Ami Nahshon, Amplify Partners co-founder and Managing Partner, has been advising purpose-driven foundations, families, nonprofits, and social businesses since 2014.
In 2013, Ami completed 12 years as international president of the Abraham Initiatives, a leading advocate for a shared and equal Israeli society.
He previously served as CEO of the Jewish Community Federation and Foundation of the San Francisco East Bay for nearly 20 years, creating innovative approaches to donor-centered philanthropy, community engagement and social activism, and as a program director of family and mental health services at the Center for Human Services in Cleveland.
Ami works with family foundations, funders and nonprofits to help formulate strategy and to craft policies and methodologies that are especially important to philanthropic families and organizations.
He is a founding member of the Alliance for Middle East Peace and was named International Non-Profit CEO of the Year by the Executive Council of New York.
Ami can be reached at Ami@AmplifyPartners.org.
Michael Ostroff, Amplify Partners co-founder and Managing Partner, is a New York and Florida-based consultant working with domestic, Israeli and international non-profit organizations and funders to help them achieve their philanthropic goals.
Michael has an extensive track record serving a broad range of clients in the cultural, educational, health care, human services and Jewish communal fields.
He has worked with both domestic and international foundations and multi-generational families to help establish philanthropic approaches and guidelines.
Michael provides comprehensive planning, development and marketing services, executing successful annual, capital, endowment, and planned giving programs, and advising families and foundations on optimizing their philanthropic grantmaking.
Michael has played leadership roles in campaigns that have collectively raised in excess of $1 billion. With a keen understanding of volunteer and donor motivation, Michael specializes in strategy, training and major gift development.
Michael can be reached at Michael@AmplifyPartners.org.
Amplify Partner Jacques Brunswick brings more than three decades of experience as a nonprofit CFO and COO to our team. He has managed the finances and operations of some of the nation’s most renown museums and performing arts organizations including Harlem’s Apollo Theater, The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), The Children’s Museum of Manhattan, The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut. At these organizations he led the financial, operational, and business planning that enabled these organizations to grow and thrive.
Jacques brings expertise in business modeling, budgeting, staffing, facilities management, and capital project planning to Amplify. As a consultant, Jacques has worked with nonprofit organizations to create sustainable business models that ensure that organizations can fulfill their missions and succeed as businesses.
Recent clients include The United States Coast Guard Museum in New London, CT, The Martha’s Vineyard Museum and The Penny Lane Beatles Museum in Dunedin, FL. Jacques holds an MA in Business Administration from the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jacques can be reached at Jacques@AmplifyPartners.org.
Amplify Partner Ellen Flax has a particularly rich background in philanthropy. She helps foundations, individuals/families, and grantmaking institutions create, carry out, and evaluate giving programs, and strengthen the capacity of nonprofits to raise funds, evaluate their efforts, and operate strategically.
As a consultant, her clients have included Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Genesis Philanthropy Group, Limmud, and RespectAbility. Ellen’s experience includes serving as the Director of The Hadassah Foundation, the largest Jewish women’s foundation in the United States; directing the Schusterman Rabbinical Fellowship Program; serving as a senior consultant to the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation; working as a program officer for a large family foundation; and as a fund raiser for a community-based multi-service organization in the Bronx. Before entering the nonprofit world, Ellen was a journalist, and worked for Education Week and the Associated Press.
Ellen is also a rabbi, ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She has served congregations in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Virginia, and currently provides pastoral services at several elder-care facilities.
Ellen can be reached at Ellen@AmplifyPartners.org.
As an Amplify Senior Partner, Joshua Fogelson brings three decades of accomplished non-profit management to the Amplify team.
He has served as Executive Director for Strategic Development at the JDC, CEO of Jewish Agency International Development and Deputy National Director of the Friends of the IDF.
He previously served as CDO at the Atlanta Jewish Federation and as CEO/Executive Director of the Minneapolis and Nashville Federations.
Joshua specializes in planned giving, capital and endowment campaigns, major gift initiatives, major donor stewardship and solicitation. He has coached high performing senior professionals, designed effective national and regional staff structures, led board governance and budgeting processes, and managed lay leadership transitions.
Joshua has presented to dozens of North American Jewish communities. He enjoys a national reputation for excellence, integrity and collaboration. Joshua lived in Israel for 8 years, served in the IDF, is fluent in Hebrew and has managed and partnered with both domestic and Israel-based senior professionals.
Joshua can be reached at Joshua@AmplifyPartners.org.
Amplify Partner Erica Frederick is a seasoned non-profit executive and development strategist with deep experience in strategic planning, program development, finance, board and volunteer recruitment, and communications. She is highly skilled in all areas of development, including capital campaigns, major gift solicitation, foundation grants and special events.
At the New York Urban Coalition, a consortium of business, labor and community leaders, Erica presented to major New York companies and raised millions annually. At the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, she presided over the largest US chapter, raising more than $10 million for research and education.
Erica launched first-ever capital campaigns at Adelphi University, Baruch College and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and was part of the senior team that created and funded Shalem College, Israel’s first liberal arts college.
For the past seven years, Erica has consulted with organizations in both the Jewish and non-sectarian worlds, including the Marlene Meyerson JCC in Manhattan, Israel Policy Forum, Bottomless Closet, Scholarships Plus and the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Erica can be reached at Erica@AmplifyPartners.org.
Amplify Senior Partner Mark Joffe has managed, advised and worked with nonprofits, niche media, private schools and foundations for more than three decades, providing sharp focus and expertise in such areas as funding strategy, organizational strategy development and implementation, international program development, rebranding and financial sustainability.
Mark served for years as Executive Editor and Publisher of JTA, transforming it from a legacy wire service for print media to the leading online source of global Jewish news. During that time, he also raised millions of dollars in funding from foundations and private donors.
As Director of International Development at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, Mark scaled and expanded the PJ Library Jewish family engagement program throughout Latin America, Russia and the UK.
Mark is the winner of both the James A. Finnegan Foundation Fellowship Award and the Joseph Polakoff Award for Distinguished Service to Jewish Journalism.
Mark can be reached at Mark@AmplifyPartners.org.
Amplify Partner Melissa Kerbel has devoted her career to working in the nonprofit sector. Her early years focused on project management, program development, and community organization.
Her passion to help nonprofits realize their dreams led her to pivot to fundraising and development. As the Development Director at the Jewish Educational Loan Fund in Atlanta, she created and implemented a successful growth strategy and engaged the Board of Directors more deeply in fundraising.
Melissa has served as Director of Development at United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) and as the East Coast Director at American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (AFIPO). At USCJ, Melissa built fundraising infrastructure, raised funds for conventions, and oversaw the direct marketing program. At AFIPO she focused on gala and end-of-year fundraising. Melissa has facilitated workshop sessions for nonprofits on building Annual Campaigns and engaging Boards in fundraising, and sits on the Board of Women In Development, New York.
Melissa can be reached at Melissa@AmplifyPartners.org
Rick Meyer brings 35 years of successful fundraising, management and leadership expertise to his Senior Partner role at Amplify Partners.
Los Angeles-raised and Milwaukee-based, Rick has spent most of his professional life directing large non-profit organizations.
Rick served for more than 20 years as the CEO of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation where he led or orchestrated all major capital, annual and supplemental campaigns, guided the development of a $140,000,000 community endowment and advised many high net worth individuals and foundations.
Prior to joining Amplify Partners, Rick served as Senior Vice-President & Managing Partner for Israel & Global Philanthropy at The Jewish Agency for Israel.
He has been recognized for his fundraising accomplishments as a recipient of the Vivian Rabieneau Campaign Director Memorial Award, and was named Fundraising Professional of the Year by Fundraising Success Magazine.
Rick can be reached at Rick@AmplifyPartners.org.
Amplify Partner Rob Meyer is passionate about his consulting work as an extension of a full and satisfying career as an executive level development professional. For more than 35 years he has led successful financial resource development efforts for the Philadelphia Jewish Federation, Sarasota – Manatee Jewish Federation and JEVS Human Services. At the beginning of his career Rob worked at Bellevue Psychiatric Center, and with Southeast Asian youth in the Portland, Oregon public school system. These experiences were instrumental in shaping his focus on the transformative power of improving people’s lives through enhancing life changing, community-based programs and experiences.
He has worked with organizations focused on educational opportunities, human services, sports-based youth development, vocational development, and Jewish communal services. He is skilled at lay/professional relationships, especially at building development infrastructure which promotes board leadership to be partners in relationship-based fundraising. Rob has extensive experience in assisting organizations with top-down leadership development and planning strategic leadership succession.
Rob has served as a VISTA volunteer, a big brother for Big Brother/Big Sister League, and a foster parent.
Rob can be reached at Rob@AmplifyPartners.org.
Tanja Sarett, CFRE CVF, Amplify Senior Consultant and Partner, is a veteran nonprofit and fundraising consultant, facilitator, trainer, and certified executive coach. She brings more than 25 years in the nonprofit and philanthropy field with organizations and foundations in the U.S, Europe, and Israel, including U.S. affiliates (“American Friends”) of European and Israeli charities.
Her consulting work includes building fundraising capacity through institutional giving, advanced prospect research, wealth and philanthropic screening, campaigns, fundraising events, board development, donor cultivation and stewardship. She is passionate about bringing innovative and cutting-edge techniques from the corporate world into the fundraising arena to increase financial and programmatic viability, expand visibility, and manage growth.
Tanja previously served as a Program Officer at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, a major international foundation, and as Executive Director of a Holocaust Museum in New York. Her career path includes fundraising and leadership positions with JASA, the Abraham Initiatives, The International March of the Living, DGB Youth in Munich, and The Dachau International Youth Meeting.
Tanja can be reached at Tanja@AmplifyPartners.org.
Amplify partner Howard Tevlowitz brings more than 35 years of Jewish communal leadership to Amplify Partners. He served for 21 years as the CEO of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. As an accomplished leader and change agent, he has worked with Jewish Federations in Minneapolis, Long Beach (CA), and Philadelphia, and with State of Israel Bonds.
Under Howard’s leadership, the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee conducted two population studies and four strategic planning processes, increasing the visibility and relevance of the Federation within the Jewish and general communities. As a result, Howard helped to reinvent the Federation’s programming and granting arms as well as the strategic philanthropy – annual, capital, and planned gifts – required to sustain it.
Howard is a graduate of Brandeis University and earned his master’s degree from the University of Florida. After graduation, he relocated to Israel where he participated in the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) program. Howard and his wife, Bryna, have two married children, Aaron (Jessie Bruder) and Janna (Chase Neinken), and one grandchild, Aiden.
Howard can be reached at Howard@AmplifyPartners.org.
Rich Bernstein serves as Senior Adviser to Amplify Partners. A highly respected corporate attorney, Rich counsels private, public and nonprofit clients in matters including business formation, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and financing.
As a prominent lay leader of many of the world’s premier Jewish and Israeli nonprofit organizations, Rich is a life member of the Board of the Jewish Federations of North America, Chairs ORT America’s Executive Committee as well as the Jewish Agency for Israel’s North American Council.
Rich serves on the Boards of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the Jerusalem International YMCA, and previously served as Chair of the United Israel Appeal, as a member of the Board of Directors of JDC, and as Deputy President of World ORT.
Rich brings his decades of experience advising business and nonprofit organizations along with his deep knowledge of the Jewish world to help Amplify clients achieve their goals.
Rich can be reached at Richard@AmplifyPartners.org.
Neal P. Myerberg, Amplify Partners Senior Adviser for Planned Giving and Endowments, is a nationally-recognized attorney providing consulting services for non-profit organizations, foundations and philanthropists. He teaches the Planned Giving Course in the Columbia University Master’s Degree Program in Fundraising Management.
Neal previously served as National Director of Charitable Giving Services for Bernstein Investment Research and Management, and as CEO of the Department of Planned Giving and Endowments at UJA-Federation of New York, where he administered a program with assets in excess of $500 million.
Neal was a founder and the first president of FJC, a New York not-for-profit that administers donor advised, designated and endowed funds, and formerly served as counsel and Director of Endowment Development for the Council of Jewish Federations. He previously worked as an attorney with the IRS specializing in estate and gift taxation, and practiced law in Maryland where he was elected State’s Attorney for St. Mary’s County. Neal is a graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law and the NYU Wagner School of Public Administration.
Neal can be reached at Neal@AmplifyPartners.org.
Callie Raynor, a performer and administrative professional based in New York City, serves as Research and Administration Coordinator for Amplify Partners. She has worked with companies and organizations in the areas of public relations, philanthropy, customer service, hospitality, and the performing arts.
Callie is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Texas where she earned degrees in Theater and Radio-TV-Film. She received a graduate certificate from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and continues to work as a performer, improviser, and writer. Callie grew up surrounded by non-profit professionals and is excited to be taking a more active role in this space.
Callie can be reached at Callie@AmplifyPartners.org
