Board of Directors

Charles K. Ribakoff (Board President; Questrom ’71) is the founder and Chairman of MHQ, the largest upfitter of public safety and municipal vehicles in the US. He also owns a small chain of automobile dealerships and leasing businesses. Charles has been active in the philanthropic community for many years. He is a member of the President’s Council at Mass General, and a member of the Advisory Committee for the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children since its inception. Charles is also Vice President of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which operates in 70 countries around the world. His portfolios at JDC have included JDC-Israel, Children at Risk, Care for the Elderly, Job Training in Minority Communities, Resource Development, and Young Leadership Development. He has traveled to Israel with a group of JDC young leaders every year since 2010. Charles and his wife Patty have co-chaired the CJP annual campaign. He has been Chair of CJP’s Israel and Overseas Committee, and a member of the CJP board. He is a founder of the Agahazo Shalom Youth Village outside Kigali, Rwanda for orphans on the Rwandan genocide. Charles was graduated from the University of Virginia in 1969 and earned an MBA at Boston University School of Management in 1972. He and Patty live in Back Bay.

Eli Florence (Board Vice President) is the President and CEO of Kaydon Group, LLC, and Florence Electric, LLC, a building technology company based in Canton, MA. He is the nephew of Lenny Florence, z”l, (Questrom ’54, HON ’01), in whose honor Boston University Hillel’s building is proudly named. Eli has carried on Lenny’s philanthropic legacy and currently serves on the Board of the YMCA Old Colony Chapter and the advisory boards of the Cardinal Cushing Centers and the Southeastern Regional Vocational School District. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northeastern University. Eli and his wife Donna have two children and two grandchildren.

Deborah Ball (Parent of CAS ’22) is an attorney living in New York City. The Law Offices of Deborah S. Ball is a practice concentrating on elder law issues, matters affecting the developmentally disabled, trust and estate planning options, including will preparation, and estate administration. As a former Assistant District Attorney, Ms. Ball investigated home repair schemes against the elderly community. Ms. Ball has been appointed as guardian, guardian ad litem, court evaluator, and attorney for the alleged incapacitated person, as well as representing clients in guardian proceedings involving elderly and disabled individuals.

Ms. Ball is a co-vice chair of the elder abuse committee and now on the executive board for the New York State Bar Association Elder Law Section where she serves on the Guardianship Committee, the Mental Health Law Committee; the Committee on Special Needs Planning. Ms. Ball is also a member of the Attorney’s Council of the New York Chapter of Hadassah and has served as the co-chair for the Working Mother’s Committee of the Women’s Bar Association from 2000 -2001. Currently, Ms. Ball serves as a board member of the Brandeis Association of Lawyers.

Ms. Ball regularly presents lectures on issues affecting the elderly and disabled and their families to various organizations and associations. She has been a participant in a panel discussion on elder abuse, hosted by the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Ball is on legal referral lists for the Department of the Aging, SelfHelp Community Services, UJA-Federation, and the Alzheimer’s Association, where she is a frequent lecturer. Ms. Ball has co-chaired and presented a CLE program for the New State Bar Association on “pooled trusts” for disabled persons.

Ms. Ball is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School, where she was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. She received her Bachelor’s Degree as well as a Master’s Degree in History from the State University of New York at Albany.

Jarret Berg (CAS ’07) is a New York attorney with a passion for protecting and advancing civil and political rights. As the Executive Director of the New York Democratic Lawyers Council (@NYDLC), Berg works to raise awareness about fundamental voting rights and trains attorneys and others to monitor elections and advocate for pro-voter legislative reforms. Prior, Berg served as Legislative Counsel to a member of the NYS legislature. Apart from his passion for modernizing elections and eliminating barriers to political participation. Berg closely follows developments in U.S. foreign policy, international law, and human rights. Berg holds an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge, a J.D. with high honors from New England Law | Boston, and a B.A. in Political Science from Boston University.

Scott Berger (CAS ’95) was the CEO HBC Home & Hardware, one of the largest privately held consumer products companies in the United States specializing in home environment appliances, hardware, and plumbing products. (Basically, everything you would find in a hardware store.)  He has over 20 years of experience and tremendous expertise in product development, sales & marketing.  Currently, Scott runs his family office handling the commercial real estate and early-stage venture capital investing. In his spare time, Scott actively mentors early-stage companies and entrepreneurs. Scott holds a law degree from Yeshiva University – Cardoza School of Law.  Scott and his wife Deb of 20 years, live in NJ, enjoy traveling and spending time with their three teenage children.

Emily Blatt (CAS ’09) is an attorney at Marcus and Pollack LLP in New York City focusing on real estate tax and exemptions. She represents real estate owners and developers as well as not for profit organizations. Additionally, Emily has served on the Hillel Directors Council since 2018. Emily earned a B.A. in Political Science from Boston University in 2009 and a J.D. from Hofstra University School of Law in 2012.

Mark Blotner (Questrom ’90) is the owner of Kinross Real Estate, a Boston-based real estate investment and development company (www.kinrossrealestate.com). Mark has developed and acquired over $100 million worth of property in the greater Boston area. Additionally, Mark has been a successful seed investor to such companies as Syratech Corporation (founded by Leonard Florence), TripAdvisor, and HWS Baseball IV LLC. Mark graduated from Tufts University in 1987 and earned an MBA from Boston University in 1990. Mark actively donates his time and resources to numerous charities and organizations, which include Congregation Mishkan Tefila, Brookline MA (former board member); The JCC of Greater Boston (former board member); The Oak Square YMCA (current board member); Tufts Hillel; The Rashi School; Gann Academy and Dana Farber. Mark’s wife, Cindy, is a lawyer and graduated from BU in 1990. Their children have gone to Tufts University, Brandeis University, BB&N, Gann Academy, and The Rashi School.

Lisa Breslau (Parent of CAS ’24) began her career in broadcast journalism in Washington, DC before turning to the world of hi-tech. She spent most of her professional years developing media programming and products, and marketing them to consumer audiences for companies such as Microsoft and @Home Network [later Excite@Home]. Lisa has served on numerous nonprofit boards, locally and nationally. While she was President of the Shalom School Board of Trustees in Sacramento, California, Lisa oversaw the development of a new campus for the school, as well as new practices for ensuring the day school’s healthy future. As a result of this work, Lisa was invited to serve on the international board of RAVSAK, the Jewish community day school network. Currently, Lisa is Secretary for the national board of Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom and member of Hillel of Davis & Sacramento’s Board of Directors. Lisa has actively led fundraising campaigns for non-profits in the Greater Sacramento Area, such as Sutter Health, American Cancer Society and St Francis High School. She and her husband were founding members of Social Venture Partners, San Francisco Bay Area. Lisa is a graduate of Duke University, where she earned her BA degree in International Relations and Spanish. Their daughters attend Boston University and Northeastern University, respectively.

Solomon Eisenberg, ScD (Senior Associate Dean, ENG; Parent of CAS ’13, CAS ’06) is Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. He also serves as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the College of Engineering, a position he has held since 1998. He earned his SB, SM, and ScD degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He came to Boston University as an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in 1983 and was jointly appointed in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1985. He was a Visiting Associate Professor in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology in 1997. He was the recipient of an NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award 1987-1993, and a 1990 Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching, one of Boston University’s highest teaching awards. His research is directed towards understanding the functional role played by electrically mediated interactions in connective tissues and membranes, and computational modeling of electric field distributions produced during electrical defibrillation and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Dan Fishbein (CAMED’85, CAS’85)  is President of Sun Life U.S., and has steered the company to become a leading provider of health-related benefits, serving over 50 million Americans through employers, partners, and government programs. Under his leadership since 2014, the company’s revenue has tripled to $8 billion, marked by strategic acquisitions like DentaQuest, PinnacleCare, Maxwell Health, and Assurant Employee Benefits. With a medical background, Dan uniquely understands the complexities of the U.S. healthcare system. He is a strong advocate for paid family and medical leave and supports Sun Life’s Work is Healthy (WisH) approach to disability recovery and return-to-work services. Prior to Sun Life, Dan held key roles at MassMutual, New York Life, NYLCare Health Plan of Maine, and Aetna, where he led health plans, product development, and specialty businesses. He earned his medical degree from Boston University’s School of Medicine and holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University. Dan is actively involved in various professional and community organizations, including serving on the Dean’s advisory board at BUSM, the Massachusetts Medical Society, and the Maine Medical Association. He is also a past chair of Spurwink Services in Portland, Maine, and a board advisor for Collective Health. Outside of work, Dan enjoys meteorology and sports. During his six years at BU, he dined regularly at Hillel, attended Shabbat Services and most importantly met his wife through Hillel.

Bob Frisch (Parent of CAS ’21, GRS ’21) is Managing Partner of The Strategic Offsites Group, a Boston-based boutique consulting firm specializing in the design and facilitation of strategy discussions for Senior Management Teams and Boards. He is the author of the best-selling books “Who’s In the Room” (Wiley) and “Simple Sabotage” (HarperOne). Bob serves on the Audit Committee of Maimonides School, the Finance Committee of Young Israel of Brookline, and the New England Regional Board of Israel Bonds. Both of Bob’s parents attended BU, and his son Adam is working towards a Master’s degree in Archeology.

James Gould is president of Gould and Company. He manages real estate holdings in seven states. James is a member of Congregation Shaarei Tefillah of Newton and Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York City. He is also a board member of Combined Jewish Philanthropies, JCC of Greater Boston and the Boston Jewish Film
Festival. James earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois
and is an active supporter of Bradley Hillel. James lives in Newton with his wife Paula, a 1969 graduate of Boston
University School of Education.

Reverend Robert Hill (Dean, Marsh Chapel; Parent of Wheelock ’07)’s religious leadership at Boston University, across all of the 17 schools and colleges and the larger community, is rooted and grounded in the historic pulpit of Marsh Chapel, whose Sunday service is broadcast on NPR each Sunday morning at 11am (WBUR 90.9FM), with a listenership of 75,000, and another 25,000 listenings by podcast.  As Dean of the Chapel, he preaches most Sundays, leads the Marsh staff (40 full and part-time persons in the areas of ministry, music, and hospitality), gives oversight to all University religious life (7 University Chaplains, 26 religious life groups, and several campus ministers), provides prayers for various all University events (Commencement, Matriculation, other), meets with the Deans’ Council and University Leadership Group, and guides pastoral care for the community, through the chaplains’ offices.  In recent years some BUSTH students have chosen to do their field work at Marsh (so, 5 in 2007, 3 in 2008, 7 in 2009, 1 in 2010, and similar number since then).  Marsh Chapel hosts 16 weekly worship services, one of which is the BUSTH led Wednesday 11:15am service.  About 2,500 people a week, during the school year, are present for worship, study or service in the chapel building.  His wife Jan is a musician and teacher, whose children’s choir sings regularly in Boston, most notably once a year in early May on the steps of Trinity Church, Copley Square. Bob and Jan are joggers and spend summers on a lake in upstate New York.  They have three grown children and six grandchildren.

David Kaplan is a Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager at HomeGoods/HomeSense (a division of the TJX Companies). David has nearly 40 years of experience in wholesale and retail businesses with a strong background in merchandising; global sourcing; strategy and talent development. Throughout his career, he has served on numerous industry boards and advisory councils, including leadership positions at the International Wholesale Furniture Association and the American Society of Interior Designers in Washington, DC. David actively donates his time and resources to Boston Children’s Hospital, where he is a member of the Philanthropic Board of Advisors; at Bates College, where he has served as a class agent and a past member of the Alumni Council; and several Jewish organizations. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Bates College (Lewiston, ME) with a major in Political Science, and he is a graduate of the Belmont Hill School (Belmont, MA). Additional studies included the General Manager Program at Harvard Business School and The Overseas Student Program at Tel Aviv University. David and his wife, Clare, live in Boston and their daughter is enrolled in the MCBB PhD program at Boston University.

Kim Kaplan-Gross (Past Board Secretary; Parent of CAS ’13) is a partner in Choate Hall & Stewart’s Private Equity Group and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. She has over 20 years of experience representing domestic and international private equity and venture capital firm sponsors in fund formation, firm establishment (including team spin-outs), management company and general partner structuring and governance matters, regulatory matters, and creation and operation of separate account and special purpose investment programs. In fundraising, she advises fund sponsors on legal structuring matters, guides them in market positioning and setting proposed terms and conditions, and leads their investor negotiations. Additionally, she advises institutional investors in their investments in private equity funds, as well as in their acquisitions and dispositions of portfolios of private investment fund and operating company interests.

Kim has served as a member of the Investment Committee at Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston and of the Governance Committee of the Jewish Community Endowment Pool (JCEP) of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. JCEP is a highly diversified pool of investment capital with exposure to less liquid investments, often including hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds, and other complex, illiquid assets.

Jordan Kramer, Questrom ’25 is from Newton, Massachusetts, studying Business Administration in Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. Jordan works as a Financial Assistant Intern at BU Hillel and is in BU Hillel’s Student Leadership and Nonprofit Management Internship, responsible for SAO outreach and fundraising initiatives. Additionally, he works as a Teaching Assistant for a Python-based business modeling class. Outside of BU, Jordan has worked as a Functional Consultant Intern at software company WorkJam, and he looks forward to starting a Corporate Finance internship this summer at Fidelity. He is interested in exploring strategic decision-making as well as developing his affinity for travel and learning languages.

Sidney Pertnoy (Board President Emeritus; Hillel International Board Member) is Hillel International’s past Chair of the Board of Directors. He instituted change at the University of Miami Hillel, working in partnership with the SIC, the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, and the University of Miami Administration. A long-time civic and Jewish leader, Sidney currently serves as Vice President for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. He is a Trustee on the Board of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami and past Chair of the hospital’s Audit Committee. Sidney served as past president of Friends of the March of the Living and as a past Chairman of the Board of the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education and President of Bet Shira Congregation.  A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the California Western School of Law, Sidney is a former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Florida and was most recently in private practice, specializing in commercial litigation and Family Law and Real Estate. He currently manages his family’s real estate holdings. Sidney and his wife, Nadine, have three children; Jenny (Brett), Michael (Fanny), and Jeffrey (Kimme), and three grandchildren, Sylvie, Blake, and Cory.

Dan Pliskin (Chair, Development Committee; Parent of Wheelock ’21) is a consultant specializing in corporate governance and executive compensation with Aon and its affiliates Radford, McLagan, and Hewitt.  He provides advice on a wide range of matters for clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to emerging growth companies and private and family-owned organizations. His previous work experience includes service with two AmLaw 100 law firms, a publicly-traded technology company, a publicly-traded REIT, and an investment management firm.  Mr. Pliskin’s Jewish community involvement has focused predominantly on Jewish youth and Jewish identity-building through his service as board chair, development or other committee chair or board member of several Jewish camps, including URJ Camps Harlam and GUCI, Camp Ramah in the Poconos, Ramah Day Camp (Philadelphia) and JCC Baltimore Day Camp.  In these roles, he has sought to enable campers to experience Judaism as joyful and meaningful, and to empower college-age staff (a key audience) to be excellent Jewish role models. His involvement is guided by the missions of these camps to engage their entire communities in immersive, experiential Jewish living and learning. Mr. Pliskin completed the Young Leadership program of The Associated in Baltimore and served on the Board of Directors of the Baltimore JCC.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Tufts University and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.  He lives in Philadelphia, is a distance runner, and has two daughters, one of whom is SED ’21.

Douglas Sears (Chief of Staff to President Brown) serves as Vice President and Chief of Staff to the President at Boston University. The Vice President and Chief of Staff supervises the staff and operations of the Office of the President, oversees preparations for presidential events, and represents the President at meetings, as needed. The Vice President and Chief of Staff to the President also leads projects and initiatives at the direction of the President. Douglas Sears also serves as Vice President, Director of Military Education (ROTC), and is a professor in the School of Education.

Jim Shane‘s (Board President Emeritus; Parent of Questrom ’97) work at Brandeis Hillel led him to the Hillel International Board where, for 15 years, he has served as Director, Member of the Executive Committee, Past Treasurer, and Co-Chair of the Global Task Force. Jim’s major passion is Global Hillel. He sits on two International advisory committees to the Jewish Agency for Israel, Partnership2Gether, and Schilichim. He also serves on the Boards of Hillel at Brandeis, Northeastern University, and Boston University. He participates on the Board of Hillel’s of Israel. Jim has been involved with Martha’s Vineyard Community Services and he served for five years as Chair of the Possible Dreams Auction to raise over $3.2 million for needed social services on the Island. Jim is on the Board of A Better City, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving all aspects of life in Boston. Jim grew up in Newton, MA, and attended Colby College in Waterville, ME with a degree in Business Administration. He has been a serial entrepreneur and recently concentrated on real estate-related activities. Jim is working hard to become fluent in modern spoken Hebrew.

Jennifer Steber (Co-Chair, Programming) moved back to Boston after living in Montreal for 16 years.  Graduate of Brandeis University where she earned a BA degree in Art History.  Worked at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis, then the Jewish Museum in San Francisco.  While living in Birmingham Alabama she worked for the International Arts Festival then moved to Montreal.   Jennifer started as a volunteer at the Museum of Fine Arts and most recently was very active with Temple Emanu El Bath Sholom as Co-Chair of the Education Committee and a Member of the Board.  Jennifer and her husband, Martin live with their son Paul, 17 in the Back Bay, while their other two daughters attend school at Taft in Connecticut and St. Andrews in Scotland.  Jennifer and her family love to travel, ski and enjoy the arts and culture.

Wayne Zuckerman (CAS ’79, Parent of COM ’17, Questrom ’15) is one of the founders of Sterling Properties where he handles day to day of construction, and rental management of properties in the Tri-State region. Wayne has been a long-term leader on the BU Hillel Board. Wayne has four children, a recent graduate of Questrom, a rising senior in the School of Public Relation, and 2 children at home. He lives in Livingston, NJ with his wife Deborah.