Meet the Board

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DEBBIE YUNKER KAIL WITH FORMER BOARD PRESIDENT, RACHEL PASSON

Past board member Michael Goldberg with daughter Bella ASU'21. Photo taken Pre-Covid at the Annual Fundraiser.

Past board member Joel Schaller with Sally Oscherwitz. Photo taken Pre-Covid at the Annual Fundraiser.

The Hillel Board of Directors serves as ambassadors throughout the Greater Phoenix Jewish community, sharing Hillel's accomplishments and securing the resources for Hillel to continue our work. To get more information about our board, please contact Debbie Yunker Kail, Executive Director.

Board of Directors 2022-23

Ed Ober, President grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1975 with degrees in English Literature and Writing and Hebraic Studies, and in 1979 with his law degree. He retired in 2019 after practicing law for forty years. Ed is married to Gail Ober and they have two daughters, Sara and Rachel. They are founding members of Congregation Or Tzion. While practicing law, Ed was on the Boards of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest and the Arizona Center for Disability Law, serving four years as the President of that Board. He was also a member of the Beth El Congregation Board of Directors for several years. Presently, Ed is the Vice Chair of the Jewish Family & Children’s Service Governance Board, as well as President of the ASU Hillel Board of Directors.

Kimberly Kur, Vice President & Development Chair, serves as Arizona Community Foundation's Chief Development officer and is responsible for the foundation’s statewide asset development and donor engagement activities. In March 2013 through February 2014, Kimberly served as the CDO for the Jewish Community Association of Greater Phoenix. Prior to moving to Arizona in December 1999, Kimberly practiced as an estate planning attorney at a Philadelphia law firm. Before that, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Kimberly is a cum laude graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law and earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2018, Kimberly earned her Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation from the American College of Financial Services. Kimberly’s current professional memberships include the Amelia Group, consisting of CDOs from large community foundations across the country, Advancement Network, Inc., Planned Giving Round Table of Arizona, Central Arizona Estate Planning Council, Valley Estate Planners and the Financial Planners Association of Greater Phoenix. Kimberly serves as a mentor for the Arizona Endowment Building Institute and the Women’s Leadership Institute and serves on multiple nonprofit development, endowment building and planning giving committees. Kimberly is an active lay leader in the Jewish community, serving in numerous leadership roles during her 22 years in Arizona. Kimberly is married to Norm Kur, and they have two young adult children. In her free time, Kimberly enjoys family game night, hiking, yoga, reading, and travel.

Elyse Katz, CPA, Treasurer is an Arizona native, born and raised! Elyse has spent her summers at the JCC Shemesh as a camper, CIT, counselor, and now sending the kids back as well! It’s been 25 years of Jewish camp in the valley, including Camp Perlstein (now Stein). As a member of AEPhi at UA, Elyse frequented the Hillel center weekly as it was right next door to the Jewish sorority house. Elyse received her bachelor’s in accounting from the Eller College of Management. Elyse co-chaired Young Jewish Phoenix, now known as Nextgen, where she met her husband Adam Katz! Her late Mother, Wendi Keene worked for the Jewish Free Loan, and Elyse was also involved in helping develop the financial literacy program at JFL. Elyse’s career began as an IRS auditor for the department of Treasury right out of college. After a few years, Elyse went back to school and obtained her Master’s Degree from Grand Canyon University while continuing to work. Shortly after, became a licensed CPA. After 10 years of government work, Elyse pursued public accounting and now works for Eide Bailly- a top 20 accounting firm, representing her clients in front of the IRS doing tax controversy.

Aaron Sacks, Immediate Past President, and his wife of 10 years, Rebecca, relocated to The Valley from Akron, Ohio for a second time in 2017 with their two sons, Judah - 10 and Solomon - 8. Aaron and Rebecca met and were married at the Cohn Jewish Student Center at Hillel at Kent State University. Aaron had been involved with Hillel at KSU as a student and as an alumnus in operational, engagement, and development activities. Aaron combines over 13 years of professional experience in corporate finance, strategy, marketing, and sales, working across aerospace and defense, manufacturing, and distribution environments with over 18 years of service in the US Air Force Reserves. Aaron is the immediate past president of Hillel at ASU’s Board of Directors. Aaron’s hobbies include cars, playing with his boys, and occasionally trying to strum a guitar or a ukulele.

Zachary Bell, Student President, (he/him) is a senior from Tucson, Arizona studying Saxophone Performance on the Tempe campus. Zach currently serves as President of the Hillel at ASU Student Cabinet and has previously served Hillel at ASU as the Inclusion and Social Impact Chair. Zach is passionate about building and serving communities, especially the Jewish and LGTBQ+ communities. He believes that the first step towards meaningful and progressive change in any community is a willingness to join and participate in dialogue across differences. In his previous role at Hillel, he programmed events that brought Jewish Sun Devils together to live out their Jewish values, including partnering with AZ Hugs for the Houseless to make and distribute 400 meals to the homeless population in the Tempe area. He also organized an Eco Shabbat with a clothing swap and a dialogue about the environmental effects of the clothing industry. While Zach is a dedicated student and leader, he also loves watching baseball, Formula 1, and going to the symphony. He plans to continue on to graduate school next year to pursue a Masters of Music degree, and he will continue to be involved in serving the Jewish community wherever he may be.

Carrie Aaron has lived in Phoenix since she was 6 years old and has been an active member of the Jewish community since then. While obtaining her B.A. in Sociology from Arizona State University, she participated in Hillel occasionally. Carrie is ABD in Sociology from New York University and met her husband Morrie while living in New York. After moving back to the Phoenix area, Carrie taught criminology at ASU and other local community colleges before having 3 beautiful children. While working full-time in the home, Carrie supported the growth of MCA Financial and served as an active volunteer leader for Phoenix Country Day School as well as other community organizations. Upon becoming an empty nester, she opened a high-end intimate apparel boutique focused on women’s empowerment. Carrie sold her store to spend more time rejoining the MCA Financial team and community boards including Women in Philanthropy at ASU and Arizona List. She is very passionate about Jewish students receiving a warm, safe, and meaningful college experience and is eager to make a difference by joining the Hillel at ASU board. Carrie also sits on Hillel’s Advisory Council.

Eva Binder earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Goucher College and an MBA in Finance from Temple University. Eva began her post-college career as a Senior Research Associate at a statistical consulting firm. Eva progressed into a financial role until she realized she missed the family hardware store, where she returned and became a partner. She led efforts that significantly expanded the hardware store, including an online shop (in the 1990s), and a weekly radio show broadcasted from the store. Currently, Eva consults for small to mid-size businesses as a Human Resources Consultant and a recruiter for firms across the country. Eva was raised to believe strongly in giving back to the community. Some volunteer opportunities (past and present) include being a youth group leader, Board Member, Rabbi Search Committee Co-Chair, and Sisterhood Treasurer at Kesher Israel Congregation; being a Shalom Baby Board and Chester County Event Chair for the Jewish Federation of Chester and Delaware County; being the Hospitality Co-Chair and Board Member at Congregation Or Tzion. Eva is married to her husband, Sam Binder, and has three sons, Andrew, Josh, & Eli. Two of her sons are currently undergraduate students at other PAC-12 universities where she is proud that they are involved with their local Hillels.

Shelley Cohn retired in October 1995 as the Executive Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, having served in that capacity since 1984. She was involved in seeing the appropriation of the Arts Commission grow from 14 cents per capita to 80 cents per capita and in developing special funding initiatives including the Arizona Arts Trust Fund and Arizona ArtShare, the Arizona arts endowment fund. She oversaw the creation of programs that supported artists and arts organizations to connect with their communities in effective and meaningful ways. After retirement, she served one year as the interim CEO of the Scottsdale Cultural Council overseeing the work of the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Scottsdale Public Art. Ms. Cohn has served as chair and board member of the Arizona Community Foundation, council member of the LGBTQ Center for Philanthropy at the Arizona Community Foundation, chair and board member of Childsplay, and chair and board member of the Desert Botanical Garden where she just rejoined the board. She holds a master's degree in Humanities from Arizona State University and an undergraduate degree in English from Washington University.

Allan Friedman is a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, and is currently retired. Prior to his retirement in 2010, he was employed for 5 years as a Senior Computer Audit Specialist for the Office of the Auditor General of the State of Arizona. Before entering public service, Allan owned and managed a contracting business for 12 years. The business installed and serviced office and warehouse material handling and storage equipment. Allan held contractor’s licenses in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. Prior to his work in contracting, Allan managed a variety of domestic and international banking, audit and compliance functions for Citicorp/CitiBank (Arizona and New York), Deloitte Touche (New York Corporate Headquarters), and Bank Leumi Trust Company (New York). He also spent many years as an assistant dean and an assistant professor at Adelphi University’s School of Business in New York teaching business management and information technology on the graduate and undergraduate levels. Allan has served on the Board of Directors of Congregation Or Tzion where his portfolio was facility management. In addition, he was President of his Condo Association Board in Durango, Colorado for several years. Allan holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and an MBA from Adelphi University. He completed all but his dissertation for his PhD at NYU. He is married to his wife Barbara for 50 years and has five grown children and seventeen grandchildren.

Danny Goldberg, originally from Deerfield, IL, graduated from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU in May 2022 and is an Incoming Assistant State’s Attorney for Cook County. During his law school tenure, Danny served as President of the Jewish Law Student’s Association (JLSA), Associate Justice for the Graduate and Professional Student Supreme Court, and Assembly Member for the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA). Before law school, Danny graduated from Barrett, the Honors College at ASU. During his four years at ASU, Danny served in a variety of leadership roles: Chief Justice of the ASASU Supreme Court; Interfraternity Council President; Undergraduate Supreme Governor on the AEPi Supreme Board of Governors (International Board of Directors); Chapter President of Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Sigma Chapter; USG Senator; and AIPAC Cadre Member. Currently, in addition to his service on the ASU Hillel Board of Directors, Danny serves on the Young Professional Committee for the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center; is a Field Associate for the Field Museum of Natural History; Associate Board Member for The GI Research Foundation; and National Patient Advisory Task Force Member for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Danny is a passionate and dedicated member of the Jewish Community and looks forward to engaging recent alumni of Hillel.

Steve Goldstein is widely recognized among his peers in the Arizona legal community, Steve was named “Lawyer of the Year” (Scottsdale) in Corporate Law for 2019 by The Best Lawyers in America®. He is listed in Best Lawyers® under the Health Care, Corporate, and Real Estate Law areas. He is also a Super Lawyers selectee. Steve joined Sacks Tierney after earning his law degree, cum laude, at Harvard University in 1986. He became a shareholder in 1993 and has helped lead the firm as an executive committee member for the past nine years. Steve’s stature in the legal profession is consistent with his personal tradition of community leadership, service, and influence within a rich variety of business, professional, civic, and faith-based organizations. Steve served two terms as President of the Board of Directors for Hillel at ASU.

Bruce Greenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York where he attended Yeshiva Ateres Yisroel. Bruce studied Accounting, Economics, and Finance with a minor in Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin, and later attended Nova Southeastern University to receive his MBA. Bruce has been an active member of the Jewish Community his entire life. He has served on the Board of Directors of many Jewish Organizations. Jewish Education has been a long-time passion for Bruce. He has both taught and written curriculum for the Reform Movement for over twenty years. He currently teaches at the Institute for Jewish Knowledge and Learning (IJKL) for lifelong learners in Broward County and has served as a Donor and Advisor to the Center of Jewish Studies at the University of Florida. When not serving the Jewish Community, Bruce has built and sold a number of Health Care Companies. He has recently retired from active business but currently sits on the Board of Directors of a number of health care organizations and consults on succession and strategic planning for closely held firms. Of all of his achievements and activities, Bruce is most proud of his six children ages 17-29, and hopes that they carry on his passion and commitment to Judaism.

Gary Grove, MD, DLFAPA, is a Board Certified General and Geriatric Psychiatrist, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Grove is also certified as a Fellow by the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology. By implementing the biopsychosocial model, he uses both medical and psychotherapeutic techniques to treat the whole person. In addition to his private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dr. Grove is on the academic staff at the Mayo Clinic and a former Board member for the Institute for Mental Health Research. He has again been named "Best Psychiatrist in Scottsdale/Paradise Valley " by Arizona Foothills magazine and named a "Top Doc" by Phoenix Magazine.
Gary also has extensive experience, both volunteer and professional, in the Jewish community, including:

Volunteer: Past President, Hillel; Past Board Member, Executive Committee Member, and Campaign Vice Chair, JFGP; Past Board Member, JCC.
Professional: Ass't Director Planning and Budgeting, Jewish Fed of Greater Dallas; Director of Leadership Development, Jewish Federation of Greater LA; Associate Executive Director and Campaign Director, JFGP.
Education: Double Masters in Social Work at USC and Jewish Communal Service at HUC; FEREP Scholar