Board of Directors
Debbie Doliner, Co-President
"Suncoast Hillels have the opportunity to engage young adults at a critical time, when they are deciding who they are and what they believe. Our mission works to ensure a Jewish future for our People and for our students. What we do is vital, and it is my honor to support and serve this highly meaningful organization."
Dr. Michael Binder, Co-President
"We are living in a time of increasing antisemitism in our world. I realized that the epicenter of this activity is on the college campus, so this is where I thought my fight should begin. Hillel needs to be the safe space for Jewish life on campus. It is here that we need to teach students how to cope with antisemitism and develop their sense of Judaism. It is my honor to help bring these goals to fruition."
Merrill Marx, Treasurer
"The college campus environment is becoming more challenging as anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activism rise. As a “home away from home”, Hillel provides support, guidance and an opportunity to socialize for our Jewish students. I strongly believe that Hillel helps to ensure a Jewish future for them and for us."
Cindy Korenvaes, Secretary
"I am a strong supporter of Hillel and proudly serve on the board because I feel every Jewish student should have a "home" on his/her campus to enjoy, practice and explore his/her Jewish identity with other Jewish students ."
Jeff Benatar
"I am honored and excited to serve on the Hillels of the Florida Suncoast Board of Directors. I look forward to promoting Jewish culture, identity, awareness, and pride for college students in our region. I am especially proud to represent students, staff, and faculty at Florida Southern College as well as the Lakeland Jewish Community."
David J. Brunell
"I am a University of South Florida alumnus and am proud to have served as Vice President for Engagement and as President on the USF Hillel Student Board before serving as a Steinhardt Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow at USF. I also have experience working in nonprofits, and currently serve as Senior Attorney at the American Heart Association. I am eager to share my experiences as a student, Hillel staff member, and nonprofit attorney to give back to the Hillels of the Florida Suncoast community that has given me so much.”
Bruce Goldstein
"There is a great deal of anti-Jewish noise in the world today, especially on college campuses. I'm on the Board of the Suncoast Hillels because I believe it is important that there be a strong Jewish presence to give students the strength to stand up to dangerous ideas that threaten our Jewish way of life and give them the tools to enlighten their classmates to the truths that others try to obscure."
Samuel Moore
"When it appeared that the education of Jewish students, and without exception USF students, was becoming compromised due to on-campus antisemitism in the wake of October 7th, it became abundantly clear to me the importance of Hillel in our community and the necessity to support it. Rousseau, in his Emile, wrote, “All that we have not at our birth, and that we need when grown up, is given us by education.” Education is a precious thing, especially to Jews. Hillel provides the important platform to help ensure that no Jewish student’s education should be compromised by antisemitism.
For this chief reason I am a proud supporter of Hillel and believe strongly in its mission at USF."
Judy Rosman
"I joined USF Hillel's Board because I wanted to learn how to help our Jewish students on campus. My son and my daughter were up at MIT and Harvard Business School when antisemitism flared up, and I am hoping to help our college students because I understand how they feel in the face of anti-Jewish discrimination and hate."
Marc Tindell
"The presence of a strong and viable Hillel on college campuses has never been more important than today. I remember hearing that my Alma Mater, the University of Pennsylvania, had excluded Jewish students in the early 1900s, only to now witness an attempt by subversive groups to remove Jewish students from that campus and others once again.
Through my involvement on this board, I wish to be supportive of those university students desiring to reach out for weekly Shabbat dinners and Jewish Holidays during the academic year and for a kinship amongst likeminded people. I fully believe in the mission of the Hillels of the Florida Suncoast and thank you for this opportunity."
Mark Segel - Federation Liaison