ImpactIsrael announces exciting leadership changes to its Board of Directors as the 2020 national fundraising campaign gets underway.
Robert Arogeti (Atlanta) will serve a three-year term as new Board Chair. Arogeti most recently served as ImpactIsrael’s National Campaign Chair. He succeeds George W. Blank whose three year tenure (2017-2019) included the creation of a comprehensive five-year strategic plan, establishment of a new soccer/sports field at Yemin Orde Youth Village, two highly-successful fundraising galas in New York and the national brand launch of ImpactIsrael.
Board Members Lewis Shubin (Atlanta) and Eric Schwartz (Philadelphia) will serve as National Campaign Co-Chairs. Jeremy Barnett (Los Angeles) joins ImpactIsrael’s Board of Directors bringing marketing expertise and two decades of Jewish communal leadership to the all-volunteer board. Board members serve three-year terms, with a maximum of three terms each.
Board members bring years of Israel advocacy and support
New board members bring years of Israel advocacy and Jewish and community involvement as well as fresh perspectives to ImpactIsrael’s commitment to provide philanthropic support to elevate education and lift the lives of Israel’s at-risk youth.
Karen Sallerson, Executive Director, ImpactIsrael said: “I look forward to working closely with Robert to continue to position our organization as a philanthropic leader in expanding our transformational educational methodology, the Village Way, throughout Israel. Additionally, Jeremy’s insights gained from his business and Jewish leadership in the Los Angeles community will be a tremendous asset to our board. I am grateful to Lewis and Eric for providing their leadership as we head into our 2020 campaign with a new name and new vision. We are honored to have such an experienced and seasoned group of board members.”
Robert Arogeti, Board Chair
Robert Arogeti has supported ImpactIsrael’s vital mission in Israel since 1997. He has toured Israel more than a dozen times with family, friends and Jewish organizations, and has always included a visit to Yemin Orde Youth Village on these trips. Additionally, he and his wife, Amy, have hosted Yemin Orde graduates and staff at their home for local fundraising events, and have played an integral and supportive role in bringing the Village’s youth to Atlanta for special events.
“It is my honor to serve as Board Chair as our new name, ImpactIsrael, is launched on a national level and to continue the great work of George Blank and our dedicated volunteer board,” Arogeti said. “I am excited to lead our board’s collective effort to raise the national profile of our organization so we can engage more supporters and expand our transformative Village Way educational methodology to thousands more at-risk youth in Israel.”
Arogeti is deeply committed to Atlanta’s Jewish community and has previously served in many volunteer leadership positions. Among them: Board Chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta; Chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta Campaign for Community Needs; Board Member and Treasurer, Weber High School of Atlanta, Emory University Hillel, Jewish Family Services of Atlanta; Founder and Treasurer, American Israel Chamber of Commerce; Member and Regional Chair, UJC National Young Leadership Cabinet.
In the wider Atlanta community, Arogeti also serves as a volunteer leader in many business and education advocacy organizations. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Professionally, Arogeti serves as partner emeritus of Aprio, LLP, a top 100 accounting firm.
Jeremy Barnett, Board of Directors
Jeremy Barnett is a marketing executive from Los Angeles and longtime Jewish communal leader and volunteer. He first visited Yemin Orde Youth Village in 2018 at the suggestion of his tour guide while in Israel. He returned to the Village in 2019 on ImpactIsrael’s customized trip that focused on learning opportunities about how the Village Way educational methodology is leading efforts to catalyze change for Israel’s at-risk youth.
“I am honored and energized to be a part of Impact Israel. The Village Way methodology serves as a shining example of how we can be our best selves, collaborating to elevate young people and vulnerable communities in Israel and around the world,” Barnett said. “Though Israel is recognized as the ‘Start Up Nation’ for all of its technological innovation, I believe her greatest contribution to the world will be the innovation in education and social service emerging from the Village Way.”
Barnett served on the professional staff at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute (now American Jewish University) from 1991-1994, and later returned to its Board in 2000. He also served on the boards of his children’s Jewish day schools and his synagogue. Professionally, Barnett serves as the Co-Global Marketing Leader for Tokio Marine HCC., a leading specialty insurance provider in the U.S., based in Los Angeles.
Eric Schwartz, National Campaign Co-Chair
Eric joined ImpactIsrael’s board as a Board Observer (young leadership program) in 2012 and became a Board Member in 2013. Eric and his family have visited Yemin Orde Youth Village and have hosted fundraising events in the Philadelphia community. Eric is corporate vice president, general counsel and secretary of Integra LifeSciences, a world leader in medical technology in Princeton, NJ.
Lewis Shubin, National Campaign Co-Chair
Lewis has served on ImpactIsrael’s board for 16 years and remains active in the Atlanta Jewish community as a leader and volunteer. He and his family have supported Yemin Orde and ImpactIsrael through several generations. His family first visited Yemin Orde Youth Village in 1997 in honor of son, Robby’s, bar mitzvah. (Robby currently serves on the board.) Lewis has hosted fundraising events in his home and provided home hospitality for visiting Yemin Orde leadership from Israel. Lewis is a principal with Crowne Partners developing apartment communities in the southeast and Colorado.
Click here to see a complete list of ImpactIsrael’s Board of Directors.