Committees of the Jewish Federation

of Greater Portland 2010-2011

Agency Council
Chair: rotates among Agency and Federation leadership
The Agency Council includes the Presidents and Directors of the Federation, beneficiary agencies, and the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation. It provides a forum for small-group discussion of issues facing the organizations and the community. It serves as a channel of communication for the agencies to the Federation Governing structure.

Campaign
2011 Campaign Chairs: Kim Rosenberg and Michael Weiner.
Reaches out to every member of the Jewish community for a financial commitment to the Annual Campaign. Activities include annual special events, educational forums, and a variety of programming throughout the year.

Community Relations Committee (CRC)
Chair: Sherry Fishman
CRC is the public affairs coordinating and advisory body for the local organized Jewish community. A committee of the Federation, it consists of a cross-section of Portland Jewry, representing area organizations and synagogues. The CRC seeks consensus positions that permit it to speak on behalf of the Jewish community concerning matters of public importance. 

          1) Israel Advocacy Subcommittee

          Promotes a strengthening of US-Israel ties; advocates for federal legislation that is favorable to Israel; interprets the policies of the Israeli government and developments in the Middle East to the Jewish and non-Jewish communities, the media, and key policy makers. Operates “Hope for Peace,” the pro-Israel speakers’ bureau that plans educational outreach to the   mainline Protestant churches. 

          2) Education and Advocacy Subcommittee

          Sponsors educational programs to promote Jewish involvement in the political process at all levels of government; through the Federation state legislative lobbyist, educates legislators and the media on the social and political priorities of the Jewish community; works in coalition with other faith communities to favorably impact legislation affective civil rights, human   services, immigration, hate crimes, foreign aid and the environment. 

          3) Subcommittee on Religion and the Public Schools

          Works with administrators, principals, and teachers to develop sound guidelines on the proper, lawful role of religion in the public schools; sponsors forums for educators and public school parents.  

Congregational Presidents Council
The congregational President’s Council is convened by Federation to provide a forum for inter-congregational discussions of common issues.

Endowment Fund
Oversees Federation's endowment funds, invested through the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation, and allocates the income based on community needs.

Federation-Sponsored Trips & Missions
Promotes a variety of trips to Israel and elsewhere by recruiting participants, publicizing the trips and helping mission returnees to share their experiences.

Finance
Chair: Josh Blank
Oversees the financial administration of Federation.

Governing Board
Chair: Gersham Goldstein
The 19-member Governing Board meets monthly and is responsible for setting Federation policy and governing the affairs of the organization. It approves budgets and expenditures and has fiduciary responsibility for the Federation.

Human Resources Committee (HR)
Chair: Manny Berman
This committee overseas Federation staffing patterns, staff compensation and benefits, and the Employee Manual. The committee works with the Governing Board on the evaluation of the Executive Vice-President.

Jewish Review
Chair: Bob Trachtenberg
Oversees publication of our award winning, twice-monthly Jewish community newspaper.

Leadership Council
Chair: Gersham Goldstein
The Leadership Council is a larger, representative group that serves as a community voice, offers guidance and direction to the Federation, provides input to the allocation process, and nominates Governing Board members. It is an inclusive forum for the discussion of many community issues.

Nominating Committee
Chair: Jim Meyer
Nominates officers and Board members.

Over the Horizon Committee
Chair: Eric Rosenfeld
This committee is examining, at the mandate of the Federation Board, all Federation programs, to ensure credibility and transparency, and is restructuring Federation governance.

Overseas Special Projects Committee
Chairs: Judy Malka and Lesley Isenstein
Allocates funds set aside for projects/programs in Israel and the former Soviet Union.

Planning & Allocations
Chair: David Lippoff
Develops recommendations to the Federation Board of Directors for allocating funds raised by the Annual Campaign and helps plan for changing community needs.

Portland Jewish Leadership Institute
Chair: Susan Abravanel
This program is a community initiative convened and funded by the Federation. The Leadership Institute helps train and cultivate leaders for all of our communal agencies, congregations and organizations.

Special Events
The annual Federation campaign sponsors up to four major special events each year: a community-wide gala open to all members of the Jewish community; Super Sunday, a day long telethon involving hundreds of volunteers; Men's Night Out, an evening of fun, fellowship and fundraising for the men in the Jewish community; and Connections, which brings the women of the Jewish community together for an evening of celebration. Each event is planned and produced by volunteer committees.

Underwriting Committee
Helps to raise funds, from sources other than annual campaign donors, to cover the cost of major campaign events.

Affinity Groups:

Community Relations Committee
The Community Relations Committee (CRC) is the gateway to involvement in important public affairs issues, from hunger and civil rights to interfaith relations and Israel. 

Blue Knot
Blue Knot is an affinity group for high-tech professionals. The focus of the group is networking and professional development. Portland’s Blue Knot is part of a national initiative to engage Jewish High-Tech professionals in the community.

Women's Philanthropy
Chair: Nicole Elovitz
The Women’s Philanthropy Committee (WPC) reaches out and connects with women of all ages who want to make a difference in the lives of those in need.

Maimonides Society
Chair: Rodger Sleven
The Maimonides Society is an affinity group for all allied healthcare professionals in related fields.

Solomon's Legacy
Chair: Chuck Tauman
A group for attorneys and legal professionals which provides programming on topics of Jewish and legal interest and opportunities for attorneys who so desire to provide pro bono legal services to Federation agencies.

If you would like to get involved with any of these committees, please contact us at 503.245.6219 or info@jewishportland.org.