Alexandra H. Machinist is a partner and literary agent at ICM Partners in New York. Prior to ICM, Alexandra was vice president and literary agent at Janklow & Nesbit Associates. Before becoming a literary agent, Alexandra practiced corporate law at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in NY.

Alexandra is a leader of women’s initiatives within ICM. Additionally, she serves on the Publishers and Literary Committee at the New York Public Library.

Alexandra is a high honors graduate of the English department at the University of Michigan where she was also an Angell Scholar. After college, she received a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. She lives in Manhattan.

Alia Wechsler Gorkin grew up in the Washington, DC area and lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children.

Alia joined JDC’s Entwine Steering Committee as a founding member and served three terms until rotating off in 2016. During her time on the Steering Committee, Alia served on its Nominating Committee, was a CoChair of the Entwine San Francisco Network, and is a past participant of JDC’s Inside Jewish Cuba young professionals trip. Alia was recently nominated to the JDC Board, and will begin serving as a member in 2018 as part of JDC’s Global Leaders Initiative.

Alia and her husband Travis are members of Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco. Alia currently serves as the President of the Parent Association for the Emanu-El Preschool. She is also currently a member of the Early Childhood Education Director Search Committee for the congregation.

From 2010 until last year, Alia worked professionally for the San Francisco based Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco. In her most recent professional role, she worked as a Major Gifts Officer. Prior to that, she was the Director of Young Adult Engagement for several years, and also worked on the Major Gifts and Women’s Philanthropy teams. Alia also worked at nonprofits in both Austin and Philadelphia prior to her move to San Francisco in 2010.

Alia received a BA from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas Austin.

Ben is an associate at Hilco Streambank, the intellectual property-focused arm of asset valuation, monetization and advisory specialist Hilco Global. Ben is responsible for managing the sale processes of various portfolios of intellectual property in both healthy and distressed
situations by identifying creative ways to utilize assets and developing engaging marketing materials to entice prospective buyers. Prior to transferring to his current role with Hilco Streambank, Ben was the digital marketing associate for Hilco Global, where he assisted in the development and execution of marketing strategies for each of Hilco’s 10+ business units. In addition to his hectic work schedule, Ben has made charitable involvement and activities an important priority.

Over the past few years, he has taken a leadership role in the fight to raise awareness about cancer and help fight to find a cure. Recently, Ben has served as Marketing Director for Cycle for Suz, an annual indoor cycling event created to raise money for Bright Pink, an organization dedicated to eradicating breast and ovarian cancer through improved education and empowering women to live proactively. Additionally, Ben has helped raise money for various other forms of cancer research through an organization called Live2Ball. Here, various sporting events are hosted at summer camps to raise funds. In fact, this year, Ben will be a captain and lead his own team in the competition as well as help manage fundraising efforts. Making a difference to others in need is a part of Ben’s DNA.

Ben graduated from the University of Michigan in 2013 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy, and a concentration in Urban Planning. He was raised in Highland Park, IL and is the oldest of four children. Ben’s family has a rich history of philanthropy, which has been passed down from his great grandparents, Eli and Dina Field, grandparents, Larry and Barbara Field, who are currently members of the JDC board, and parents, Joe and Cindy Kaplan. Cindy recently served as campaign chair for the Women’s Division of the Chicago Federation. Ben recently got engaged to his fiancé, Kirby Jacobs, and will be married at the end of 2018.

Ben is an attorney and the Director of Client and Community Relations at Mintz Levin, where he leads the efforts of the firm’s client and community relations activities, including deepening client relationships, increasing and expanding the firm’s institutional reputation and goodwill, and effectively and efficiently bringing added value to the firm’s clients and community partners, and works as an experienced litigator and legal adviser whose practice focuses on a wide range of litigation matters

Ben is currently a Board member of AJC New England, Gann Academy, the American Society of the University of Haifa, New England Israel Business Council, and the Jewish Teen Foundation of Greater Boston. Ben is also an active member of the Israel and Overseas Committee of Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Jewish Community Relations Council. He previously chaired AJC’s global young leader group ACCESS and sat on its National Board, and chaired CJP’s Young Leaders Division and Young Jewish Leaders Council and was a former member of the Board.

Ben chaired a JDC Entwine Insider Trip to Israel and was a member of Entwine’s Boston Planning Group.

Ben has a B.A. in Political Science from Middlebury College and a J.D. and an M.B.A. from American University. He and his wife, Gabrielle, have four children.

Bradley Witover is a Nikon Research Microscopy salesman with Morrell Instruments. He has been with Morrell since April of 2015 and in microscope sales since September 2012. Prior to his entry into industry, Bradley worked at various bioresearch facilities in the NYC area.

Bradley has most recently served on the JDC Board Engagement Committee, and was a founding member of the JDC Entwine Steering Committee. The majority of his participation in various boards are with JDC, including activity with JDC’s Impact Network.

Bradley graduated from Clark University in Worcester, MA with BA in Biological Sciences and a concentration in Ecology and Evolution. He lives in NYC with his wife, Jamie, and two children Scarlet and Simon.

Brooke is the founder of Area Grey, a brand management consultancy based in Manhattan. She focuses on brand partnerships and PR strategy for luxury, hospitality and wellness ventures. Prior, she served as PR Director for Net-a- Porter and Director of PR & Events for Intermix, each multi-brand luxury retailers. Brooke graduated with honors from The George Washington University with a double major in Political Science and Philosophy.

Brooke has traveled to Havana and Ethiopia with JDC Entwine, and chaired Entwine’s Insider Trip to Rwanda’s Agahozo Shalom Youth Village and was part of NYC’s inaugural Entwine Giving Circle.

David Friedkin is an Associate at Ackman-Ziff in New York City where he specializes in Real Estate Capital Markets. His responsibilities include financial underwriting, market analysis, marketing, and transactional support. Previously, he was an Analyst at Nonprofit Finance Fund, a national nonprofit and CDFI. David was selected as a StartingBloc Social Enterprise Fellow and received the World Partners Fellowship from the American Jewish World Service to spend a year in Mumbai, India working for a local NGO. Before joining Ackman-Ziff, David received a Diploma with Distinction in Culinary Arts from the International Culinary Center in New York City. He went on to cook in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Manhattan. He is a member of the Urban land Institute and the National Multifamily Housing Council. David graduated with a BSBA in Finance and Arabic from the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Eve Myers is an Associate with Eastdil Secured LLC, a real estate investment banking company. Eve specializes in equity sales and debt placement for the Multifamily Group.

Among other activities, Eve currently serves on the Boards of Menorah Park (a subsidized senior housing facility) and the Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Group in San Francisco. Eve’s past involvements include serving as a member of JDC Entwine’s National Steering Committee, a Co-Chair of Entwine’s San Francisco Planning Group, and a member of San Francisco’s Jewish Business Leadership Council, through which she co-founded a mentorship program.

Eve has a B.A. in International Development Studies, with a minor in Public Policy/Urban Planning from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She lives in San Francisco, loves the outdoors, and is an avid hiker and skier.

Jay Chernikoff is the Founder and CEO of DeskHub, a company focused on creating the country’s premier network of shared entrepreneurial workspaces. Prior to DeskHub, he was a real estate investor and entrepreneur, who started and invested in several other businesses.

Jay currently serves on the Board of the Jewish Funders Network and is one of the founders of the Young Jewish Funders of Arizona Giving Circle and related groups, which raised nearly $200,000 last year from young adults. Jay is also a funder, founder, and Co-Chair of JDC Entwine’s programming in Phoenix.

Jay has a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and an M.B.A. from Arizona State University.

Kate Belza serves as Director of Expansion at Repair the World, focusing on expanding Repair’s programming to new markets and partnerships across the country. Previously, she worked at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, working on a variety of initiatives to identify, connect, and support global networks of young Jewish adults.

Kate has been deeply involved with JDC Entwine since her college years. She has traveled with Entwine to Israel, Ukraine, and Rwanda, served as a year-long JSC-BBYO Fellow in Argentina, and as the first college representative on Entwine’s Steering Committee. During her time at the Schusterman Family Foundation, she also supported the partnership between JDC Europe and the Foundation.

In addition to JDC, Kate serves on the Brody Jewish Center, Hillel at the University of Virginia Board. She has a B.A. in Religious Studies, with a minor in Leadership Studies, from the University of Virginia. Kate lives in Richmond, Virginia, enjoys traveling, and can usually be found sipping on green tea.

Leslie Rosen is a Principal at Rosen Properties, where she is responsible for a broad-based commercial real estate organization, working with the owners on all aspects of the acquisition, disposition, leasing, and management of multi-use commercial real estate located in the Puget Sound region. Prior to moving back to Seattle in June 2015, Leslie was a real estate associate at Paul Hastings’ New York office, following which she served as an associate in the real estate group at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP.

Currently, Leslie serves on the Board of the University of Washington Hillel, and she is a member of JFNA’s National Young Leadership Cabinet. Leslie chaired a JDC Entwine Insider Trip to Morocco in May 2013, and was active in Entwine’s New York City Learning Network. While in New York, Leslie also served as a Vice-Chair of UJA-Federation of New York’s Emerging Leaders and Philanthropists and as a Chair of their Young Lawyers Leadership Committee.

Leslie is the recipient of the “Above and Beyond” Excellence in Pro Bono Advocacy Award from Sanctuary for Families (2011), Connecticut College’s Mach Acrom ’89 Young Alumni Award (2012), and UJA-Federation’s Ludwig Jesselson Award for Commitment to Community (2013).

Leslie has a B.A. from Connecticut College and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Noah Rabinsky is the Principal of Summerfield Capital Management where he focuses on originating, executing and managing private equity investments in partnership with premier family offices. Prior to founding Summerfield, Noah was a Principal at MidOcean Partners, a middle-market, New York-based private equity firm where he was responsible for investments across a number of sectors, including business and consumer services, education and media. Noah is currently a director of Sestra Systems, Inc and has served on other corporate boards during his career.

Among other activities, Noah is a National Trustee of The Foundation Fighting Blindness, a member of The Natan Fund and a recent Schusterman Fellow with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.

Noah graduated magna cum laude from Brandeis University where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy and Politics.

Raquel is the Senior Program Manager for Principal Gifts Strategies at the University of California, San Diego, where she helps develop strategic alliances to cultivate and secure transformational gifts.

Currently, Raquel serves as the Co-Chair of the San Diego Jewish Federation’s NextGen Steering Committee and as a Board member of Congregation Beth El. In a consultant role, she led the efforts to establish Aish San Diego. Raquel was a founding member of JDC Entwine’s San Diego Learning Network and Co-Chair of the San Diego Planning Group, and she has traveled to Cuba, Ethiopia, India, and Israel with JDC.

Raquel has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Universidad de las Americas, A.C., Mexico City, and a Master’s degree in Leadership and Nonprofit Management from UC San Diego. Her parents and her brothers’ families live in Mexico City, and often visit her in sunny San Diego.

Stas Gayshan is Managing Director at the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) and the founder of CIC Boston.

Stas leads the development of new CIC projects in the Americas, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and beyond, connecting innovators across boundaries and borders. Stas works with governments, universities, large corporations, real estate developers, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, funders, and other stakeholders to solve difficult problems, build powerful, interwoven innovation ecosystems, and help cities craft lasting, impactful outcomes.

A globally sought-after thought leader on innovation and entrepreneurship, Stas is often seen speaking at conferences and judging startup competitions around the world.

Stas Gayshan joined CIC in early 2014. Previously, Stas was the Founder & CEO of Space with a Soul, a 20,000 square foot coworking space in Boston’s Innovation District. Stas is an entrepreneur and an attorney, and he worked in Democratic political campaigns at various levels prior to starting Space with a Soul. In his political work, Stas focused on the intersection of collaboration, technology and activism.

Stas has been recognized by the Boston Globe as one of the Most Innovative People in Massachusetts Business and by CJP as one of Boston’s most influential young leaders. He holds leadership positions in several philanthropic and nonprofit organizations active in the Greater Boston area. Stas has a B.A. and J.D. from Boston College.