Meet the Board

Hunter Hillel is guided by an incredible group of dedicated leaders who are passionate about fostering a thriving Jewish community on campus. Their vision, generosity, and commitment ensure that Jewish students have the support, resources, and experiences they need to grow, lead, and connect.

We are grateful for their hard work and leadership. If you’re interested in shaping the future of Jewish life at Hunter Hillel, we invite you to reach out to us to learn more about joining our Board.

  • Board Chair

    Samuel E. “Skip” Vichness is the chair of the Board of Directors of Hillel International, the largest Jewish campus organization, with more than 550 Hillel affiliates in 19 countries. Previously, he served as vice chair for three years, led Hillel’s Israel engagement philosophy, and chaired its Task Force on Public Statements.

    Skip is the president of Quality Camping Properties, Inc. and a senior partner in GreyPine, LLC, with over 45 years of experience as a director and investor in the summer camp industry. He has been involved in operations for day, resident, and special-needs camps across the Northeast.

    A past chair of the Foundation for Jewish Camp and the National Ramah Commission, Skip has played a key role in shaping Jewish camping experiences. In 2011, he received the American Jewish Distinguished Service Award from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He is also a former president of the American Camp Association, New York Section, past chair of the TriState Camping Conference, and former president of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union Counties (The Golda Och Academy).

    Raised in Newport News, Virginia, Skip earned his bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon College and his doctorate in European history from Florida State University. He later served on Randolph-Macon’s Board of Trustees for 11 years, chairing its finance committee, and was named a distinguished alumnus in 2011.

    Dedicated to academic scholarship, he is the vice chair of the Massena Society, supporting graduate studies on the French Revolution and Napoleon. In 2004, he was awarded the Distinguished Medal of the Institute for the Study of Napoleon and the French Revolution.

    Skip is a graduate of the Wexner Heritage Program. He resides in Manhattan and Delray Beach, Florida with his wife, Ilana. They have two sons, Ittamar (Aileen) and Shai (Aileen), and three grandsons, Adin, Lev, and Jude.

  • Board Treasurer

    Aryeh Goldstein recently began working in the investment banking department at Guggenheim Securities. Prior to Guggenheim, he worked in consulting at Deloitte focusing on the Financial
    Services and Insurance sector. Aryeh recently completed his M.B.A. with Honors and Distinction from Columbia Business School, and studied economics at Columbia College.
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    As a student at Columbia he was active in the Hillel and experienced firsthand the important work that Hillel does connecting Jewish students to each other and their Jewish heritage. After spending a year as an observer through a partnership program with UJA Federation of NY on the Hunter Hillel Board and witnessing the amazing work that is being done, Aryeh is excited for the opportunity to continue deepening his involvement at Hunter Hillel as a board member.

  • Secretary

    Rachel Belsky holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University in Education. She is currently teaching the third grade at PS 183, a local public school. 

    Rachel has been involved with UJA-Federation since she moved to New York City after college. She has served on the board at Hunter Hillel since 2018 and is passionate about continuing to help the students here to thrive in their community.

  • Nominations Committee

    Moshe Horn is a partner at Simmons Hanly Conroy, where he specializes in trial law and legal strategy, having tried over 100 cases, including a $47 million class action verdict. With a decade of experience as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan, Moshe is recognized as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in the country. He also serves as an adjunct professor and lectures on jury selection and trial advocacy.

    As a dedicated board member of Hunter Hillel, Moshe brings his extensive legal expertise to support the organization’s mission and growth. Outside of his professional work, he is an active mentor to youth mock trial teams and passionate about community engagement. Moshe enjoys spending time with his children and supporting the New York Knicks and Yankees.

  • Nominations Committee

    Iris began her career in the art world (as art dealer) at Hammer Galleries, New York, in 1975 as associate director, Director of European Paintings and later Vice President. During her 40 years at the gallery which specialized in Impressionist and modern Art, she assisted collectors and museums in acquiring works for their collections, in addition to curating and organizing exhibitions. She is now a private Art Dealer.

    Iris is retired from the Board of American Friends of Bezalel Art School,Jerusalem, and currently serves on the board of directors of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art American Friends. Additionally she is active in numerous philanthropic organizations. She lives in Manhattan with her husband Ilan and has two daughters and six grandchildren.

  • Special Projects Committee

    Jordan was raised in Short Hills, NJ where he attended school in Millburn Township. For college, he attended Indiana University - Bloomington where he studied Accounting and International Business in the Kelley School of Business and minored in piano at the Jacobs School of Music. Jordan now works at Merrill Lynch where he serves as a Wealth Management Client Associate. He works with a wide array of clients such as non-profits, foundations, and high net worth individuals on their finances.

    His interest in Judaism stems from his parents who raised him in a conservative household and his grandma who is an immigrant from Israel. He was Bar Mitzvahed at Congregation B’Nai Israel in Millburn, NJ where his family has belonged for the past 25 years. And, in his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, playing the piano, and traveling.

  • Governance Committee

    Isaac Finkle retired (just before Covid) from being Chief Legal Officer of Graham Capital Management, a then $15 billion (now $18 billion) hedge fund manager based in Rowayton, CT, where he had worked for 17 years.  Before that, he had worked for Morgan Stanley as corporate counsel.  He began his legal career at Skadden, Arps in New York. 
    Isaac was a member of Hunter's Hillel Board from 2012 to 2020, stepping down when his terms expired. 

    He and his wife both served on the Board of Princeton's Center for Jewish Life/ Hillel from 2018 to 2022, stepping down when their terms expired and currently serve on the Advisory Board of the Freeman Center/Hillel at Duke.  They are regular attendees of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, on the Upper Westside of Manhattan, where they live, and their children both graduated from the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in New York.  
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    Isaac  has a B.A. from Haverford College, with honors in philosophy, a J.D. from NYU Law School, and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania specializing in sociological theory (dissertation:  “Weber and Nietzsche”). 

  • Observer - Governance Committee

    Jacob Green grew up in Scarsdale, NY, and attended Binghamton University, where he studied finance and served as president of the Binghamton University Zionist Organization. Before college, he spent a gap year in Israel.

    Jacob currently works in consulting and is an active member of the Altneu Synagogue on the Upper East Side. He is passionate about the opportunity to enhance the lives of Jewish students on campus and being a resource for them in the current climate. He is looking forward to continuing the observership program with the Hillel board this year.

  • Special Projects Committee

    Joan Glatman holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Polytechnic of Brooklyn and a M.S. in Industrial Labor Relations from Cornell University/Baruch College joint program. She also has a Certificate in Quality Assurance from Temple University and a Certificate in Art Appraisal from NYU.

    Joan worked for Pfizer Pharmaceutical for over 21 years in various positions, including Training Manager, Manager of the Warehouses and Scheduling (of manufacturing of products), Stability Manager, Quality Assurance Manager, and Senior Manager of Documentation Services.

    After retiring, Joan did consulting in the pharmaceutical and related fields. She had a fellowship through Encore at WIN (Women in Need) as a Leadership Coach.
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    Joan has volunteered at several different organizations, including an animal shelter, tutoring young adults in the South Bronx in science, and at Mount Sinai Childlife program. She has been on her co-op board for the past 8 years.
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    Joan was on a couple of UJA-Federation of NY committees, and is a member of the UJA Women’s Executive Committee (WEC).

  • Zena is currently the President of ZGK Quality Consulting which provides quality & compliance consulting to pharmaceutical and medical device firms worldwide.  This is an outgrowth of her career in Quality at major pharmaceutical firms such as Pfizer, Abbott, Searle, and Hospira where she was a Corporate Officer and Senior Vice President of Global Quality. 

    Zena is a recognized thought leader in Global Pharmaceutical Quality Systems having had the honor to participate as part of the Expert Working Group on International Conference on Harmonization Quality Guideline, ICH Q10, Pharmaceutical Quality Systems, representing PhRMA.  She was also chair of the Technical Leadership Committee at PhRMA, and served on the Board of the Parenteral Drug Association. 

    Zena received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology from Queens College in Queens NY, and a Master’s of Science Degree in Marine Environmental Sciences from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. 

    Not for Profit Involvement: 

    League of Woman Voters: Zena served as the co-chair of the Voting Services committee, coordinating the Speaker’s Bureau, speaking throughout the  city of the importance of voting, the history of women’s voting rights as well as explaining the 5 ballot proposals on last year’s ballot. 

    Mercury Masters: Zena is President of Mercury Masters, the only New York Road Runners Running Club exclusive to women 50 years and above.  This amazing group of women participate in all NYRR events, including half marathons and marathons. 

    Moms Demand Action: Zena has  participated in Lobby Day in Albany as well as multiple meetings with New York State legislators, and members of the US Congress.

    Parenteral Drug Association: An organization whose mission is to advance regulatory science in the field of parenteral (injectable) drugs.  Zena served as chair of the Regulatory Affairs Quality Committee, Chair of the Inspection Trends Interest Group, on the Board of Directors and is currently on the Editorial Board for the PDA Letter.  In these roles, she was able to educate both the regulators and industry on topics such as data integrity, pharmaceutical quality systems and management review.

    Sisterhood of Salaam/Shalom: a group dedicated to promote understanding between Jewish and Muslim women. Zena has served on the Travel Committee for the Building Bridges trip to Berlin/Poland (Auschwitz) and the Tucson Border. She is active in the Manhattan chapter and is co-chair for the Voting Initiative Task Force for the national Sisterhood, working on educating and encouraging voter participation from the Sisterhood. 

    Personal Information:

    Zena is married to Hunter College Provost Lon Kaufman.  Lon and Zena met in Invertebrate Zoology at Queens College falling in love over the earthworm dissection. They have 2 adult children, Ian and Heather and a very spoiled rescue toy poodle.

  • Observer

    David Sokoler is a Portfolio Manager at Standard Investments, a fundamentally-driven investment platform focused on the intersection of industry and technology. Prior to that, David was a Partner at Akaris Global Partners, Analyst at Soroban Capital Partners and Director at Fir Tree Partners.

    He serves on the Board of Commonpoint, a NYC-based non-profit that helps individuals and families move from crisis to stability to empowered living. He is also a member of the Urban Resiliency Advisory Board and a David Rockefeller Fellow for the Partnership for NYC.

    David received a M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and an A.B. in Economics, magna cum laude, from Harvard College.

  • Klara Silverstein is a dedicated leader and philanthropist with a long history of service to New York’s Jewish community, education, and the arts. She has held numerous leadership roles, including serving as Chair of UJA-Federation of New York’s Women’s Campaign and later the Annual Campaign. She is a founding member of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York and currently serves as Advisory Group Vice Chair of the Executive Council of Women’s Philanthropy. Additionally, she has been a board member of CLAL (the National Center for Learning and Leadership) and Chair of the Board of Associated YM-YWHA’s of Greater New York.

    Klara is deeply committed to Hunter College, where she serves as Chair of the Hunter College Foundation Board of Trustees and is a member of the Hunter College Alumni Association Hall of Fame. In January 2024, she and her husband, Larry Silverstein, donated $2 million to establish the Silverstein Chair in Jewish Studies at Hunter College. She is also a dedicated supporter of Hillel at Hunter College. Beyond Hunter, she has contributed to education and healthcare as a board member of NYU’s Child Study Center and an advocate for New York University’s School of General Studies.

    Her philanthropic reach extends to the arts and global Jewish initiatives, including the New York Philharmonic and the Jerusalem Foundation. Klara and Larry Silverstein have been married for over 50 years and are proud parents of three children and grandparents to eight. Through her work, Klara continues to shape and strengthen the institutions that enrich Jewish life, education, and culture.

  • Finance Committee

    Susan is a manager of her family real estate holdings. She is an active and dedicated member of the Jewish community. Susan has over 40 years of involvement in UJA-Federation of New York, serving on various boards and committees and in several leadership chair positions. In addition to her work at UJA, she was a Trustee at Cornell Hillel, a member of the Cornell University Parents Committee and the Birthright Israel New Your City Council. Susan and her husband, Jeffrey Bogatin, live in New York City, where they raised their two adult children. She is also a proud grandmother.

    Education:
    BS, Boston University
    MBA, New York University Stern School of Business

  • Daniel currently leads a single family office based in Manhattan and is the Founder of the Bashert Group. The office is focused on investing into niche alternatives, incubating network designed businesses and performance philanthropy in Israel, Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States. Daniel is a Trustee at Temple Emanu-El of New York, the Jewish Book Council.

    As an alum of NYU/Stern, a highlight of Daniel's college experience was serving as the student Treasurer for Hillel. He relishes in the chance to connect with students as they seek to achieve their professional and personal ambitions rooted in Jewish values.