Our Board

Debbie Jonas

Board President, American Friends of Meshi

Together with her husband Howard, Debbie Jonas is one of the leading Jewish philanthropists in the USA. She was among the first to champion Meshi’s cause, reaching out to lend her support and encouragement from the formative days of the Center’s creation. Debbie initially became acquainted with Meshi during Hadassah Zuravin’s first fundraising trip to the U.S., fostering an ongoing, staunch partnership with the organization. “Meshi is a magical place,” she says, as she works tirelessly to involve and inspire others in aiding Meshi’s children. Born in New York, Debbie Jonas graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and from Harvard University. The mother of nine children ranging in age from seven to 27, she is now a recent law school graduate who is clerking for a federal judge. Despite her extremely demanding schedule, she has always found time to devote untold hours in personally assisting the sick and the needy.

Uri Landesman

President, Platinum Management

Uri Landesman is a Managing General Partner of Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage (PPVA) and Platinum Partners Liquid Opportunity (PPLO), the President of Platinum Management Company and is a Principal of Platinum Partners Credit Opportunities (PPCO). Inthese roles, Mr. Landesman oversees the management of over $1 billion in alternative investment vehicles.Prior to joining Platinum Partners in early 2010, Mr. Landesman spent over four years at ING Investment Management Americas as Head of Global Growth and Chief Equity Strategist.While there, he directly managed over $3.5 billion in assets including almost $1 billion for alarge Asian central bank, the largest public pension fund in France and a large New York StatePublic Fund. Before ING, Mr. Landesman was the Director of Global Research and Head of International Equities at Federated Investments. While there, he directly managed $500 millionand oversaw an additional $2 billion in mutual fund assets. He spent most of the 1990’s as asenior research analyst and portfolio manager at JP Morgan Investment Management. Whilethere, he developed and launched JPMIM’s first institutional large cap growth product andgrew it to $1.5 billion in assets through mandates with some of the largest corporate pensionplans in the US. Mr. Landesman started his career as an equity research analyst at Sanford C.Bernstein and Company, where he analyzed the steel, aluminum and natural gas pipeline industries. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. In his role as MGP of the funds, Mr. Landesman isresponsible for trader selection and management, asset allocation, riskmanagement and overall portfolio construction. In his role as President of Platinum, Mr. Landesman is responsible for business development, client services, operations, administration, accounting and compliance.Mr. Landesman is a frequent commentator on market activity, economics and generalbusiness trends in broadcast and print media. He is also an active philanthropist with aparticular focus on physically handicapped children from low income families in Israel.

Jeffrey Weiskopf

Managing Director, The White Eagle Group

Mr. Jeffrey Weiskopf is managing director of the White Eagle Group and related companies, a privately held New York based commercial real estate company.He serves on the board of numerous nonprofit organizations, including Hatzolah and Areivim, and was instrumental in the founding of KhalAdathJershrun Synagogue as well as the Bais Yaakov D'Rav Hirsh High school in Monsey, New York . Jeff lives in Monsey with his wife and children.

Joseph M. Bernstein MD

Dr. Joseph M Bernstein is full-time faculty at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary as Director of Pediatric Otolaryngology for the Continuum Health Partners Otolaryngology Service Line. He works with the faculty at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, Beth Israel Medical Center and Roosevelt Hospital to develop the Pediatric Otolaryngology Service and to further enhance the scope of pediatric services. Dr. Bernstein's practice spans the entire spectrum of pediatric otolaryngology with special interests in congenital malformations, airway disorders, sleep apnea, sinusitis and other common ENT infections. He is a recognized expert in the evaluation and management of children with craniofacial and cleft anomalies. After graduating from Columbia University, Dr. Bernstein fulfilled his residency training at NYU and its affiliated hospitals. Moving to Texas for only a short while to complete his fellowship in Houston, Dr. Bernstein returned to NYU Medical Center in 1998 as a full-time faculty member. He expanded his practiceto Westchester County in 2005 and to The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in 2009. Dr. Bernstein has served as a consultant for Ha'azinu, an organization dedicated to helping Hearing Impaired Children. Dr. Bernstein has served on the boards of the Westchester Day school as well as the Young Israel of New Rochelle. Dr. Bernstein is the current Financial Secretary on the Young Israel of New Rochelle Executive Board.

Daniel Czermak

President, AcuteCare Health System

Dan Czermak, Esq., has started or been intimately involved in starting several successful businesses, ranging from the health care industry to the high-tech sector. He currently serves as President of AcuteCare Health System, LLC, a Lakewood, N.J.-based company that provides inpatient services to critically ill patients. Dan has been responsible for all aspects of this start-up company and has grown it to a $20 million, 200-employee business within six years. His prior business experience includes a tenure as CEO of Rein & Co., a management consulting firm serving the high technology industry. In this role, Dan was responsible for bringing key executive leadership for both Fortune 100 companies and venture-backed start-ups. He also serves as a Venture Partner in Rein Capital, a $50 million venture capital practice focused on early-stage investment in the technology sector. Before joining Rein Capital, Mr. Czermak was an associate at Yankowitz, Goldsmith & Sayers, focusing on corporate and real estate law. He holds a law degree from Rutgers University and a bachelor\'s degree in finance from Touro College, New York. Dan has also served on many community organizations ranging from being a member to director and chairman.

Ilan Slasky

Chief Executive Officer, Field One Systems

Ilan brings twenty years' experience helping to finance and grow smaller businesses into large companies, both public and private. Ilan was the co-founder and President of Ad.Venture Partners, Inc, a Special Purpose Acquisition Company that acquired 180 Connect, Inc., a $400 million leading provider of installation and fulfillment services to the cable TV and satellite industries. Prior to that, Ilan was Vice Chairman and a Managing Member of Innovation Interactive, LLC, a leading digital communications agency, which he helped acquire in a management buyout from Net2Phone, Inc. in May 2002. Previously, Ilan was Chief Financial Officer at Net2phone, Inc, the pioneer Internet telephony company and helped grow the company from a small business to $160 million in annual revenue. While at Net2Phone, Ilan raised hundreds of millions in capital, both private and public, and helped engineer a strategic change of control investment by AT&T for $1.4 billion. Prior to his employment with Net2Phone, Inc., Ilan was employed by IDT Corp. in several capacities, most recently its Executive Vice president of Finance. Ilan also worked for Merrill Lynch in several capacities from 1992 to 1995. Ilan holds an MBA from the Stern School of Business at NYU and a BA in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. He and his wife have four children and are very active on the boards of several charitable organizations.

Newsletter Sign Up