Executive Director
We are very pleased to announce the appointment of a new Executive Director, Deborah Kardon Schwartz. Debbie comes to Action for Post Soviet Jewry from a career in Jewish community service, including as Director of the Leadership Program of the Eli& Bessie Cohen Camps, a teacher of Holocaust education at Temple Beth Elohim, and Director of Family Education and Congressional Life at Temple B’nai Torah.
Debbie takes over from Judy Patkin, who has been the Executive Director of Action since the early ‘70s, when the plight of Soviet Jews became a prominent cause. Judy entered into a relationship with the community of Dnepropetrovsk in Eastern Ukraine, founding the Adopt-a-Bubbe program and other efforts to help indigent Jews in that region. Working closely with Combined Jewish Philanthropies, she helped create a network of coordinators who brought humanitarian help to these often isolated and ill Jews.
When Judy came to the Board and asked us to find a replacement for her after so many decades of service, we could hardly imagine anyone who could take her place. We were delighted to find Debbie, who shares Judy’s passion for Jewish life and has a lot of organizational and leadership skills that will allow Action to move to the next stage in its history.
Professional Staff
Marina Javits, Program Associate
Galina Zilberstein, Program Associate
APSJ's Partners in Ukraine
Tania Sidelkovsky, APSJ Adopt-a-Bubbe/Zayde and Warm House Coordinator
Yakov (Yan) Sidelkovsky, Boston Ambassador, Israel and Global Jewish Citizenship, Combined Jewish Philanthropies
Zelig Brez, Executive Director, The Dnipro Jewish Community
18 Community Care Coordinators
APSJ's Partners in Eastern Europe
BOBRUISK, BELARUS
Faina P. Polei, Community Care Coordinator
KISHINEV, MOLDOVA
Rabbi Yoseph Abelsky, Community Care Coordinator
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA
Rabbi Sholom Krinsky, Community Care Coordinator
TARUSA, RUSSIA
Dr. Maxim Osipov, Tarusa Hospital-Medical Supplies
Board of Directors
Barbara Karchmer, President
Carol Clingan, Vice President
Robert Gordon, Treasurer
Barbara Anatolev, Clerk
Robert Gordon, Founder Emeritus
Zale Anis
Mila Bronstein
Susan Brown
Sergey Broude
Evgenia Doktor
Tatyana Goldwyn
Melinda Harrison
Shirley Hurwitz
Roz Kaplan
Boris Katz
Robert Strassler
Nathan Vogel
Board Meetings 2020-2021
We meet the second Tuesday of the month, with the exception of January and July.
Aug 11, 2020 07:30 PM | Dec 8, 2020 07:30 PM | Apr 13, 2021 07:30 PM |
Sep 8, 2020 07:30 PM | Jan 10, 2021 09:30 AM-12:30 PM Strategic Planning | May 11, 2021 07:30 PM Budget Meeting |
Oct 13, 2020 07:30 PM | Feb 9, 2021 07:30 PM | June 8, 2021 07:30 PM |
Nov 10, 2020 07:30 PM | Mar 9, 2021 07:30 PM | June 22, 2021 07:30 PM Budget approval |