OUR SPEAKERS

Duvi Honig

 

 

 

 

Duvi Honig is all about empowerment. A distinctly energetic and visionary entrepreneur, Duvi has built a world class network of diverse businesses and business services in order to increase economic productivity, and enhance the business prospects of the world’s Orthodox Jewish communities and its related economy. The dual pillars that Duvi founded – the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce and non-profit Parnassah Network organization – encompass a fast growing blend of small business owners, corporate executives, major entrepreneurs, professional business coaches, officials in the federal and state governments, and others. Through this network and projects such as the annual Parnassah Expo – Nationwide Business Networking Event, Duvi has intertwined a vibrant segment of the economy into a single global entity. Members gain exposure, new customers and vendors, professional guidance, capital, human resources, and more.

Duvi’s accomplishments are without peer in the Jewish world. He has found eager partners in the halls of the White House, Congress, state and local governments, international halls of power – and in grassroots community leaders. Duvi also leads an influential Public Policy Committee comprised of leading businessmen and activists to positively influence government policy on behalf of his community’s economic success. Duvi is a man with ambition, innovation and determination. He does not rest until his goals are accomplished – and his ambition only increases along with his list of accomplishments.

Mr. Charlie Harary

 

 

 

 

Mr. Charlie Harary, Esq. is a prolific speaker who has traveled all over the country and abroad speaking for organizations, schools, universities and institutions on a variety of topics and to audiences of various sizes and affiliations. He has created dozens of videos that have received worldwide attention reaching hundreds of thousands of people in over 15 countries. Mr. Harary is the CEO of H3 Capital LLC, an advisory and investment firm based in New York. Mr. Harary is a Clinical Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Syms School of Business in Yeshiva University. He is also a Senior Lecturer for the Orthodox Union, Aish Hatorah and NCSY. Charlie also hosts a weekly radio show, “The Book of Life” that is features on the NSN network. Prior to H3 Capital, Mr. Harary was the First Vice President of Residential Operations and Legal Counsel of RXR Realty, a multi-billion dollar Real Estate Company based in New York. Prior to RXR, Mr. Harary was an associate in Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Davis Polk & Wardwell. He received his J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was awarded the James Kent Scholar and the Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. In addition, he is an active community leader. He is the founder and president of Milvado Inc., an organization that develops innovative methods to teach spirituality in relevant and modern ways. He is a member of the Executive Board of the OU as well as the Founding Chairman of its Young Leadership Cabinet. He is also a member of the Conference of Young Jewish Presidents.

Ezra Friedlander

 

 

 

 

For more than 15 years, Ezra Friedlander in his capacity as CEO of The Friedlander Group has managed many complex public policy and public relations relations campaigns, earning a reputation for his diverse skills and broad range of knowledge. Ezra’s expertise lies in understanding the unique needs of the individual client, and customizing strategies accordingly. Ezra’s extensive experience has enabled him to deal proficiently with the various issues that inevitably arise in the course of challenging projects. 

Prior to founding The Friedlander Group, Ezra served on the staffs of New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind and former New York Public Advocate Mark Green, establishing a network of personal and professional contacts in the political, commercial, and non-profit sectors. Additionally, Ezra oversaw sensitive governmental foreign-relations projects. 

Ezra has earned much admiration from his colleagues and associates for his strong dedication to his clients, and for always representing them in a professional manner.

Herschel Leiner

 

 

 

 

Herschel Leiner of H. LEINER & CO. Corporate & Nonprofit Solutions is renowned for his winning seminars on management, marketing, branding and positioning of small businesses and nonprofit organizations. With extensive background in the nonprofit sector, his popular "Dinner In A Day" and Capital Campaign seminars won hundreds of his clients soaring revenues by much as 300%. H. LEINER & CO. is presently consulting for projects across North America that exceed $100 million. In addition, for over 25 years, the company has specialized in the marketing, branding and re-branding of young startup ventures. H. LEINER & CO. has a diverse team of talented professionals that are on the cutting edge of today’s fast-paced environment. Their track record of scores of successful clients has made them a trailblazer in the field. Constantly studying trends in the industry and blending it with decades of experience, Herschel Leiner brings to the podium fresh perspectives and results-driven ideas so leaders can walk away with the tools they need to aim even higher.

R’ Gedalyah Weinberger

 

 

 

 

Gedalia Weinberger is a guiding force of PCS, as Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Holding a BS from Brooklyn College in mathematics and a MS from the Courant Institute at New York University, he also has Rabbinical Ordination from Yeshiva Torah Vodaas.  Mr. Weinberger was a founder of American Healthware Systems, a developer of software for the healthcare industry. The company grew significantly under his guidance and merged with Siemens Corp. Mr. Weinberger sits on several boards of directors, including the boards of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath and Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood, and as Chairman of the Board Emeritus of Agudath Israel of America. He is Chairman of the Board of New York Community Hospital of Brooklyn, and Chairman of the Daf Yomi Commission.

Ira J. Perlmuter

 

 

 

 

Ira J. Perlmuter, Managing Director
 
Ira currently serves as head of Private Equity and Venture Capital for the Triple Five Group, a family office, www.triplefive.com.  In addition, he is also Managing Director of T5 Equity Partners LLC, a lower middle market distressed buyout fund which he started with the exclusive financial backing of Triple Five.  
 
Ira is also non-executive Chairman of five companies which he acquired for the family, Wayne Industrial Holdings, LLC, Wayne Sweepers, LLC, Advanced Manufacturing & Power Systems, Inc., Admiral Valve, LLC and Admiral Filter Company, LLC.  Ira also serves on the Board of Community Federal Savings Bank, a bank which he bought for the family; he is also Chairman of the Bank’s Credit and Compliance Committees.  He has also advised the family extensively regarding their oil and gas investments, including assisting to take one of the companies private.  
 
Prior to starting T5, Ira founded and ran Cove Capital Advisors, Inc.  Cove Capital is a boutique financial restructuring, turnaround and distressed/bankruptcy M&A advisory firm.  Cove Capital advised on over $5.5 billion of assignments, serving clients such as JP Morgan Chase, the Republic of Korea, Fleet Bank and others.
 
Before that, Ira was a Vice President in The Chase Manhattan Bank’s elite Restructuring Group.  Ira was with Chase for over seven years focusing primarily on corporate loan restructurings to middle market and international companies.  In that capacity, he restructured and/or sold over $1.5 billion of troubled debt.  In addition to the above, Ira served as Liaison to Chase’s Global M&A Group with a mandate to identify bankrupt or distressed M&A opportunities for Chase’s top-tier clients.  Further, Ira assisted in the formation of, and was an advisor to Knightbridge Capital Partners LLC, an investment bank established to do private placement transactions for growth and/or distressed companies. 
 
Previously he served on the Advisory Board of Fairbanks Equity Funding Ltd., a hedge fund.  For several years, Ira gave the keynote address to the world-wide, senior management of the Korea Exchange Bank at a Credit Analysis and Loan Classification seminar.  In addition, in March 2000, Ira was chosen as one of the TOP 40 UNDER 40 by Business News New Jersey, a statewide, weekly business journal.  Ira also is a member of the Turnaround Management Association. 

Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg

 

 

 

 

Rabbi Issamar Ginzberg is a  strategy and marketing advisor, ideas generator and action planner, mentor and friend to business professionals and entrepreneurs, to companies large and small, and to marketing specialists worldwide.

He flies between Jerusalem and New York and along the internet and telecoms highways for consulting jobs across a wide range of industries and speaking engagements to diversified groups of people looking to achieve growth.

His goal is always to empathize with the person he’s listening and talking to and their goals; to want the success they want for themselves. He then then provides reliable perspective, growth-focused insights and ideas, and high-impact actions that can be implemented.

Menachem Lubinsky

 

 

 

 

Menachem Lubinsky is president & CEO of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting, a full-service public relations, advertising and marketing, and special events management firm. Mr. Lubinsky is a seasoned marketing executive whose successes have spanned many industries.

For 30 years, LUBICOM has served a broad cadre of clients in diverse areas, including MCI, Sprint, Coca Cola, Dannon Yogurt, Lea & Perrins, Welch’s, Frito-Lay, Hospital for Joint Diseases, Maimonides Hospital, Brookdale Hospital, Metropolitan Jewish Health System, the Luggage and Leather Goods and Shoe Industries, and more than 400 other businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

Michael Landau

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman of West Side Council of Orthodox Jewish Organizations, (West Side COJO).

 

Chaskel Bennett

 

 

 

 

Chaskel Bennett is Founder, President and CEO of MBA Supply Company of NY, a maintenance and building supply company and consulting firm servicing the NY real-estate industry. He is a noted political activist and a leading communal advocate. Mr. Bennett is a member of the prestigious Agudath Israel of America National Board of Trustees and a Co-founder and executive board member of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition (FJCC). Chaskel also serves on the boards of several communal organizations including Keren Aniyem, Masbia Food Pantry, 'Our Place' and COJO of Flatbush. Numerous elected officials on the local, state and federal levels of government seek Mr. Bennett's advice and counsel on Jewish communal issues. 

Naphtali Hoff

 

 

 

 

Rabbi Naphtali Hoff provides leadership coaching, consulting and professional development services to executives and their teams. He is a sought-after lecturer who has addressed audiences on a wide range of topics. He is also a regular contributor to Hamodia, The Jewish Press, SmartBlogs and Huffington Post on such topics as leadership, education, religion and healthy living. 

Naphtali holds a M.Ed. in Secondary Education from CCNY and a M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision from Loyola University Chicago. He is presently enrolled in a PsyD program studying human and organizational psychology, which analyzes successful individual or organizational change and development. He received semicha from Rabbi Gedaliah Dov Schwartz, Av Bais Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council.

S. Ronald (Reuvain) Ansel, MBA, CPC

 

 

 

 

S. Ronald Ansel, MBA, CPC, is the Director of Career Services at Touro College and a Certified Professional Career and Life Coach.  He joined Touro College in July 2005 and has counseled hundreds of students and alumni in all aspects of the job search, including extensive experience in doing “mock” interviews with individuals and groups.  Employed by J. P. Morgan Chase for almost 26 years, he served as a Vice President in Human Resources from 1997 to 2002, specializing in executive coaching, leadership development, organizational analysis and consulting, team development, personal awareness workshops, diversity training, and the development of mentoring programs.  He has more than 15 years’ experience as a coach, organizational consultant, workshop designer/presenter and professional speaker.

E. David S Chaim Shapiro

 

 

 

 

Chaim Shapiro, M.Ed is the Assistant Director of Career Services at Touro College in New York. He is a freelance writer, public speaker and social media consultant.  He earned a Masters Degree in College Student Personnel from Loyola University, Chicago, and also studied in the Institutional Leadership and Policy Studies Ph.D. program at the University of California, Riverside Graduate School of Education.  Chaim has more than 15 years of experience working in organizational administration.

Ed Neiger

 

 

 

 

Edward E. Neiger is a managing Partner at ASK LLP. Prior to ASK, Edward was an attorney in the Business, Finance & Restructuring department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, one of the nation's premier restructuring practices.  Edward represented clients in the bankruptcy cases of Lehman Brothers, American Airlines and General Motors, to name a few. Most recently he represented mayor-elect Bill De Blasio in the Interfaith Hospital bankruptcy. 
Edward also regularly lectures on Bankruptcy law and preference actions and he writes the Bankruptcy Update column in the New York Law Journal. 

Edward is admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, and in the State of New York.  Edward is a member of the board of the New York Institute of Credit, and is the vice chair of the executive committee of the Future Leaders division of the New York Institute of Credit.
 

Craig (Tzvi) Gherman

 

 

 

 

Tzvi (Craig) Gherman is a partner in the corporate, securities and private equity practice groups of Schwell Wimpfheimer & Associates (www.swalegal.com). He is an admitted attorney in both New York and Israel. His clients range from individuals and start-ups to Fortune 500 public companies, and span the globe from Lakewood to Yerushalayim. Prior to making aliyah to Eretz Yisroel and joining SWA, Tzvi spent six years as an associate in the Global Corporate/Mergers and Acquisitions Group in the NYC office of the international law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. Tzvi learned in Yeshiva Torah Mitzion, graduated Queens College Magna Cum Laude with honors in Psychology, and received his J.D. with Distinction from Hofstra University School of Law, where he received a full merit scholarship and was a member of Hofstra Law Review. Tzvi and his family live in Ramat Beit Shemesh. Tzvi can be reached at tgherman@swalegal.com.

Chanina Katz

 

Chanina Katz is president of Bullseye Marketing, an advertising consultancy firm. He has over two decades experience in major ad agencies on the east and west coasts, developing successful  strategies and campaigns for such clients as Colgate, RJ Reynolds, Hilton, Home Depot, General Mills, KFC and many others. He haas won numerous national and international awards, including the New York Advertising Club 'ANDY', and a Clio nomination.

Keith Chamish

 

 

 

 

Keith Chamish known as a ' Curator All Things Digital' .

Established as a computer network & security expert within the financial industry. While leading Information Technology department at National Securities and than Laidlaw & Co.  LLC . Keith was continually selected from a group of Beta testers during Nasdaq system releases .   

In 2011 added app development to his toolbox by creating mobile apps and solutions for leading Advertising agencies.

Keith further pushed his breadth of technical skills by becoming an expert in E-Commerce marketplaces via Digital Marketing and Analytic Data analysis -- improving month over month online sales for a leading watch brand and the third largest supermarket in the NYC metro area.
  
Today Keith remains the founder of InstaTrade . InstaTrade is the # 1 ranked app in the Apple App store under the keyword Barter.
InstaTrade remains the fastest and most secure mobile marketplace to post , discover , buy and trade new and used goods.

To learn more download the iPhone app at instatrade.me/getapp.

Mark Strimber

 

 

 

 

Senior Manager, International Tax
McGladrey LLP
New York, NY
mark.strimber@mcgladrey.com
212.372.1313
Summary of Experience
Mark Strimber is a senior manager who joined McGladrey from a Big Four firm’s international tax practice. Based in New York, Mark advises multinational corporations on the U.S. tax implications of their cross-border operations and reorganizations and is responsible for researching complex international and domestic tax issues for inbound and outbound transactions. Mark has assisted in planning tax-efficient structures for international transactions, tax due diligence and M&A transactions and reading and applying tax treaty provisions. 
He has experience managing and reviewing international tax forms and compliance for large clients and is part of our concurring review process to ensure high-quality compliance.
Mark also has experience reviewing and preparing federal, state, and local partnership and corporate tax returns and participating in technical discussions on real estate related tax matters involving REITs, partnerships, S corporations and C corporations. He has experience researching and ensuring compliance with SEC, AICPA and PCAOB independence rules. 
He is an adjunct associate professor at Baruch College teaching international tax in the MST program and was an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Touro College, teaching Individual Income Taxation in the undergraduate accounting program.

Professional Affiliations and Credentials

• Admitted to practice law in the states of New York and New Jersey

• Member, New York State Bar Association

Education

• Juris Doctor, cum laude, Brooklyn Law School

• Bachelor of Science, cum laude, accounting, Touro College
   

Shea Rubenstein

 

 

 

 

Marc Vorchheimer

 

 

 

 

Since 1996, Marc has been providing financial advice to individuals and small businesses.  Marc has a unique ability to understand his clients financial needs and find creative solutions best suited forthem and their families. He pays attention to all details of clients life situations and helps them optimize their investments and increase their net worth. Mr. Vorchheimer is a good listener and a professional with the highest level of honesty and integrity. Marc emphasizes sophisticated tax saving strategies to preserve and increase his clients wealth. He helps individuals clarify their objectives and guides them to achieve the personal and financial goals that are important to them.

Specialties:

• Advises professionals, business owners and retirees.

• Skills & Expertise:

• Investments

• Insurance

• Financial Accounting

• Small Business

• Retirement

• Employee Benefits

• Financial Advisory

• Management

• Wealth

• Financial Services
   

Allan Glazer

 

 

 

 

Allan H. Glazer  is founder and CEO of AHG Consulting, a high powered business consulting company with no nonsense approach to networking and marketing. Allan has used his wide range of Business and Technology experience to bring his clients an unprecedented level of exposure. Allan has worked closely with business owners and sales representatives for the last 20 years to improve their marketing capabilities and then convert those contacts to clients.

Years of success have made Allan H. Glazer among the most sought after business professionals on the East Coast business scene. Allan has a fresh eye and is able to see several immediate solutions that are obvious yet invisible to you. Not only does Allan bring solution but helps a person accelerate towards that solution.

Steven Shain

 

 

 

 

Director of Client Relations Management at LTC Consulting Services LLC
 
Steve currently leads the Client Relations Department managing the full Customer Experience for over 75 healthcare facilities around the country. He recently spearheaded his companies Implementation Department which works alongside their customers upon purchase of newly acquired facilities, navigating the regulatory maze of setup and credentialing needed. When not on site at client facilities, Steve conducts regular training for the LTC staff of over 200, and at industry conventions. His recent engagements of this past year include the Healthcare Association of NJ, and Pennsylvania Healthcare Association where he lectured on this topic of customer care along with other concepts focusing on maximizing your customer experience. Although his area of expertise is in health care, the concepts of customer care are in best interest of every companies ‘health’!
 

Moshe Kravetz

 

 

 

 

Certified Career Coach - Five O'Clock Club
Director of Finance - IDT Telecom

Moshe guides his clients in selecting appropriate targets and in marketing themselves effectively.

His experience includes many years as an educator, actuarial positions at CNA Insurance and Buck Consultants and his position as Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at a major telecommunications-energy company.

Everywhere he works, Moshe demonstrates a passion for helping others  to improve their skills and efficiency. With this passion he helps job seekers to hone their job search skills, enabling them to land offers more quickly and at higher salaries.

Ami Bielinki

 

 

 

 

Shimmy Braun

 

 

 

 

Shimmy Braun has been involved in Healthcare Sales for 25 years. His experience has been focused on physicians in private practice, concentrating on capital equipment sales, consumable items, & practice management. For the past two years his experience has proven valuable towards his position of Regional Director of Physician Outreach for Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.

Yaniv Meirov

 

 

 

 

Yaniv Meirov is President and CEO of the prominent CHAZAQ organization, which has been igniting and developing the spiritual spark of thousands in the New York metropolitan area since 2006. In addition, he is very involved in many communal projects and is a board member in six community organizations. He may be contacted at YanivMeirov@gmail.com.   
 

Andrew J. Lauer, Esq.

 

 

 

 

Vice President for Legal Affairs, Secretary and General Counsel 
Yeshiva University
500 West 185th Street
Suite BH 1001
New York, NY 10033-3201
Office: 212-646-592-4410
Facsimile: 646-417-7358
Email: andrewlauer@yu.edu

Professional Experience 
Mr. Lauer serves as Vice President for Legal Affairs, Secretary and General Counsel of Yeshiva University. In this capacity, Mr. Lauer is responsible for all legal matters pertaining to the University and its affiliates within the United States and abroad. Mr. Lauer also serves as counsel to the President of the University.
Prior to his appointment at YU, Mr. Lauer was a Partner at the international law firm of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman and Steiner LLP where he maintained a large and diverse practice while also serving as an active member of Thelen’s Labor and Employment Law Department. Mr. Lauer served as relationship partner to numerous clients in relation to various areas of legal specialty, including corporate, real estate, litigation, technology, outsourcing, bankruptcy, patent and trademark and he often functioned as outside general counsel to many companies. Mr. Lauer also established and maintained an extensive Israel Practice at Thelen and he worked with many Israeli owned and/or affiliated companies and regularly traveled to Israel to meet with his Israeli clients and contacts.

Mr. Lauer also has prior professional experience as Senior Employment Counsel in the Office of General Counsel of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting (PwC Consulting), where he was responsible for all employment law related matters affecting the firm and its 30,000+ employees. In addition, he was responsible for all in-house employment law related matters pertaining to the planned IPO and the ultimate sale of PwC Consulting to International Business Machines (IBM). Before joining PricewaterhouseCoopers, he served as Assistant General Counsel of Deloitte & Touche USA, where he was employment counsel to both Deloitte & Touche LLP and Deloitte Consulting L.P. Prior to working at Deloitte, Mr. Lauer was an Assistant District Attorney in the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, where he conducted numerous trials and investigations and was assigned to several bureaus including the elite Trial Cadre unit of the Homicide Bureau.

Mr. Lauer has been certified as a Master Facilitator in Employment and Management Training by a nationally recognized training vendor.  He is a frequent speaker and lecturer, has published numerous articles and has conducted training and seminars in various areas of business, communal issues and the law throughout the United States and abroad. He serves on the Audit and Finance Committee of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA).  He also serves as a Dayan (religious court Judge) on the Beth Din of America with a particular focus on matters pertaining to corporate, commercial and employment law.

As an Adjunct Professor at Yeshiva University, he conducted undergraduate lectures in Business Law.  He is currently teaching a class entitled, Corporate Entrepreneurship and the Management of Change, in the EMBA Program of Sy Syms School of Business.

Rick Kestenbaum

 

 

 

 

Rick Kestenbaum is Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of New Jersey Jewish News, one of the largest Jewish media organizations in the country.  Rick brings over 25 years of experience to this role, having served in the past as Advertising Director for leading publishers including Media News Group, Forbes and Advance Publications and having worked with a mix of mainstream publications ranging from local weekly newspapers to regional daily newspapers to one of the top 20 newspaper websites in the country, NJ.com.  At NJJN, Rick oversees all aspects of the business operation of the paper, including advertising sales, marketing, production and accounting.  Rick has been recognized with multiple industry awards and has been speaker and panelist on the topic of print and online marketing at a number of industry events.  He also wrote the popular column, “Inch by Inch”, which appeared in trade publications nationwide for many years, and currently serves as 1st Vice President of the American Jewish Press Association.

Joe Apfelbaum

 

 

 

 

Joe Apfelbaum is an entrepreneur, author and online technology expert with over 15 years of experience in the field. In 2008, Joe co-founded Ajax Union, one of the most prominent privately held digital marketing and consulting firms and an INC 500 ranked enterprise. Joe currently serves as the CEO of Ajax Union and is very involved in a variety of CEO networking and mentoring groups, including EANYC, YJP, Vistage, EO New York, and EO Brooklyn, which Joe helped found and where he currently serves on the board of directors.

Joe has been featured on Fox Business Network and Fox Business News and was selected by Google to be a Certified Google Trainer. Today, Joe produces a weekly podcast series called CEO Mojo, where he motivates success entrepreneurs with stories about business, marketing, and leadership. His work appears regularly on Forbes, INC and LinkedIn, where he blogs about entrepreneurship, digital marketing, sales, and more. In his spare time, Joe loves spending time with his wife and four children.
 

Shlomo Trachtenberg

 

 

 

 

Topic: Conversion Rate Optimization
Title: “Find Out Where Your Website Is Leaking Money And How to Fix It”

Shlomo Trachtenberg manages conversion rate optimization at Laureate International Universities, a nine figure international corporation, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.  In his position, Shlomo develops and implements innovative marketing strategies and oversees a digital marketing firm on Laureate’s payroll, with a team of several dozen.  Shlomo is also the CEO of Digital Trax, LLC, a digital marketing agency focused on adapting corporate digital marketing strategies and strategically applying them to small and intermediate businesses.  

Shlomo is also on the Board of JET Tech, a non-profit business development center, located in Baltimore, Maryland.  He focuses on helping community members integrate into the technology field, particularly digital marketing field.  With his expertise in his field and his warm personality, Shlomo has helped many.
 

Jeremy Seth Davis

 

 

 

 

Jeremy Seth Davis is managing editor of Family Office Capital Network and founder of PressIQ, a marketing and consulting firm for financial technology companies and fintech entrepreneurs.

Jeremy leads the editorial and content strategy for Family Office Capital Network (Focapnet). Before joining Focapnet, he was a senior reporter for Mergers and Acquisitions Journal, covering private equity and direct investments.

Prior to that, he was a reporter for The Financial Times' Mergermarket.com. Jeremy has been published in FT.com, Investment Dealers’ Digest, and New York Daily News.

Sam Michelson

 

 

 

 

With a background in technology and marketing, Sam Michelson founded Five Blocks in 2003. The firm originally focused on search marketing for law firms, real estate projects, and various B2B clients. In 2008, realizing that digital branding was critical to the success of companies as they moved online, the company shifted its focus to Digital Reputation Management. Today Sam manages the company’s vision and growth, providing strategic counsel for the growing number of international clients. Sam also consults on the development of the Five Blocks technology platform.

Sam holds a BA in Psychology from Yeshiva University (1992) and a Masters in Management from Boston University (1994). Sam is the inventor of two US patents, one in the area of self-tuning knowledge bases and text categorization, the other in interactive digital advertising.

Sam served as an organizational psychologist and management consultant in the Israel Defense Forces. Sam spends a significant amount of time traveling to meet clients and partners. He lives in Israel with his wife and eight children.

Elliot Lasson

 

 

 

 

Elly D. Lasson, Ph.D., SPHR is an Organizational Consultant withover two decades of experience in Human Resources. During that time, he has served as a Consultant, Manager, Director, and Professor.
 
For the past 6.5 years, Dr. Lasson served as the ExecutiveDirector of Joblink of Maryland, a community-based nonprofit organization supporting the employment objectives of members of the Baltimore frum community.  He is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland in the Master’s program for Organizational Psychology.  In 2009, Dr. Lasson was appointed by Governor O’Malley to the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board on which he is serving his second term. 
 
Dr. Lasson has expertise in careers and job search and has been a sought after resource nationally about employment and training in the local Jewish community.  He has been featured with recent media appearances on the Nachum Segal Network, WBAL, and Fox45 Baltimore.  His articles have appeared inthe Baltimore Jewish Home, Jewish Link of Bergen County,Yahoo! Finance, and Huffington Post.  He also writes a blog on workplace topics called Elliot@Work.
  
Dr. Lasson learned Yeshivas Ner Yisroel from where he has his B.T.L.  He earned his B.A. in Psychology from University of Maryland.  He then went on for his M.A. and Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. He holds certification as a Senior Human Resources Professional from the HR Certification Institute as well as from the Society for Human Resource Management.

He resides with his family in Baltimore and recently completed Shas.

Yisroel H. Levovitz

 

 

 

 

Mr. Levovitz, a Marketing Consultant and Business Content Writer, is the CEO of Profound Marketing Agency, a Creative Marketing and Communication firm specializing in assisting businesses and entrepreneurs with the formulation and dissemination of their messages via conventional as well as  online and social media marketing methods. He can be reached at YHL@ProfoundMarketingAgency.com.

Yosef R. Levine

 

 

 

 

Yosef R. Levine is an Audit Director at Deloitte where he is leadership team member of the firm’s Audit Innovation technology incubator. He is a Co-Leader of Deloitte’s Israeli Business Service Desk.  As a seasoned auditor, he serves emerging growth companies and complex SEC clientele in the retail, service and technology space.

Yosef is also member of Deloitte’s Professional Practice Director Group where he is a subject matter resource on the application audit analytics and general matters of audit methodology. Yosef has served as the firm’s Northeast Regional Audit Technology Leader in which capacity he co-authored the Institute of Internal Auditor’s (IIA) course on “Fraud Auditing Using ACL” and international training material in the usage of Statistical Techniques for Analytical Review (STAR) within an audit process. 

Yosef has served as adjunct professor in accounting information systems at Touro University’s Business Graduate School and is a graduate of Yeshiva University’s Syms School of Business.

Yosef is the President of the Board of Camp Shalom NJ and the Vice President - Treasurer of the Anshei Lubavitch Outreach Center of Fair Lawn NJ, and alumni President of the Chabad Club of Yeshiva University. 

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) 
Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) 
Member of the AICPA, New York State Society of CPAs (Technology Assurance Committee member)
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
 

Jeff Folger

 

 

 

 

Jeffrey Folger has more than 14 years of commercial and securities experience in numerous business transactions for public and private clients. He was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell from 2000 until he joined Oscar Folger in 2003 to form Folger & Folger. He is a graduate of Columbia Law School with Kent Scholar recognition. He can be reached at jeff@folgerlegal.pro.
 

E. David Smith

 

 

 

 

E. David Smith, Esq., is Principal at Smith & Associates, where he serves as outside general counsel for US-based companies and international entities focusing on positioning companies for growth opportunities and mitigating risk.  Combining his experience in corporate transactions, financing and governance, corporate litigation and intellectual property, he provides strategy and quarterbacks companies’ and family offices’ legal needs.  As part of guiding his clients in the creation and growth of their wealth, he counsels clients in asset preservation.

David Rosen

 

 

 

 

Nachum Kligman

 

 

 

 

Nachum Kligman, Founder of Ideago LLC

Nachum is the founder of Ideago StartUp Lab, a launching pad for business ideas of his clients as well as his own. He is the Co-Founder of RoadShows.co which brings together product creators and store owners that creates value for both sides. He is also the Founder of Viewbix, an interactive video platform which is a VC funded company he launched in 2005. He is also the President of Zip Up For Special Needs, an awareness project inspired by his special needs son Moishy. He holds two technology patents and just launched his first Podcast, The Frum Entrepreneur. The Podcast features interviews from around the world with frum entrepreneurs inspiring and giving back to the Jewish community. He lives with his wife & children in Ramat Bet Shemesh, Israel.
 

Chaim Sofer

 

 

 

 

Women in the Workforce

 

 

See the presenters below for the Women in the Workforce.

Estie Rand

 

Estie Rand has been helping helping businesses and non-profits improve on minimal budgets for over 14 years. A graduate of Baruch College Zicklin School of Business in New York, Estie is also a Certified Professional Coach. After spending many years finding fulfillment in the non-profit industry, Estie founded Strand Consulting to bring her skills of doing more with less to small business owners. Estie now enjoys every minute of her work helping others reach their earning potential, maximizing themselves, their time and of course, their profits.

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz

 

Faigie Horowitz A veteran community activist, Faigie Horowitz has spent more than twenty years in social services both as an executive and as a board member of several non-profits. She holds a Masters in Management Science. She currently is the program coordinator in Touro College’s Career Services Department and is a columnist for Hamodia and Binah Magazine. She serves as the rebbetzin of Congregation Agudas Achim in Lawrence, NY and frequently lectures on life skills and Torah topics. She can be reached at Faigie.Horowitz@touro.edu.

Rivka Sender

 

Rivka Sender is a wife, mother, rebbetzin, and a CPA/ Senior Manager with KPMG. She has recently moved to the US after spending 18 years living in Eretz Yisrael, and working primarily for the KPMG member firm there. Rivka's first love is teaching, with experience both in the US, and in a seminary in Eretz Yisrael, as well a coordinator of touring programs there.  She recently founded HaSviva, an organziation geared to supporting frum women in the workplace, in response to the spritiual challenges that she, and others, have faced.

Nechama Basser

 

Nechama Basser is the wife of Rabbi Yitzchok Basser, a maggid shiur and Rosh Chaburah in Lakewood, NJ, and mother of 7. She started college at Case Western Reserve University as a music major but somehow ended up with a BA in Comp. Sci. from Touro College. Mrs. Basser started her career as a programmer and technical writer in tech startups. For the last 10 years she has worked at American Express Co. in project management, product development, marketing, and strategy roles, with an odd detour to set up a subsidiary in China. Mrs.Basser sits on the Board of the Center for Health Education, Medicine, and Dentistry of Lakewood, NJ and the steering committee of HaSevivah. In her spare time she enjoys – never mind, the last time she had spare time was 2003.

Janette Levey Frisch

 

Janette Levey Frisch,  Founder of The Emplawyerologist Firm, has over 20 years' experience as an attorney, has worked as in-house counsel in the temporary staffing industry, has authored articles on many different employment law issues for many publications, and works with employers on most any employment law issue, -acting as the Employer’s Legal Wellness Professional- to ensure that employers are in the best  position possible to avoid avoid litigation, audits, employee relations problems, and the attendant, often exorbitant costs. Janette can be reached by phone at 732-902-0728 and by email at theemplawyerologist@gmail.com. You can visit Janette’s blog at www.theemplawyerologist.com.

Sharon Green

 

Sharon Green is an experienced attorney who counsels and advises clients on a variety of legal matters and issues.  Core to her practice is her work with nonprofit and charitable organizations, assisting them in state incorporation and compliance matters, drafting articles and bylaws, litigation matters, applying for tax-exempt status, and IRS audits.  With an LL.M in taxation and an MBA, Sharon is able to successfully advise start up charitable organizations on corporate structure, business plans, fundraising and marketing programs, grant applications, and government contracts.

Chanie Jacobowitz

 

Chanie Jacobowitz has been the Director of Government Affairs at Beth Medrash Govoha since 2002. BMG, “The Lakewood Yeshiva”, is the country’s largest Yeshiva with more than 6,800 students, and  Mrs. Jacobowitz is involved with internal management and compliance as well as initiatives and advocacy to benefit the Lakewood community as a whole. In this capacity, Mrs. Jacobowitz supervises the managers of several departments that together comprise more than 55 full and part-time employees. Mrs. Jacobowitz is also a Board Member of CHEMED/LRRC, a Federally Qualified Health Center and social services organization serving more than 22,000 patients and clients.

Previously, Mrs. Jacobowitz was the Site Director of the Shorefront Jewish Community Council serving the needs of the low-income Russian immigrant community in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn,  a role which enabled her to draw on her experience over several summers as a volunteer counselor at a  kiruv camp in the Ukraine. She attended BJJ seminary  and went on to earn her B.A. in Psychology from Touro College in 1998 and her Master’s in Social Work with a concentration in Community Organization and Administration from Yeshiva University - Wurzweiler School of Social Work in 2002.

Suzannah Raff

 

Suzannah Raff, MScA, MSW is a Career Coach and Marketing/Digital Media Consultant in private practice in Rockland County, NY.  Suzannah has a broad range of Human Resources, Marketing and Technology expertise having worked through the years with NASDAQ technology start-up companies like Net2Phone designing software and websites for her clients as well as creating viral marketing and social media campaigns.  Suzannah has had the pleasure of working with big brands such as Walgreen’s, Costco, MiracleSuit, the US Navy Exchange and Nike as well as smaller niche brands such as Jew in the City, The Sephardic Legacy Series, and OmniChannel Health Media.  Suzannah is also the  creator of her own successful niche blog, The Kosher Shophaholic.  Today, she combines her education and experience counseling clients on career paths and strategies as well as teaching Management and Entrepreneurship classes for college. Suzannah holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada as well as a Master of Science in Administration from Concordia University in Canada and a Master of Social Work degree from Adelphi University in New York. She can be reached at www.raffbusiness.com.

Sara Brejt

 

Sara Brejt, Esq., CPC, a Career/Life Coach with The Step BEFORE Parnassah, is certified to administer today's popular career-assessment tools. Having worked formerly as both a practicing attorney and a kiruv professional, she integrates strong professionalism with solid hashkafic-grounding. And, as a woman who is herself returning to the workforce - after a hiatus to raise her family, ka”h - she guides her clients through the process of self-assessment and career choice, in a warm, accepting atmosphere."

Sori Leshkowitz

 

Sori Leshkowitz is founder and writer-in-chief at Stellar Resumes. She develops high-impact resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles that help professionals and executives take their careers to the next level. With her highly acclaimed personal-level service, Sori has perfected the art of capturing each client’s personal brand and communicating that value to employers. You can reach her at sori@stellarresumes.net.

Chaya (Appel) Fishman

 

Chaya (Appel) Fishman is the Founder and President of The Jewish Woman Entrepreneur. While pursuing a law degree, Chaya catapulted her vision into reality; she launched The JWE, and in just a few short years, has built an organization with more than 1,000 members and 12 local chapters across America. Currently, Chaya is in her final semester at the University of Maryland School of Law, where she was a Rubin Scholar. Chaya will be working in the corporate practice group at Miles and Stockbridge, LLP, beginning September 2015. Previously, Chaya worked as a financial analyst at Eternity Asset Management and as Founder of Appel Adventures, a creative arts program for girls. She graduated magna cum laude from Lander College for Women, with a BS in Finance. Chaya’s achievements are recognized by many: she is the recipient of the Touro Service Award, was named to the Daily Record’s “Twenty in their Twenties” list, and was chosen as a Forward 50. Chaya resides in Baltimore with her husband, Rabbi Ariel Fishman, and their rambunctious two-year old son.

Dr. Ditza Berger

 

Guidance professional at Lander College for Women

Leah Zagelbaum

 

Director of Communications, Agudath Israel of Americael of America
 

Chavie Glustein

 

CBIS, Founder and Director of BINA Stroke and Brain Injury Assistance

Brocha Miller

 

Freelance writer

Aliza Sklar

 

Women In The Workforce Executive Assistant

Tova Herskovitz

 

LSW, Coordinator of Women In The Workforce