Eli Nossbaum is an Executive Director in the Credit Suisse Wealth Management Division in Melbourne where he works closely with family offices and not-for-profit organisations advising on local and international investments across multiple asset classes. Prior to Credit Suisse, Eli spent 4 years as a Relationship Manager with Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. Eli holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Applied Finance from Monash University. Eli was previously a member of the Investment Committee of Jewish Care Victoria, which included responsibility for managing the organisation’s endowment and residential bond portfolios. He is married to Tammy and the proud father of 5 children. 

Jeremy Dunkel is a Director of Taurus Capital, a family office consultancy specialising in philanthropy, and a Non-Executive Director of Pengana Capital Group, an ASX-listed funds management company.  His accounting and finance experience includes working for Chemical Bank, Chase Manhattan, and Price Waterhouse.

He is a Director of Education Heritage Foundation and is a Member of the Steering Committee of Mosaic United. He also Chairs Y2i, an organisation that grants $5,000 vouchers to Year 10 students from NSW / ACT / QLD with at least one Jewish parent, to make participation in approved Israel-based educational programs affordable.

Peter commenced work as an accountant in 1977 and first became a principal in 1988. In 2006 he was one of the founding partners of Logicca. In addition to his business services clients he heads the audit, superannuation, estate planning and not-for-profit sections of the practice.

Peter is married to Leone; they have three children and 6 grandchildren.

He has had the honor of being the treasurer of the Zionist Federation of Australia and is currently the treasurer of Technion Australia a charity which supports the work of the Technion University in Israel, through financial donations and research collaborations.

As a Bondi boy all his life he is keen supporter of the Sydney Roosters football team and the Australian cricket team.

Keren is an executive level corporate, funds and financial services lawyer and non-executive director. She is experienced in governance and strategy, both in the private and NFP sector and has always had a keen interest in Jewish organisations, having worked within them both in paid and voluntary capacities. Since October 7 Keren had taken a leading role in advocacy and developed a keen interest in the philanthropy sector, particularly where it touches on Jewish community and Israel. Keren went on the AJF mission to Israel in March 2024 which was incredible – really a life-changing experience, and is keen to further develop and hone leadership skills in the field of Jewish community and philanthropy. Keren also just participated in Cohort 5 of LaunchPad Leadership.

Lauren Placks is an experienced and passionately dedicated charity and not-for profit community leader. For more than a decade, she has held leadership roles and maintained active involvement in various charities such as the JCA, Australian Jewish Fertility Network (AJFN) and the UIA. I have also been a Board Member on the Moriah College Foundation for the past 5 years and recently joined the board for Australian Jewish Funders (AJF).

After completing a Bachelor of Senior Education (Physical and Health Education) with Honours and running a successful personal training business, Lauren began raising her young family. Her time is now largely spent on her various roles and responsibilities within each organisation, with a focus on events, strategic planning and engagement and helping to encourage her fellow cohort to begin their own philanthropic journey, for example through her role as the chair of ‘Jumpstart Juniors’ for JCAs young family program. Lauren and her husband have also been a part of a giving circle for the past 4 years and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of this unique way of giving.

Dr Linda Friedland is a medical doctor with over 25 years’ experience in clinical medicine and an international advisor to several global companies.  She consults to healthcare, biotech, corporate and financial institutions and as a speaker has delivered keynotes in more than 30 countries. A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), Linda is Deputy Chairperson of Neurological Council of Western Australia (NCWA), a non-executive director Maurice Zeffert Jewish Aged Care, Asia- Pacific partner, Camelot Bio- Capital and sits on several global advisory healthcare boards. A mother of 5 and grandmother of 5, Linda is married to Professor Peter Friedland and lives in Perth. A passionate Jewish community leader, over the past 15 years she has held roles in UIA women’s division, AICC and facilitates Perth community events on behalf of JCCWA, SZC, NCJWA, Carmel School and the Synagogues.

Linda is also the founder of Project 18 a fund, which started urgently after October 7^th and has developed into a global collaboration with the UK and US funding pregnant war widows, children and advanced trauma life support.

An author of seven bestseller health, women’s and lifestyle books with a long career in television and media, she has developed public health and mental health programs in Asia, USA, Australia, Africa and the UK.

Raphael Leibler is a partner in Arnold Bloch Leibler’s litigation & dispute resolution team. He has represented public and private companies, high-net-worth individuals and other high-profile clients. He has acted in a diverse range of commercial disputes, cross-border matters, activist shareholder campaigns, corporate insolvencies and royal commissions. Raphael has also acted on behalf of numerous pro bono clients, including community organisations, schools and charities.

Raphael previously spent time in New York as a speechwriter to Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor.  He has held roles in numerous communal organisations, including the Zionist Federation of Australia and the Australian Friends of Hebrew University. Raphael lives in Melbourne with his wife Rebecca and daughter Elke.

Simon Feiglin joined Riverside in 2007. He leads the RAF transacting and operating teams in the acquisition, growth and sale of portfolio companies, as well as the development of the strategic direction of the fund.   Prior to Riverside, he was a founding Partner of Silver Oak Services Partners, a private equity fund focused on investing in the services sector. He also served as the Vice President of Corporate Development at CBIZ Inc., where he managed the merger, acquisition and divestiture effort for a $600 million publicly traded company. His earlier career includes four years at Morgenthaler Partners, a private equity firm. He holds a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Doron Chimes will be joining AJF as a Board Observer in 2024. Doron, a Management Consultant at the Nous Group, brings with him a wealth of experience and a passion for problem-solving that contributes to global development. With a background in engineering and finance, Doron collaborates with leaders in influential Not-For-Profit and Government organisations, aiming to enhance performance, improve service delivery, and achieve better outcomes for communities.

Doron has successfully delivered significant projects in higher education, sustainable development, and health, such as the NSW Cancer Plan, addressing skills shortages in NSW, unlocking the potential of distributed energy resources, and establishing a decision-making framework for the NDIS. His dedication to social impact aligns perfectly with AJF’s mission, and he is enthusiastic about leveraging his skills to make a meaningful difference in the not-for-profit sector.

CEO

Tracie Olcha is Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Jewish Funders (AJF), a membership organisation of Jewish social investors. Tracie works closely with the AJF network, philanthropic foundations and a multitude of organisations throughout Australia, the US, Israel and Asia to promote strategic, effective philanthropy and support their journey towards impactful giving across the generations. 

She is all about empowering community members to create meaningful and relevant Jewish experiences for themselves and their peers and is the visionary behind LaunchPad – A Platform for Jewish Community Innovation. LaunchPad inspires grassroots community engagement and leadership, enabling change-makers to connect, think, create and lead.

Before joining the AJF in 2011, Tracie worked with a variety of Jewish organisations and was responsible for a myriad of projects including fundraising, marketing, major events and conferences. With a background in education, Tracie taught and held a number of leadership roles at Mount Scopus Memorial College and was education consultant for News Limited and the AFL.

Tracie sits on the International Council at Moishe House and is a Scholar with Our Common Destiny, a ground-breaking new initiative to strengthen global Jewry by linking Jewish communities all over the world to a shared set of ethics and values across religious and cultural identities. Tracie co-founded Mamilla, a six-month program that aims to unlock and activate the power of Jewish entrepreneurs and connects them with the start-up eco-system in Israel.

Director of Community and Innovation

Rebecca is supportive, enthusiastic and extremely community focused. She loves to have fun, explore new opportunities and is empowered to encourage those around her to take a leap of faith and step forth with courage, the motto from Bialik College, where she attended school from kindergarten through to year 12.

Rebecca first joined the Australian Jewish Funders team as the LaunchPad Retreat Coordinator. Through this role, her understanding of the Jewish community has broadened, as has her network of highly motivated and inspiring individuals.

Rebecca has also been involved in the disability sector for many years and brings a wealth of knowledge, understanding and a commitment for a more inclusive society to the LaunchPad network. In her spare time, Rebecca loves exploring new walks around Victoria, believing walking isn’t only a lockdown trend. She also loves a soy latte, experiencing new restaurants and is always on the hunt for the best dumplings in town.

Director of Philanthropy and Engagement

As a Sydney native with a passion for community organising, Lisa’s background is richly diverse in outreach and community engagement. Having experienced the familial effects of mental illness first-hand, Lisa was drawn to the field of psychology and education and went on to receive both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Sydney. Her early career included roles interning at a youth crisis centre in Israel, working with students across a range of disabilities at the William Rose School, and focused on extensive outreach to Jewish students in the greater Sydney and rural NSW areas.

In 2013, Lisa moved to New York City where she worked as a high school educator at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School. It was here that Lisa found a passion for inter-faith work and embedding social justice and action into educational curriculum. She is currently an MBA student specialising in Social Impact at the AGSM School of Business at the University of New South Wales. Filled with humility believing the best way to learn is through experience, Lisa has participated in the 2013 inaugural Observership Program, LaunchPad 2019 and was a 2020 Philanthropy Fellowship Fellow.

In her current position as the Director of Philanthropy & Engagement at the Australian Jewish Funders, Lisa works with individuals, for-purpose organisations, corporates and the educational sector to enhance meaningful and strategic giving experiences. She resides in Sydney with her spouse and their two vivacious daughters. She enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts, and dancing to great music.

Projects & Communications Coordinator