Jewish Communal Fund (JCF), the largest and most active Jewish donor advised fund in the country, approved the election of five new members to its Board of Directors. The new Trustees are Kenneth Cappell, Richard Chera, Suzanne R. Davidowitz, Alan Halperin, and Aaron L. Zises.
“We are delighted to welcome a group of successful and talented individuals to the JCF board—people who are respected in their fields and passionate about helping others and giving back to those in need,” said Zoya Raynes, President of Jewish Communal Fund. “Ken, Richard, Suzie, Alan and Aaron come from a variety of disciplines and bring to JCF tremendous experience in areas including accounting, estate planning, communications, finance, law, and real estate.”
Kenneth W. Cappell is a member of the Board of Directors of UJA-Federation and has served as Chairman of their Audit Committee. He is also a Director of Arotech Corporation and Helocyte, Inc. Mr. Cappell retired as a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he served in its audit and risk assurances practices. He is a member of AICPA and the New York State Society of CPAs. He has a B.A. in Economics from Yeshiva University and an MBA in Finance from NYU Stern.
Richard Chera is a co-founder and Senior Managing Director of Crown Acquisitions, a holding company for international real estate and branding assets. He attended the NYU Stern School of Business and the Sanno Institute in Tokyo. He serves on a number of boards of nonprofits that focus on public health, children’s and seniors’ services, as well as business growth opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Suzanne R. Davidowitz served as the Senior Vice President of Human Resource Communication for L’Oréal USA for many years, and is currently a consultant to L’Oréal. She is the recipient of the Gold Key Award from PR News and in 2014, she received the Corporate Diversity Award from YouthBridge-NY. In addition to serving on the board of JCF, Suzie also serves on the boards of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, YouthBridge-NY and the Arthritis Foundation New York City Chapter. She began her career as the legislative aide to the late U.S. Senator Jacob K. Javits (R-NY).
Alan Halperin is a partner and co-chair of the Personal Representation Department at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He counsels clients on a broad range of issues including estate planning and related tax work, estate and trust administration, tax and succession planning for family corporations and partnerships, and charitable giving. He is also an Adjunct Professor at NYU School of Law, and serves as co-chair of the Estate and Gift Taxation Committee of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar.
Aaron L. Zises is the Director of HWM Advisors for HighTower Advisors. He advises high net worth families and individuals on investment strategy, financial planning and generational wealth transfer. He holds a B.S. in Business Adminstration from Washington University in St. Louis and a law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He serves on the board of UJA-Federation of NY, where he is a past member of the Executive Committee.