who is MEOR?

Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld is the Founder and President of Meor. In addition to his leadership role at Meor, Rabbi Gershenfeld is the Dean of Machon Yaakov and of Machon Shlomo, two Jewish studies institutions noted for the high caliber of their students.  Rabbi Gershenfeld also is the educational director of Sinai Retreats in Warrensburg, NY which offers two-week  summer seminars to collegiate and post-collegiate youth.

His areas of special expertise include developing the relevance of the Jewish ethical tradition to modern man, revealing the beauty and exactitude of Biblical texts, and inspiring students to become educated, passionate and sophisticated lay leaders of the Jewish community.

Rabbi Gershenfeld graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from Trinity College with a BA in Economics and MA in History. Upon graduating, he studied in Japan on the Fulbright Scholar’s program.

Thomas Steinberg is President of Tisch Family Interests where he is responsible for a wide range of investment activities for the families of Laurence A. Tisch and Preston Robert Tisch.  Prior to joining the Tisch Family, he served as a Vice President at Goldman, Sachs & Company.

Tom has been a member of the Board of Directors of several public and private corporations, including Catellus Development Corporation, Gunther International, Cellegy Pharmaceuticals, Infonxx  and ABLECO.  He is also a member of the board of several non-profit organizations including the Metropolitan Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty and the New Seed Foundation.  Tom graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University with a BA in Economics and subsequently earned an MBA from Stanford University.

Eric Evans is a Portfolio Manager at CR Intrinsic Investors LLC, a private investment firm based in Connecticut, where he invests in healthcare equities. Prior to joining CR Intrinsic, he was an Analyst at Amaranth LLC, and spent several years in investment banking at Credit Suisse First Boston, UBS and Merrill Lynch. Eric is a Trustee of the Evans Family Charitable Foundation. Eric is a magna cum laude graduate of Duke University, and he resides in Monsey, NY with his wife and three sons.

Shelley Hebert is Vice President and Chief Development Officer for MEOR. Previously, she was Executive Director for development of the Taube Koret Campus for Jewish Life, the largest capital project in the history of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish community, which she led from land acquisition through entitlements to ground-breaking. The $300 million, 430,000-square-foot, mixed-use development is the first to fully integrate independent and assisted living for seniors with a Jewish Community Center and offices for other nonprofits. The Taube Koret Campus opened in fall 2009.

Ms. Hebert was previously Executive Director for Public Affairs at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, where she served as senior strategist for brand development, marketing, media relations, communications, and outreach for the $2 billion new Stanford Hospital project. Ms. Hebert was also Director of Business Development for Stanford University, Vice President of Marketing and Chief Administrative Officer for an early-stage venture capital firm and External Affairs/Communications Director at two of the nation's leading pediatric teaching hospitals, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford and Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle.

An active member of the Palo Alto area Jewish community, she is currently Vice President of Hillel at Stanford and on the advisory boards of the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture, the Taube Center for Jewish Studies at Stanford University, and the Jewish Chaplaincy at Stanford Medical Center. She is a 1976 graduate of Stanford University and attended the Jacob Hiatt Institute in Jerusalem in 1973.

Ariel Kor is the Executive Director of Sampoerna Capital which is the family office of one of Asia's most prominent financial families. Prior to that, he was with Triton Partners, one of the largest European middle market buy-out funds. Prior to that, he worked with Evergreen Partners and the Investment Banking Division of Lehman Brothers.

Ariel is Israeli-born and Singapore-bred. He is also a board member of the Harel Insurance Group, The Hour Glass, and a director of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Company. Ariel is a graduate of Oxford University.

Carey Wolchok is the Managing Partner of The Perilune Group, a New York based private investment partnership which manages a portfolio of investments in commercial aircraft, distressed debt, and real estate. Prior to that Mr. Wolchok was the Founder and Chairman of Avocet Aircraft, an aircraft manufacturer which was jointly owned with Israel Aircraft Industries, and was a Principal at AeroEquity, the private equity firm started by aviation pioneer Brian Rowe.

Carey has served as a member of the Board of Governors of Hillel - The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Abraham Scholars Program, a unique scholarship which enables graduating college students the opportunity to study in Israel. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida and received his MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.