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Volunteer and Professional Changes Come at a Pivotal Time for the Jewish Community
Longtime Jewish community leader Lily Serviansky has been installed as Chair of the Board of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and Mojdeh Khaghan Danial has been appointed the organization’s General Campaign Chair. Both positions, made official at Federation’s 86th Annual Meeting on May 30, will be effective July 1 and continue for two years. Serviansky succeeds Ariel Bentata, who has served with distinction as Board Chair since 2022.
The two women were both born outside the US and are illustrative of one of the most diverse Jewish communities in the nation.
Born in Mexico, Serviansky most recently served as General Campaign Chair and led the effort to raise nearly $27 million for the Annual Greater Miami Jewish Federation/UJA Campaign and nearly $30 million for the Israel Emergency Fund, the latter of which was launched the day of the horrific October 7 terrorist massacre in Israel. Serviansky is a passionate community leader, having served as Chair of The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, President of Temple Beth Am in Pinecrest and in key roles in other community nonprofits throughout Miami-Dade County.
Danial was born in Iran and most recently served Federation as both Jewish Community Relations Council Chair and Major Gifts Chair. She previously served as Women’s Philanthropy President. An attorney by profession, she has been involved in numerous causes in our community, including healthcare, education and civic engagement.
Serviansky and Danial assume these leadership positions at a pivotal moment for Jews worldwide amid alarming antisemitism, the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and a tremendous increase in anti-Israel activism and Jew hatred on college and university campuses in North America.
In addition to these changes in volunteer leadership, longtime President & CEO Jacob Solomon, who has served the organization and the Jewish community for 43 years, retires on June 30 and will continue in a consulting role as President & CEO Emeritus.
As part of this executive transition, Federation’s Board of Directors has engaged Scott Kaufman as Interim President & CEO, who will take office on July 1. Kaufman is an experienced professional who served as Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit from 2009 to 2019. He is widely regarded as one of the foremost innovators and community-builders in the Jewish communal world. Under his leadership, the Detroit Federation saw steady growth in all its philanthropic channels and in the overall level of participation in Jewish communal activities. Kaufman has been involved in several social entrepreneurial projects and, since leaving the Detroit Federation, also served as Interim CEO for three Jewish federations. Most recently, he was the national Board Chair of Leading Edge, an organization that helps Jewish nonprofits improve their workplace culture and leadership so they can better achieve their missions.
Another major professional leadership change in the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, as of May 23, is the promotion of Jeffrey Y. Levin to Executive Vice President from Chief Development Officer, a position he has held since 2008. With a career as a Jewish communal professional spanning more than three decades, Levin has been responsible for dramatically increasing all streams of fundraising for the Miami Jewish community, marking new milestones for the Annual Federation/UJA Campaign. Previously, he served as Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Ann Arbor, Michigan, enabling that community to experience a financial and programmatic renaissance.
“It is wonderful to be joining such a passionate and talented team of volunteer and professional leadership,” said Kaufman. “Despite the unique challenges facing the Jewish community at the moment, the opportunity for growth in Miami is extraordinary. I am looking forward to helping us move from strength to strength.”
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