. Adrian Breitfeld 
Irma and Ben Breslauer
Carolyn and Rabbi Richard Camras
Carol and Jerry Coben
Faith and Jonathan Cookler
Deborah Davis and Zane Averbach
Susie Forer-Dehrey and Yehuda Dehrey
Mara, Jonathan, Amiel and Shira Dorff
Marlynn Dorff
Tammy Dorff and Zachary Dorff
Tanya, Michael, Zoe and Miles Dorff
Janet Farber
The Honorable Jesse Gabriel 
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation
Elaine and David Gill
Rachel Gindi
Sharon and Herb Glaser
Aaron Goldberg
Debra Kaner Goldich and Robert Goldich
Roz and Abner Goldstine
Sandy and Bill Goodglick
Ernest Goodman
Edna and Tom Gordon
Rabbi Ilana, Tal, Jeremy, and Hannah Grinblat
Fran and Joel Grossman
Lois G. Gunther
Dr. Sharon Polansky and Dr. Jeffrey Herbst
Miriam Prum Hess and Mark L. Hess
Charlotte Hill-Skura
Lisa and Josh Hofheimer
Lela and Norman Jacoby
Pam and Evan Kaizer
Charlotte Kamenir
Charlotte and Stanley Kandel
Havi, Rabbi Adam, Noa, Ayden, and Lev Kligfeld
Rabbi Gail Labovitz and Bill Seligman
Lee z"l and Luis Lainer
Allyn and Jeff Levine
Barbara Mack and Norman Levine 
Justine Schreyer Lewin and Howard Lewin
Janine Winkler Lowy
Theresa and Michael Maas
Dr. Deborah Musher and Rabbi Joe Menashe
Heidi and Jon Monkarsh
Monise and Anthony Neumann
Cyd Fremmer and Mark Oppenheimer
Rabbi Cheryl Peretz
Karen and Larry Platt
Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh 
Hon. Vicki Reynolds and Murray Pepper
Janice Kamenir-Reznik and Ben Reznik
Judy and Rick Richman
Tobie Rosenberg
Jessica and Mark Samuel
Dr. Claudia and Sandor Samuels
Dena and Irv Schechter
Carole and Michael Scheinberg 
Ilana and Rabbi Joshua Skoff
Bonnie Slavitt
Sondra Smalley
Rt. Rev. Alexei Smith 
Anne and Elon Spar
Dr. Lise F. Spiegel and Bennett L. Spiegel
Michelle and Gabriel Starkman 
Robbin Steif
Penny Nguyen and Robbie Totten 
Jeff Trenton
Mindy and David Weiner
Allen Weinstock
Susie and Ron Wolfson
Diane and Michael Ziering
Marilyn Ziering

Harold Masor 
Chairperson 

Dr. Jeffrey Herbst
President

Virginia Maas
Past Chairperson

Lawrence Platt
Vice Chairperson

Dena Schechter
Treasurer

David Weiner
Secretary

Adrian Breitfeld
Assistant Secretary and Treasurer

Annie Austin
Benjamin Breslauer
Jerome Coben
Abner Goldstine
Dr. Jeffrey Herbst
Lisa Hofheimer
Mark Lainer
Jeffrey L. Levine
Norman Levine
Justine Schreyer Lewin
Francis S. Maas
Virginia Maas
Harold Masor          
Stacy Palbaum
Murray Pepper
Lawrence Platt
Rick Richman
Dena Schechter
Michael Scheinberg
Elon Spar
Robbin Steif
Jeffrey Trenton
Yair Vardi
David Weiner
Michael Ziering

Jeffrey Herbst, President

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Vice President, Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean’s Chair, Ziegler School

Suzy Bookbinder, Vice President for Advancement, Chief Development Officer

Adrian Breitfeld, Vice President of Finance and Administration, Chief Financial Officer

Aaron Goldberg, Vice President, Director of Camp Alonim

Mark Oppenheimer, Vice President, Director of Open Learning

Rabbi Tarlan Rabizadeh, Vice President for Jewish Engagement, Director of the Maas Center

Michelle Starkman, Vice President of Communications

Robbie Totten, Chief Academic Officer, Associate Professor of Politics and Global Studies

Matthew Davidson

Brenda Hernandez

Morgan Magid

Reggie Nudell

Robert Weinberger

Lynn Witherspoon