Michael Steinhardt

Chair

Michael Steinhardt is a legendary money manager turned philanthropist who is dedicated to creating a renaissance in American Jewish life. Read more about Michael here.

Sara Bloom

Vice Chair

Sara Bloom is the Vice Chair of the Board of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life. She is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of Hebrew Public and the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Harlem Hebrew Language Academy Charter School. She was also the founding Chair of the Board of of Trustees of Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn. From 2004 to 2008, she was a weekly columnist for The New York Sun focusing on raising children in New York City. She has been a regular guest on CBS Morning News and FOX News, as well as a frequent guest lecturer at local schools and community centers throughout the city. Before this, she was the Features Editor and then the News Editor at the Forward, America’s national Jewish newspaper. From 2002 to 2005, Mrs. Bloom chaired the board of one of the eight centers of the 92nd Street Y, the Makor/Steinhardt Center. She also currently serves on the Boards of the Areivim Philanthropic Group, Hebrew Public: Charter Schools for Global Citizens, and OneTable: Shabbat Together. She graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University, where she studied history.

David Steinhardt

Board Member

David Steinhardt serves as a Director on the Board of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life. He is also Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of Natan, a giving circle that inspires young philanthropists to engage actively in Jewish giving by funding innovative projects that shape the Jewish future. A 20-year veteran of the investment management industry, he is also Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager at Wooster Capital Management LP and a Co-Founder and Managing Member of Clarity Capital KCPS Ltd. He has been Director of mBank and an Independent Director of Mackinac Financial Corporation since 2012. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Rabbi David Gedzelman

President Emeritus & Senior Philanthropic Advisor

Rabbi David Gedzelman is President Emeritus of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life and Senior Philanthropic Advisor to the Steinhardt family. David has been actively involved in the Foundation’s programs since 1995, when he was recruited to conceive and develop Makor in New York City. As the Founding Creative and Rabbinic Director of Makor, David created and led a cutting-edge venue for New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s, providing innovative arts, cultural and educational programming aimed at engaging an under-involved population in possibilities of Jewish life and meaning. Before serving at Makor, David was Director of Hillel and Rabbi in Residence at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. He also served as Director of Hillel at Pierce and Valley Colleges in Woodland Hills, California. At the same time, he was a Lecturer in Rabbinics at the American Jewish University’s Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.

Rabbi Gedzelman was the lead professional at the Foundation working on the conceptualization, design, and implementation of Hebrew language public charter schools, which the Foundation has played a founding role in supporting since 2007. Rabbi Gedzelman’s passion for the Hebrew language and his deep commitment to inter-group understanding as well as supporting integrated and diverse public schools suited him well for this project which now encompasses a network of ten schools nationwide overseen by Hebrew Public: Charter Schools for Global Citizens, a grantee of the Foundation. David has been a champion of Hebrew fluency and literacy in North America and was a founding member of the World Zionist Organization’s Council on Hebrew Language and Culture in North America and Brandeis University’s Consortium for the Teaching of Hebrew Language and Culture. He also spearheaded Kayitz Kef, an initiative of the Areivim Philanthropic Group now part of the Brandeis Consortium, that brings Hebrew immersion programs to Jewish day and overnight camps across North America.

Through his work at the Foundation, Rabbi Gedzelman has also supported and helped build a broad range of educational and programmatic platforms in areas including Jewish Early Childhood Education, post-Birthright programming, campus engagement, and OneTable: Shabbat Together, an innovative initiative to engage Jewish young adults in the possibility of making Friday night Shabbat dinner an enduring practice in their lives.

Rabbi Gedzelman holds a B.A. from Hamilton College (1981), an M.A. from Duke University in Comparative Religion (1984), and an M.A. in Hebrew Letters and Rabbinical Ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (1991). He has studied in Israel at the Hebrew University and at the Pardes Institute. He currently serves on the Boards of The American Pardes Foundation, Friends of Hatikvah International Academy Charter School, One Table: Shabbat Together, and Yaffed. He has previously served on the Boards of 70 Faces Media, BBYO, Friends of Hebrew Language Academy Charter Schools, Harlem Hebrew Language Academy Charter School, Hebrew Language Academy Charter School, Hebrew Public: Charter Schools for Global Citizens, Hillel International, Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative, Jewish Funds for Justice, MyJewishLearning, and The Curriculum Initiative. Rabbi Gedzelman lives in Harlem, New York City, with his wife Judith Turner and their three children, Nomi, Anina and Ziv.