Following its annual Board of Trustees meeting earlier this month, Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona (JPSA) announced a new Executive Committee for 2023-24 and introduced six new Board members.
Liz Kanter Groskind was elected as the new Board Chair, replacing outgoing Chair Bruce Ash, who will remain on the Board as a trustee.
In his concluding remarks, Ash cited many accomplishments at JPSA, “We raised nearly a million additional dollars to aid Jews here during Covid and Jews in Ukraine struggling to escape a brutal war over the past year. We worked with Hillel International to strengthen leadership and programming at our UA Hillel using matching funds that JPSA helped raise.”
“So, my friends,” Ash continued in his remarks to the Board, “act as partners and caretakers for our great community. You are all at the table now, embrace this work, become a change agent. At the end of your chapter –like mine is now –when your children ask ‘mom/dad, what did you do to help make our Jewish community such a great place?’, hopefully you can say with pride hineni (I am here). The work I put in made a difference.”
In addition to Groskind, the 2023-24 Executive Committee consists of Jeff Artzi – Chair Elect, Lisa Lovallo – Secretary/Treasurer, Isaac Rotschild – Assistant Secretary/Treasurer, and Anne Hameroff – Immediate Past Chair.
Groskind’s vision includes “broadening the tent” during her term. “We have so many different voices in our Tucson Jewish community, and I want to make sure that everyone feels included in our work and knows that their voice matters. Whether young, old, LGBTQ+, religious or secular, JPSA is home to all Jews in greater Tucson.”
“I look forward to helping JPSA be supportive of that big tent,” Groskind continued, “We want to let everyone know that they are welcome and that we need to hear their voice. Inclusion, not exclusion, is what makes Tucson such a fabulous Jewish community.”
The new Board members elected are Andrew Comrie, Ron Grant, Susan Jacobson, Emily Lazarus, Steve Rosenberg, and Sarah Singer.
