Board of Directors Portal Info for Board Members

JELF's Board Portal can be used to access many board-specific documents, including the Board Directory, committee descriptions, bylaws, strategic plans and more.

If you find information to be in need of an update at any time, please let us know!

JELF Board Expectations & Commitment Form

Board, Committee & Staff Roster

This roster contains 3 sheets:

Full Board of Directors
Committee Members
JELF’s professional team

This roster is for Board use and we expect you to use it for JELF-related business only. It also contains contact info, synagogue affiliations (if applicable), birthdates (excluding year), board terms, and more.

You are able to filter the spreadsheet but if you do so, be sure to clear it to avoid viewing issues for the next user (i.e. to view only Finance Committee members, filter Column E and type "Finance", select ALL and OKAY. When done viewing, click on the filter and be sure to Select All).

If any information needs updating, please contact Jody Vane.

Access JELF Board & Committee Roster

Committee Descriptions

JELF's committees are made up of both board and non-board members:

Alumni Committee
Chairs: Maria Bordetsky & Ilana Lind

JELF's Alumni committee was re-launched in late-2018 as a sub-committee of Resource Development. The purpose of the Alumni committee is (1) inspire current JELF alumni to give back to the organization; (2) develop opportunities to better utilize younger (i.e., current recipients or current repayers) since they are going to be alumni soon.
Meeting schedule = Quarterly.

Audit Committee
Chair: Barry Gang

The Audit Committee has the responsibility to oversee an annual audit by a qualified independent Certified Public Accountant. The final audit report and any supplemental reports shall be delivered to the Board during each fiscal year as soon as administratively practicable. The auditor shall be designated each year by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee cannot include any officer.
Meeting schedule = will meet 2-3 times in February, March and April.

Finance Committee
Treasurer: Philip Kahn
Assistant Treasurer: Irene Aronin

JELF's Finance committee has the fiduciary responsibility to oversee in detail the financial position of JELF. This committee is responsible for studying all financial reports as prepared by the Director of Finance.
The Finance Committee is also charged with advising the organization on the amount of Loan dollars available on a yearly basis while ensuring the sustainability of the organization.
Meeting schedule = monthly Zoom Meetings.

Investment Committee
Chairs: Jonathan Kessler and Bob Thompson

The purpose of the committee is to oversee the management of the investment funds by working directly with the current financial management company. The committee members also monitor the fund to make sure its diversification is within JELF’s policy limits.
Meeting Schedule = 3 times per year.

Loan Program Committee
Chairs: Jane Aronoff and Marianne Garber

The Loan Program Committee works to ensure that JELF has a process that allows us to monitor the growing (ongoing) needs in our focus area; a process that clarifies and determines the last dollar need for each student; and that JELF has identified the best approach to allocating loans to meet the need.
Meeting schedule = Approximately 5 times per year.

Operations/Technology Committee
Chairs: Andy Gross, Brian Banner, Richard Jacobson

JELF's Operations/Tech Committee's goal is to help the JELF staff most effectively utilize our technology platforms which will enable greater operational efficiencies across all levels of the organization. This includes evaluating certain functions of the JELF's technology investments and is not limited to providing research, guidance or advising on short and long-term strategic goals for the organization.
Meeting Schedule = Quarterly

Resource Development Committee
Chairs: Warren Binderman, Stan Lowenstein, Gil Wolchock

The Resource Development committee helps ensure that JELF has the financial resources to fund the needs in our focus area, while maintaining the long-term sustainability of JELF. Committee discussion points include major gifts ($2,500+), grants and Sponsor-A-Student (multi-year commitment gifts).
This committee also helps examine JELF’s annual calendar from a fundraising perspective and help the JELF team create meaningful strategy throughout the year.
Meeting schedule = Quarterly

South Florida Committee
Chair: Gil Wolchock

JELF's South Florida committee gathers Board Members, donors, volunteers and alumni from South Florida to strategize the best ways to raise dollars and awareness. We focus on Miami-Dade, Broward, Boca and Palm Beach in the hopes of building fundraising momentum in JELF’s largest market (both in terms of geography and student demand).
Meeting schedule = quarterly

Strategic Planning Committee
Chairs: Andy Gross, Rob Rickles, Stacey Shapiro

This group includes any task forces that have been created to ensure that Strategic Planning implementation plans come to fruition on their scheduled timeline.
Meeting schedule = 2 times per year

Special Events

Special Events “ad hoc” committees are formed around special events JELF may host. The Chairs and members of these committees work to ensure that all event details are properly executed, fundraising for the event is being properly executed, and that the event is being properly marketed to the general public (i.e., the Jewish community).

Current Bylaws

JELF's Board of Directors last voted in February 2021 with 2/3 of the Board in favor of changing JELF's bylaws from their previously updated version (2013) to the version below.

JELF's Bylaws (approved February 2021)

In November 2024, JELF's Board of Directors voted to amend the Bylaws with a 2/3 vote to change Section 6.1, which refers to the timing of the Annual Meeting.

JELF's Bylaws (approved November 2024)

One-Pagers & Talking Points