THE SAMUEL BRONFMAN FOUNDATION PEOPLE

EDGAR M. BRONFMAN, PRESIDENT
Formerly CEO of the Seagram Company Ltd, Edgar M. Bronfman supports a wide variety of Jewish causes.  Recognized for his leadership by organizations, universities and governments around the world, Mr. Bronfman seeks through The Samuel Bronfman Foundation to inspire a renaissance of Jewish life.

In addition to his stewardship of The Samuel Bronfman Foundation, Mr. Bronfman serves as Founding Chairman of the International Board of Governors of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, a worldwide organization serving Jewish college students on their campuses.  Under Mr. Bronfman’s leadership, Hillel has expanded throughout North America and across the globe – to places including Moscow and Kiev, Montevideo and Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv and Beer Sheva.

Until June 2007, Mr. Bronfman also served as President of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations whose primary goal is to preserve and foster the worldwide unity of the Jewish people.  Working with the WJC, he advocated for the release of the Prisoners of Zion from the USSR and convinced Pope John Paul II that the establishment of a Carmelite convent near Auschwitz would be an affront to Jews worldwide. In 1998, Mr. Bronfman succeeded in winning restitution for Holocaust victims whose assets had been held in Swiss banks.  He has also served as President of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, which is devoted to the return of property and wealth owned by Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

In 1999, President Clinton recognized Mr. Bronfman’s philanthropic efforts by awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor.  Mr. Bronfman has also received the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur by the government of France and the Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award of the 85th National Convention of the Zionist Organization of America.  In addition, Mr. Bronfman holds honorary doctoral degrees from various institutions of higher learning, including Tel Aviv University, New York University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Williams College.

Born in 1929 in Montreal, Canada to the late Saidye Rosner Bronfman and the late Samuel Bronfman, Mr. Bronfman became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1959. Mr. Bronfman lives in New York City with his wife, Jan Aronson. He has seven children and twenty-three grandchildren.

ADAM R. BRONFMAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR
As Managing Director of The Samuel Bronfman Foundation, Adam R. Bronfman is committed to promoting learning, outreach and pluralism through his Jewish philanthropy. As a member of Hillel’s International Board of Governors, he has visited numerous Hillels in North America and has been a major catalyst behind the growth of Hillels internationally. He chaired the 2004 Lay Leadership Hillel Conference and is the former chairman and current board member of the UC Santa Barbara Hillel Support Foundation.

As an alumnus of the Taft School, Adam has endowed several scholarships at the institution and has been instrumental in linking Taft to The Curriculum Initiative, an organization which provides support for Jewish students in non-Jewish independent schools.

Adam established the Saidye Rosner Bronfman Rabbinic Chair at Temple Har Shalom in Park City, Utah, and has been a driving force behind the growth of the community as well as the success of the temple’s capital campaign.

Adam’s varied business interests include managing his own investment vehicles as well as managing family investment through Bronfman Associates.  Adam and his wife, Cindy, have four children and live in Park City, Utah.

DANA RAUCHER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
As Executive Director of The Samuel Bronfman Foundation, Dana Raucher manages the Foundation’s grants portfolio and the philanthropic portfolio of Edgar M. Bronfman.  Ms. Raucher serves on the boards or committees of various non-profits including the Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel, The Curriculum Initiative, MyJewishLearning.com and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.

Prior to joining the Foundation, she worked at the Israeli law firm Shiboleth, Yisraeli, Roberts, Zisman & Co. in Tel Aviv, and is a member of the Israel Bar Association.  Ms. Raucher is a graduate of Columbia University and of the Buchmann Law School at Tel Aviv University.  Born in Israel, she currently lives in New York with her husband, Yossi and their sons.

ARIEL GROVEMAN WEINER, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Ariel Groveman Weiner serves as Associate Director of The Samuel Bronfman Foundation and works closely with the various initiatives the foundation supports. Ariel received her BA and MA in Jewish History from the University of Pennsylvania and lives in New York with her husband, Josh, and their son and daughters.

 

EDWARD C. FOSS, CONSULTANT
Ned Foss has been a consultant on management and financial issues for The Samuel Bronfman Foundation and the Bronfman family since 1979. He has helped to organize and administer not-for-profits that are supported by The Samuel Bronfman Foundation in Canada, New York City, Russia, and Israel, and presently works for the foundation on a part time basis. Concurrently, Ned runs his own real estate development business in The Hudson River Valley. A graduate of Wharton and Yale, Ned lives with his wife, Margaret, near Albany, with their son, Will, and daughter, Zoë.

LEIGH GAROFALOW, BUSINESS OFFICE MANAGER
Leigh Garofalow joined the office in June 2006 with a background in non-profit finance, human resources, and project management experience. Ms. Garofalow is a graduate of Marist College and has her MPA from New York University. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, Mark and their daughter.

 

 

 

SHANNON SARNA GOLDBERG,
EXTERNAL RELATIONS COORDINATOR
Shannon joined the office in August 2007, and previously worked at Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, most recently as the Development Associate for Donor Relations. She graduated from Smith College, where she studied Comparative Government and Spanish Language and Literature. Shannon lives in New York with her husband, Jonathan, and their adopted dog, Otis.

 

 

Miriam Krawitz, BRONFMAN FELLOW
Miriam Krawitz is the 2010-2011 Bronfman Fellow at the Samuel Bronfman Foundation. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in American History. As the Bronfman Fellow, Miriam works with the Executive Director of the foundation and helps shape the most cutting-edge initiatives in the field of Jewish philanthropy.