Republican Jewish Coalition

http://www.rjchq.org/

 

 

“The last decade has seen tremendous growth in the number of Jews identifying with Republican ideas and the GOP. The Republican Jewish Coalition, founded in 1985, is the sole voice of Jewish Republicans to Republican decision makers and the Jewish community, expressing our viewpoint on a wide variety of issues.

 

The Republican Jewish Coalition is the well-respected representative of the Jewish community to Republican elected officials and party leaders and is the pre-eminent Republican organization in the Jewish community.

 

With a strong presence in Washington, D.C. and chapters around the country, the RJC is making a difference for the growing Jewish Republican movement in America.”

 

For a list of the Republican Jewish Coalitions policy stance on a variety of issues, click here.

“The group has supported a hard-line approach to negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, criticizing President Clinton for "appeasing Chairman Arafat" instead of requiring "responsibility and compliance from the Palestinian Authority." Allied with Israel's Likud government, the group supported the construction of the controversial Har Homa settlement in East Jerusalem, over Palestinian objections that the project jeopardized the peace process. It also supports continued American military support of Israel, including a recent project to build an anti-ballistic missile system.

 

On the domestic front, the RJC supports school choice and voucher initiatives, saying they help curb the "risk of assimilation" for some Jews living in the United States. "By lessening the financial burdens, vouchers would make a Jewish education available to the entire Jewish community," reads one position paper. The group has supported welfare reform, lowering the estate and capital gains taxes, voluntary prayer by student groups in public school, the legal right to perform abortions, as well as tougher crime laws, including a California-style "three strikes" laws for some federal crimes.” (source)

 

7 of the members are in the Mother Jones Top 400:

Sam Fox (No. 23, $626,700), Lawrence Kadish (No. 38, $532,900), John Price (No. 57, $467,550), Max M. Fisher (No. 70, $ $405,500), Earle I. Mack (No. 125, $298,000), Clifford M. Sobel (No. 294, $192,700), Lewis M. Eisenberg (No. 328, $176,400), and David M. Flaum (No. 367, $162,800).

 

 

Leadership

 

Executive Director

Matthew Brooks

National Chairman

Sam Fox

 

Vice Chairmen

 

Leonard Abramson

David M. Flaum

Earle I. Mack

Richard Sackler

Sheldon G. Adelson

Tony Gelbart

Bernard Marcus

Fred Sands

Elliott Broidy

Cheryl Halpern

Jeffrey Marcus

Mark Siegel

Bradley Cohen

Sheldon (Shelly) Kamins

Cliff May

Ned L. Siegel

Lewis M. Eisenberg

Eliot Lauer

Larry A. Mizel

Fred Zeidman

Michael David Epstein

Mark Lezell

Lindsay Rosenwald

 

 

Honorary Chairman

 

Max M. Fisher

George Klein

Richard J. Fox

Lawrence Kadish

 

General Counsel

 

Jeffrey Altman

 

 

Leonard Abramson

Vice Chairman

Consultant and Member of the Board of Directors of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Johns Hopkins University

Net Worth: $800 mil

Mr. Abramson retired on July 19, 1996 as a director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Healthcare, Inc. (managed health care company), positions he had held since 1982. Mr. Abramson is the founder of U.S. Healthcare, Inc., which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company on July 19, 1996 and is now known as Aetna U.S. Healthcare Inc. Mr. Abramson currently is self- employed as a consultant and private investor and is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Maine Merchant Bank, LLC. He also is a trustee of the Brookings Institution, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and serves on the board of trustees of Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Abramson is the author of Healing Our Health Care System.

With his wife, he runs the The Abramson Family Foundation, which works with PEJE (The Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education) and The Madlyn and Leonard Abramson Center for Jewish Life.

“The Hebrew word emet means truth. And truth was the guiding principle behind a three-week International Hillel program at Tel Aviv University (TAU) in Israel called EMET, designed to bring the facts about the current Middle East crisis to students.

"The whole idea was to come back with a proactive, instead of a reactive agenda," said Michal Kedem, 22, one of only two Canadians - both in their final year at McGill University - to take part in the summer think-tank program.

Florida philanthropist Leonard Abramson conceived of EMET after talking with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.They were both concerned about the lack of effective Israeli hasbarah and intent on doing something about it. Other Jewish philanthropists connected to Hillel who came forward to support the project included Bernard Marcus, Edgar “

http://www.cjnews.com/pastissues/01/sept20-01/campus/campus.htm (also: http://www.jafi.org.il/agenda/2001/english/wk28/5.asp )

**

Sheldon G. Adelson

Vice Chairman

Sheldon G. Adelson is chairman of the Board of Las Vegas Sands, Inc., the parent company of The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. A dynamic entrepreneur, manager, venture capitalist and philanthropist, Mr. Adelson's business career spans five decades in the United States and abroad.

Growing up in the poor Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, he went to work at a young age hawking newspapers on local street corners, and owned his first business by the time he was sixteen. After a tour of duty in the U.S. Army, he emerged as a skilled court stenographer and used those skills to make contracts that started him on the road to his long business career. In the years that followed, he worked as a mortgage broker, investment adviser and financial consultant.

In 1972, while working with a start-up venture in the publishing business, he attended a trade show that changed his life. He launched several successful trade events for the computer and communications industries and, in 1979, created and produced COMDEX. Over the next ten years, COMDEX established itself as the premier industry event by becoming the world's largest tradeshow.

In 1982, Mr. Adelson merged his company, The Interface Group, with GWV International, the largest charter tour operator in the Northeast, selling vacation packages to the Caribbean, Mexico and other destinations through a network of retail travel agents. When the available charter aircraft became unsatisfactory and charter carriers unreliable, he and his partners purchased four Lockheed L- 1011 aircraft from TWA and established Five Star Airlines to serve their GWV passengers.

In 1989, Mr. Adelson and his partners purchased the Sands Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas from Kirk Kirkorian. The following year, they constructed the Sands Expo and Convention Center, the largest privately owned and operated convention center in the United States, on the adjacent property. Within the next several years, Mr. Adelson moved his home from Boston to Las Vegas to devote more of his time to the hotel and expo center. In 1995, after selling the Interface Group Show Division, including the COMDEX shows, to Softbank Corporation of Japan for a cash price in excess of $860 million, he became the sole owner of the Interface's Las Vegas properties.

In 1991, while honeymooning in Venice with his wife Miriam, Mr. Adelson gained the inspiration and theme for a mega-resort hotel, and he proceeded with the implosion of the venerable Sands and the construction of the $1.5 billion, 3,036- suite, Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, which opened in 1999. The hotel features a 120,000 square foot casino, 500,000 feet of retail space in the Grand Canal Shoppes mall, 500,000 square feet of retail space in The Venetian Congress Center connected directly to the adjacent Sands Expo and Convention Center, and Restaurant Row with a remarkable array of restaurants operated by world- renowned chefs and restaurateurs. The luxurious, all-suite Venetian has received recognition as revolutionizing the Las Vegas hotel industry, and has been honored with architectural and other awards naming it as one the finest hotels in the world.

Mr. Adelson also maintains an office and residence in Tel Aviv, Israel from which he provides venture capital to selected high-technology companies. In 1993, together with his wife, a physician and research pioneer in the treatment of drug addiction, Mr. Adelson established the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson clinic for Drug Abuse Treatment and Research at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, the first such clinic in Israel. Additional centers followed, including a clinic in Las Vegas.

Mr. Adelson has been granted honorary degrees and other awards, and has been a guest speaker at various colleges and universities, including the University of New Haven, Jerusalem College of Technology, and Harvard Business School.

Mr. Adelson has been recognized by Computer Reseller News and by Meeting News as one of the 25 most influential executives in the computer industry. He has been the subject of a front page article in the Wall Street Journal and articles in Business Week and Forbes. He graced the cover of such publications as Lifestyles, Casino Resort Business, Travel Agent, Casino Journal, Casino Executive, Nevada Hospitality, Las Vegas Magazine, Meeting & Conventions, Nevada Business Journal, Travel World News, and Las Vegan. He has been named to the "Forbes 400" list as one of America's wealthiest individuals.

Mr. Adelson lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Miriam, and their two children. (source)

**

Jeffrey Altman

General Counsel

Jeffrey Altman is a partner in McKenna & Cuneo's Washington, D.C. office. He joined the firm in 1974 immediately after graduating from law school and has been a partner since 1980.

Mr. Altman specializes in representing trade associations, foundations, professional membership societies, and other nonprofit entities. He has extensive experience in counseling both nonprofit and for-profit clients on the vast array of legal, financial, and practical issues that arise in their daily activities. He also is a frequent speaker and writer on these subjects. In addition to acting as general and special counsel for a number of organizations, Mr. Altman serves as a director and an officer of several public service/nonprofit entities.

Mr. Altman is the past chair of the Legal Section Council of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). In addition, he currently serves as a director of both the ASAE Services Corporation and the ASAE Insurance Company. Mr. Altman also is the past chair of the D.C. Bar Committee on Not-For-Profit Corporations, and he participates in several sections of the American Bar Association.

Mr. Altman received his J.D. in 1974 from Tulane University, where he was associate editor of the Tulane Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and is authorized to practice before a variety of federal courts and agencies.

**

Elliott Broidy

Vice Chairman

Elliott Broidy has been an independent investor since 1991. Through his private investment company, Broidy Capital Management, he invests in marketable and private equity securities. Mr. Broidy has made direct investments in many private companies and is generally active in the oversight of such companies.

Mr. Broidy is a member of the Young Presidents Organization. He is a member of the Board of Counselors for the USC Marshall School of Business’ Center for Investment Studies. Also at The University of Southern California, Mr. Broidy is a member of the Board of Directors of the Associates and is a trustee of the USC Hillel Foundation. Mr. Broidy serves on the Board of Trustees of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, as well as the Board of Governors of Hebrew Union College. He has committed time and contributed financially to several other educational institutions.

His wife Robin is a former executive of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Robin and Elliott have two daughters and reside in Los Angeles, California.

**

Matthew Brooks

Executive Director

Mr. Brooks is executive director of the RJC and the chief spokesman for the RJC to the media.

Matthew Brooks serves as Executive Director of both the Republican Jewish Coalition (formerly National Jewish Coalition), an organization dedicated to enhancing ties between the Jewish community and the Republican Party, and the Jewish Policy Center, a think-tank which examines public policy from a Jewish perspective.

Matt began his political career as State Chairman of the Massachusetts College Republicans while still an undergraduate at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. Matt managed the Jack Kemp for President campaign in Massachusetts, as well as directed projects in New Hampshire and Vermont. Matt became the Political Director of the Republican Jewish Coalition in 1988. Taking a leave of absence from the RJC, Matt served as the National Field Director for Victory `88, the Jewish Campaign Committee, designing and implementing campaign strategy on behalf of the Bush-Quayle `88 campaign. Matt was appointed Executive Director of the RJC in 1990.

Matt has a B.A. in Political Science from Brandeis University. He received an MBA at Georgetown University in March, 1996, with a concentration in International Business Management.

Matt resides in Falls Church, VA with his wife, Deborah, daughter Samantha and son Max.

**

Bradley Cohen

Vice Chairman

Mr. Cohen is Chairman of Cohen Asset Management, a national real estate investment company specializing in industrial real estate. In addition to his philanthropic activities he is involved in numerous charitable and community organizations throughout the country. Mr. Cohen resides in Los Angeles with his wife Cheryl.

**

Lewis M. Eisenberg

Vice Chairman

For many years, Mr. Eisenberg was a partner of Goldman Sachs & Co. In 1990, he founded Granite Capital International Group, an investment management company headquartered in New York City. Mr. Eisenberg also served from 1995 to 2001 as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority is also, of course, the owner of the World Trade Center, and Mr. Eisenberg led the agency through the first three months of recovery and clean-up after the terrorist attacks of September 11. He was recently named a member of New York’s Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Authority, which will spearhead the rebuilding of Ground Zero.

His community and charitable activities include leadership in health and healthcare related institutions. He is on the Planning Board of UJA/United Jewish Federation.

Mr. Eisenberg is a long-time Republican activist and was recently elected Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He has raised millions of dollars for the Republican Party and Republican candidates. He served on New York Governor George Pataki’s transition team and was a key advisor to New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman.

He and his wife Judy have three daughters and seven grandchildren.

**

Michael David Epstein

Vice Chairman

Mr. Epstein is President of Sensormatic Mid-Atlantic Region and is a partner in a real estate firm and a data development firm in the Washington, D.C. area.

Mr Epstein is very active in the Jewish community; he serves in a leadership capacity in the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), Aish HaTorah, the Jewish National Fund, and the State of Israel Bonds.

**

Max M. Fisher

Honorary Chairman

Known as “the dean of Jewish Republicans,” Mr. Max M. Fisher of Detroit, Michigan has advised every Republican president since Eisenhower. As a “Quiet Diplomat” (the title of the 1992 biography of Mr. Fisher by Peter Golden), he played a unique role in U.S.-Israel relations for many years. He is a long-time member of Team 100, the top group of major Republican donors. A leader and mentor in the Republican Party for four decades, Mr. Fisher founded the NJC in 1985 to give Jewish Republicans a permanent, public presence in both the Jewish community and the Republican Party.

Mr. Fisher is a well-known figure in both the Jewish community and Republican circles. A successful businessman, Mr. Fisher has played a leading role in almost every major Jewish community organization, including the American Jewish Committee, B’nai B’rith International, Council of Jewish Federations, Jewish Agency for Israel, United HIAS Service, United Israel Appeal, and United Jewish Appeal. He has also been an active supporter of numerous charitable and civic organizations both locally and nationally.

**

David M. Flaum

Vice Chairman

Mr. Flaum is a leading real estate developer in upstate New York and is the founder and CEO of Flaum Management Company, Inc. of Rochester, New York.

He serves on the Board of directors of the University of Rochester Medial Center and is on the Board of trustees, of Syracuse University. He is also on the boards of the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum in Rochester and the Rochester Broadway Theatre League. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federation of Rochester.

**

Richard J. Fox

Honorary Chairman

Mr. Fox is Chairman of the Fox Companies, one of the major building, development and real estate management companies in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. He is also Chairman of Planalytics, Inc. a planning and forecasting company that links srategic marketing and sales management through unique data analysis and client solution teams.

Over the years, Mr. Fox has been active in government, business and community affairs. He is chairman of the Board of Governors of Temple University and has been a leader in the Federation of Jewish Agencies of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.

Mr. Fox is a long-time Republican activist. In 1985 he was one of the founders of the RJC and served as its first chairman. In 1980 Fox was the Pennsylvania State Chairman of the Reagan/Bush campaign. In 1988 he served as national finance chairman of Jack Kemp’s presidential campaign.

**

Sam Fox

National Chairman

Mr. Fox is the Chairman and CEO (founder) of Harbour Group, Ltd., a privately owned company specializing in the acquisition and development of manufacturing companies for long-term investment.

His extensive community and charitable activities include leadership in the St. Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis Area Council Boy Scouts of America, Washington University, BJC Hospital, the Fox Family Foundation, Opera Theater of St. Louis, the St. Louis Science Center, the St. Louis Symphony and the St. Louis Zoo.

He served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Marine Reserves. He and his wife Marilyn are the parents of five children.

He was also one of Bush’s “Pioneers” raising over $100,000 for his Presidential campaign.

“With annual revenues of more than $1.5 billion, Harbour Group has executed more than 100 leveraged buyouts since it started in ’76. He gave more than $300,000 to GOP candidates and groups in ’99. He ranks among the nation’s top donors of “soft money,” having contributed $435,000 of it to the Republican Party since ’97. Fox hosted a record-setting Washington fundraiser in 2000 that took in $21 million. His personal wealth has been pegged at more than $500 million. Fox flew to Austin to meet with Bush in early `99 along with three other Missouri Pioneers: Adele Hall, Stephen Brauer and John Mahaffey.”

http://www.tpj.org/pioneers/sam_fox.htm

**

Tony Gelbart

Vice Chairman

Tony B. Gelbart, is co-founder of Nefesh B'Nefesh and President and CEO of CPM Worldwide Group, an investment company based in Florida with holdings in both the U.S. and Israel.

Mr. Gelbart, the son of Jewish immigrants to the U.S., grew up committed to Jewish and Zionistic causes and later founded many Jewish and Israeli activist groups assisting in U.S., Soviet and Ethiopian Jewry. While attending Bernard Baruch College of the City University of New York, Mr. Gelbart was an active advisor and participant in groups such as Herut, SSSJ, B'nai Brith, Hillel and the ADL. During his college years, Mr. Gelbart also spent a significant portion of time in Israel attending Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

After graduating Bernard Baruch with a business degree in International Trade, Mr. Gelbart became a commodities trader, which took him to various parts of the world including Israel. In 1982, Mr. Gelbart became President and CEO of T&M Agro Group, a New York based company, which imported perishable foodstuffs from Israel. T&M also worked with many Israeli agricultural businesses such as Netafim, Plastro G'vat, Hazera Seed Company and Kibbutz Dolav/Dvir.

Since founding CPM Worldwide Group in 1995, Mr. Gelbart and his company have been very active in seeking out, and investing in, Israeli companies and ideas. He has always recognized the unique talents and products Israeli businesses and citizens have to offer worldwide markets. Currently, CPM Worldwide Group is in the process of bringing to the U.S. markets Israeli businesses such as Opti-Clip International, Samson Lift Technologies, Osem Cakes and others.

Tony has gained the respect of his peers for his leadership and ethical standards, which have helped him establish personal and professional relationships with many prominent politicians and business leaders both in the U.S. and Israel.

Some of his current philanthropic activities include: Co-founder, Nefesh B'Nefesh; Board Member, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; Board Member, Republican Jewish Coalition. Mr. Gelbart also contributes and plays an active role in organizations such as Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces, several Holocaust oriented organizations, and many others. (source)

**

Cheryl Halpern

Vice Chairman

Mrs. Halpern is active in the Republican Party in New Jersey and nationally. She has served as the Coalition Chairman for the New Jersey Republican Party and has coordinated ethnic outreach programs in the state. She has served as a member of Team 100, the RCLC and the Inner Circle. She also served as national chairman of the RJC for eight years.

Her wide range of community activities includes participation on the board of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the executive committee of the New Jersey Regional Advisory Board of the Anti-Defamation League, and the New Jersey - Israel Commission. She served as a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which has oversight responsibility for non-military international broadcasting by the United States.

She lives in Livingston, New Jersey with her husband and three children.

**

Lawrence Kadish

Honorary Chairman

Lawrence Kadish is a national commercial and industrial real estate investor and developer. He is also the founding chairman of the Committee for Security and Peace in the Middle East and the American Middle East Information Network. Encouraged and supported by Mr. Kadish, these two institutions have sought to strengthen democracy and encourage pluralism in the Middle East and around the globe. Mr. Kadish has been a supporter of the Investigative Project which conducted a strategic review of world wide terrorism and cautioned Americans on the eve of September 11th that systematic terrorism was threatening our nation’s security. Lawrence Kadish has also served as a contributor to various organizations including the Foundation for Media and Public Affairs, the Foundation for Responsible Government, the Center for Security Policy and the Drug Free America Foundation. (source)

“Lawrence Kadish has been topping lists of Republican donors since George H. W. Bush was president. A real estate investor in New York and Florida, Kadish has long worked to build ties between the Republican Party and American Jews. He is a chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition, joining seven other leaders of the group on the Mother Jones 400.”

**

Sheldon (Shelly) Kamins

Vice Chairman

Mr. Kamins, a Washington area real estate developer, is a committed Republican activist. His extensive charitable and community efforts include participation on the Board of the Washington Committee of the Weizmann Institute of Science and service on the National Finance Advisory Council of the George and Barbara Bush Endowment for Innovative Cancer Research.

Mr. Kamins has participated on the highest levels of the leading Republican political organizations. He served on the Executive Committee of the National Finance Committee of George W. Bush for President and Bush C-Chairman for the State of Maryland. He is a member of the RNC National Finance Committee. For two and a half years he served as National Chairman of GOPAC. He is also member of the Republican Eagles and has served in the leadership of the Republican Senatorial Trust and NAT PAC.

He resides in Potomac, MD.

**

George Klein

Honorary Chairman

Mr. Klein is Chairman and CEO of Park Tower Group, a major real estate company based in New York. Known as a community leader, he has also been active in Republican affairs for many years and has served as an advisor to several Republican presidential administrations.

Mr. Klein is one of the founders of the RJC and has served as national chairman. He continues to guide the organization to this day as an honorary chairman.

**

Eliot Lauer

Vice Chairman

Mr. Lauer, a member of the Litigation Department, has been with Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP since 1974. He has extensive experience representing clients in complex civil and criminal matters in federal and state courts and is an experienced federal and state appellate advocate. He has tried criminal and civil cases involving commodities fraud, transactions in government securities and commodity futures, market manipulation, accountants' and other professionals' liability, false advertising, contract and agency disputes involving real estate, product liability and other commercial transactions.

For a number of years Mr. Lauer has served as an active member of the arbitration panels of the American Arbitration Association and several industry bodies. As an advocate, he represented clients in numerous domestic and international arbitrations.

Mr. Lauer is admitted to the New York State and District of Columbia Bars, the United States District Court both for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Associations

Association of the Bar of the City of New York

New York State Bar Association

District of Columbia Bar Association

American Bar Association

Federal Bar Council

American Arbitration Association

National Futures Association

Education

J.D., cum laude, Fordham University School of Law, 1974

The Law Review, Board of Editors

B.A., Yeshiva College, 1971

(source)

He is also one of the two attourneys for Jonathan Pollard

**

Mark Lezell

Vice Chairman

Mark Lezell is a partner in the Corporate Department of Ropes & Gray. Mr. Lezell has a domestic and international law practice with an emphasis on assisting e-commerce and related high-technology entities doing business in the United States with the application of business, finance, securities, licensing and counseling, structuring, and negotiating of a variety of emerging technologies and business ventures. Additionally, his decades of active participation in the political process have facilitated the advocacy of legislative policy matters before the U.S. Congress and the Administration.

Mr. Lezell has been in private practice for almost 25 years. Most recently, he was with the Washington, D.C. office of Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, and previously, he practiced with Tucker, Flyer & Lewis of Washington, D.C. Before embarking on a career in private practice, he was an attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel, Division of Corporation Finance, and legal assistant to Commissioner Irving M. Pollack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, he was a law clerk to Chief Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia.

Mr. Lezell obtained his B.A. from Michigan State University in 1969 and received his J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law, in 1973. He also holds an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center, 1976.

**

Earle I. Mack

Vice Chairman

Earle I. Mack, Senior Partner and Chief Financial Officer of the Mack Company, a commercial real estate enterprise, has a long history associated with business, the arts, education, public service, and thoroughbred racing.

While Mr. Mack's activities are wide-ranging and require diligent attention, he is particularly dedicated to seeing that the entire arts community in New York flourishes and gathers continuing public and private sector support.

His business life includes Senior Partner and Chief Financial Officer the almost century-old Mack Company. The firm, headquartered in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, invests, develops, and manages income-producing commercial real estate primarily for their account. He's also a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Realty Committee, was commissioned and completed articles for the ABA Banking Journal and for The Mortgage and Real Estate Executives Report, among many other business accomplishments.

Dedicated to the arts, Mr. Mack is Chairman of the New York State Council on the Arts. He's a member of the Board of Trustees, American Friends of the Paris Opera and Ballet; was a Member of the Board of Directors, New York City Ballet; was a Member of the Board of Directors, Dance Theater of Harlem, and was co-producer of the feature films, "Hard Choices" and "She Dances Alone." He's been a Member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of the School of American Ballet; the Producer and Co-Director of "The Children of Theatre Street," a 90-minute documentary film nominated for an Academy Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cannes Film Festival, and winner of the Film Advisory Board's Award of Excellence. With Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Public Theater, he co-produced the multi-media rock musical "Stomp."

Also committed to public service, Earle Mack was a Member, Governor's Committee on Scholastic Achievement, is a Member of the Advisory Board, New York State Business Venture Partnership, is a Member, Board of Trustees, New York Racing Association, and was Chairman of the New York State Racing Commission.

He was selected from 65,000 candidates as one of 100 outstanding Drexel University alumni and honored by the University as one of the "Drexel 100;" and attended Fordham Law School.

Mr. Mack served his country as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry, active duty; and First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Infantry Military Police, reserve duty.

He is married to Carol Dickey Mack and has two children, Andrew and Beatrice. (source)

**

Bernard Marcus

Vice Chairman

Mr. Marcus is one of the founders of The Home Depot Inc., North America’s largest home improvement retailer.

Mr. Marcus is active in many civic and charitable concerns. In 1991, he and with his wife, Billi, established the Marcus Institute in Atlanta, an affiliate of Emory University, which provides programs for children and adolescents with disorders of the brain, and their families. An 1998 the Marcus Institute joined forces with the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. The Kennedy Krieger Marcus National Foundation was created to further enhance the lives of this special population through national advocacy, professional training, and research. Mr. Marcus is the Chairman of the National Foundation.

**

Jeffrey Marcus

Vice Chairman

Mr. Marcus is the former Chairman and CEO of Novo Networks, Inc., a broadband emerging telecommunications company. He is currently a director and chairman of the Executive Committee of Brinker International. He serves on the Board of Visitors of Trinity College at Duke University and Columbia College at Columbia University. He is a National Commissioner of the Anti-Defamation League.

Mr. Marcus is a co-chairman of the Republican National Committee Finance Committee for the state of Texas and co-chaired the RNC Presidential Gala in May 2001.

Mr. Marcus and his wife Nancy live in Dallas, Texas.

**

Cliff May

Vice Chairman

Clifford D. May is the President of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies conducts research and education on international terrorism – the most serious security threat to the United States and other free, democratic nations.

Mr. May was Senior Managing Director in the Washington, D.C. office of BSMG Worldwide, a firm specializing in public affairs advocacy, public relations and media relations.

Previously, Mr. May was the Director of Communication at the Republican National Committee, where he oversaw all communications activities, including strategic planning; press, radio, television and online services; speechwriting; and advertising. In addition, he served as the chief staff spokesperson for the Republican Party on the national level and as the editor of Rising Tide, the official Republican magazine.

Prior to joining the RNC, May served as Associate Editor of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado. He also wrote a weekly political and social criticism column that was distributed nationally by Scripps Howard News Service. In addition, he hosted two weekly television programs and a radio show.

Before moving to Colorado, May spent almost a decade with The New York Times where he served as a Washington and foreign correspondent, covering general politics and Congress and also opening and serving as Bureau Chief of the Times's West Africa bureau. May also served as an editor of The New York Times Magazine.

May earned masters degrees from Columbia University's School of Journalism and School of Public and International Affairs. He earned a Bachelor of the Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. He also holds a certificate in Russian language and literature from the University of Leningrad.

**

Larry A. Mizel

Vice Chairman

Larry A. Mizel has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc for more than five years and was elected President of the Company in March 1996. Mr. Mizel resigned as President of the Company in July 1999. Mr. Mizel has been a Director of the Company since founding it in January 1972. Mr. Mizel also serves as a Director of Richmond American Homes. Mr. Mizel is a Trustee of the Marsico Investment Fund, an open-end investment company that currently offers four investment portfolios, the Marsico Focus Fund, the Marsico Growth and Income Fund, the Marsico 21st Century Fund and the Marsico International Opportunities Fund.

**

Lindsay Rosenwald

Vice Chairman

Dr. Rosenwald is co-founder and senior managing director of Paramount Capital Asset Management, Inc. Paramount Capital is an industry leader in biotechnology financing, specializing in hedge funds, private equity offerings, and venture capital.

**

Richard Sackler

Vice Chairman

**

Fred Sands

Vice Chairman

**

Mark Siegel

Vice Chairman

It could be this Mark A Siegel – the JRC site only cites him as a vice chairman with no other knowledge. There are other Mark Siegels active in corporate America, but they don’t seem to `fit the bill’. However, don’t cite anything from this bio about the group without acknowledging the uncertainty.

Dr. Mark A. Siegel is an adjunct professor in the department of government and the American University, where he teaches political speech writing and a senior research associate in the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies. In addition, he is working on the AU/ Pew Charitable Trusts "Improving Campaign Conduct" research project. He frequently appears as a political analyst on national television and has served as a consultant to CBS for the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Democratic National Conventions, and to CNN for the1992 and 1996 Democratic National Conventions. He currently serves as president of Mark A. Siegel and Associates and International Public Strategies, domestic and international lobbying and consulting firms based in Washington, DC. He previously served as legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota; executive director of the Democratic National Committee from 1972 to 1977; and as deputy assistant to the President in the Carter Administration. Prior to his appointment at American University, Siegel served as director of George Washington University's Semester in Washington Program and professor in GW's Graduate School of Political Management, where he taught courses in campaign management, lobbying, and speechwriting. http://www.american.edu/academic.depts/spa/ccps/faculty/siegelm.htm

**

Ned L. Siegel

Vice Chairman

Mr. Siegel is founder and chairman of the board for the Siegel Group, a real estate investment and management group, and is known for major projects with significant economic impact throughout South Florida.

Active in supporting Florida's business growth, Siegel is a board member of Enterprise Florida, a state public/private partnership promoting economic development. He was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to the Space Research and Commerce Park Planning & Development Committee responsible for 400 acres at the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

Siegel serves as co-chairman of the Republican National Finance Committee in Florida and was Palm Beach County Finance Chairman for the 1998 Jeb Bush campaign. His leadership role in Florida had a concrete impact on the number of Jewish votes George W. Bush received in the state.

He also serves on the American Jewish Committee South-Central Florida chapter board. He is a founding member of the Treva Brogan Educational Institute, which provides scholarships for disadvantaged youth.

Siegel, a resident of Boca Raton, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Connecticut, and received a Juris Doctorate from the Dickinson School of Law.

**

Fred Zeidman

Vice Chairman

Mr. Zeidman is the Chairman of Seitel, Inc., a member of the New York Stock Exchange that is a leading provider of seismic data and related geophysical expertise to the petroleum industry. He is the former CEO and President of Intersystems, Inc., and the founder of Houston Venture Capital Association.

Mr. Zeidman is very active in community and political affairs. President George W. Bush appointed him to chair the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. Mr. Zeidman holds leadership positions in the Anti-Defamation League (Southwest Region), the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, and the American Jewish Committee. He serves as co-chairman of the finance committee of the Republican Party of Harris County, Texas and serves on the finance committee of the Republican Party of Texas. He was vice-chairman of the Dole/Kemp presidential campaign in Harris County and has been a key Jewish advisor to Texas’ Republican congressional and senatorial delegations.

Mr. Zeidman attended Washington University and received an MBA from New York University. He lives in Houston, Texas with his wife and children.

**

(sources: unless otherwise stated, all biographies are taken from the Jewish Republican Coalition website)

 

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