Courtesy of Debbie Zlotnick
Courtesy of the Abrams Hebrew Academy
around town
2 Courtesy of Hilary Levine
Courtesy of Stephanie Hampson
1 3
4 Courtesy of the Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties
1 Abrams Hebrew Academy students observed Yom HaShoah.

2 Federation Housing residents danced at a jazz event.

3 KleinLife’s Jewish Children’s Sunday School planted flowers in the mitzvah garden
on Community Mitzvah Day.

4 American Jewish Committee Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey and Circle of
Friends, Philadelphia’s chapter of the national Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council,
participated in the “Stronger than Hate” press conference and rally in Harrisburg on
April 24 in support of a package of strengthened hate crimes legislation.

5 26
MAY 4, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
5 Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties staff members Ryan
Somaroo and Jeff Willson received commendations from the Atlantic City Police for
their hard work, professionalism, leadership and attention to detail when working
with the police.




last word
Alison Freed
TAKES DEVELOPMENT MANTLE AT AMERICAN
FRIENDS OF THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY
Sasha Rogelberg | Staff Writer
Courtesy of Alison Freed
A lison Freed may be new to her
position at American Friends of
the Hebrew University, based in
its Philadelphia regional office, but she’s
long been familiar with the Philadelphia
Jewish community.

Having taken the mantle of chief devel-
opment officer of AFHU last month,
Freed, 46, is charged with leading the
organization’s fundraising efforts for
Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Her interest in fundraising began at
a young age during her upbringing in
Penn Valley, where she lives today.

“I fondly remember volunteering at
Super Sunday when I was 8 years old,
going on missions through the [Jewish]
Federation system,” she said.

“My parents were very involved in the
community, and I saw how much that
offered to them, socially, just with a moral
compass and being part of the commu-
nity. They really ingrained that in my
house,” she added. “They were involved
with the Federation and with Golden
Slipper [Club & Charities], and I just always
saw how meaningful that was to them.”
Freed has the chance to follow her
parents’ legacy. A national nonprofit,
AFHU is dedicated to supporting
Hebrew University, co-founded in Israel
in 1918 by Albert Einstein and Chaim
Weizmann. Hebrew U was the launching
point of the careers and scholarship
of numerous scientists, including Nobel
Prize winner Roger Kornberg and former
Hewlett-Packard CEO Léo Apotheker.

In 2025, the university will celebrate
its 100th anniversary since its opening
as a public university.

AFHU engages with alumni living in
the U.S. by bringing in Hebrew U profes-
sors for talks, hosting an annual board
meeting in Jerusalem and taking donors
to Israel on missions. The key to strong
fundraising is relationship building,
Freed said.

“It’s all about the relationship and
connecting where the donor is. ... We
don’t try and fit a round hole into a
square peg, or vice versa,” Freed said.

“We can really get to know what the
donor wants to do with their investment
and what kind of impact they want to
have.” Building personal relationships with
donors is what intrigued Freed about
development from the start. Having
studied psychology at the University
of Pennsylvania and gotten a master’s
degree in social administration from
Columbia University, Freed was always
interested in what connects and
motivates people.

“When people are reflecting on what
is most important to them, it’s family,
and then it’s often their philanthropic
and community involvement,” she said.

“So the combination of getting to know
people and furthering nonprofits through
fundraising is what led me to really focus
on a career in fundraising.”
Freed began her career in develop-
ment as the recruitment coordinator for
Project OTZMA, an Israel experience
for young adults, for United Jewish
Communities, a precursor to the Jewish
Federations of North America. While in
New York, she was also senior director
for fund development at the Westchester
Medical Center.

Her career took her back to
Philadelphia seven years ago when she
accepted a position as Penn Medicine’s
executive director of development.

“There’s a strong magnetic pole back
to Philadelphia,” she said.

“It’s a close-knit community. It’s
amazing how many options there are
for Jewish engagement in a small place
with a number of synagogues and social
action groups and volunteer opportuni-
ties,” she added.

Connecting back to the Jewish commu-
nity was the easy part of Freed’s return to
the city, and her family joined Adath Israel
on the Main Line shortly after moving. At
Penn Medicine, she navigated fundrais-
ing during the pandemic.

But despite the economic turmoil
COVID caused, fundraising at Penn
was strong because of the necessity of
medical care.

“I was lucky to be raising money for
health over the pandemic,” she said.

“That was pretty top of mind for many
people, so that sort of counterbalanced
any economic challenges.”
As Freed adjusts to her new position
as CDO, she sees challenges on the
horizon. Nonprofits often experience
economic hardships months after
individuals do. While fundraising hasn’t
yet been affected, she expects to
navigate some choppy waters.

“A lot of people in our field are talking
a lot about that, and it’s unpredictable
for sure,” she said of recent economic
woes. “But the challenge will just be
to continue to make the case for the
relevance of supporting Hebrew U. The
work is not stopping; the research is not
stopping.” ■
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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