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Friends of Yemin Orde (FYO) is pleased to welcome its new Board Chair and six new Board Members, who were all unanimously voted to their volunteer posts during the organization’s December 2013 biannual board meeting in West Palm Beach, Fla. FYO’s new chair is Charles Gwirtsman who has served as Board Co-Chair since 2011 with Michael Frieze, whose own three-year term expired. Prior to his position as Co-Chair, Gwirtsman served as FYO’s National Campaign Chair where he directed nationwide fundraising efforts, as well spearheaded a successful nationwide emergency campaign following a devastating wildfire at Yemin Orde in December 2010.
The new Board Members are: George Blank (New Hope, PA) David Elcott (New York City), Gary Fisher (New York City), Daniel Garrie (New York City), David Lonner (Los Angeles), and Adrienne Price (Scarsdale, NY). FYO is the U.S. fundraising arm of Yemin Orde Youth Village and Yemin Orde Educational Initiatives (YOEI), both located in Israel. Yemin Orde is a widely-noted youth village outside Haifa that provides a home, safe haven and school to hundreds of emotionally-fragile immigrant and Israel-born youth; the Initiatives is an independent organization created to expand Yemin Orde’s successful education methodology to other youth villages and schools throughout Israel.
Charlie Gwirtsman is Co-Founder and Managing Director of KRG Capital, a private equity firm in Denver. His expertise in corporate finance and his exceptional management skills proved to be critical elements to the success of Yemin Orde’s fundraising efforts during his tenure as campaign manager.
“Charlie’s guidance and leadership during our fire emergency campaign in 2011 enabled us to quickly generate a plan of action in order to raise the vital emergency funds for the Village during one of the worst crises in its 60 year history,” said Karen Sallerson, Executive Director, Friends of Yemin Orde. “It is a privilege to work with Charlie throughout the past few years. His business acumen, passion and commitment to our organization have set the standard for effective leadership.”
The new board members bring deep and wide-ranging professional and philanthropic experiences to FYO’s board. Members on FYO’s board serve three-year terms, with a maximum of two terms each.
George Blank has been a supporter and frequent visitor to Yemin Orde Youth Village since 1995. In honor of his 50th wedding anniversary to his wife, Harriet, who also serves as a FYO board member, George provided the funding to rebuild the Golda Meir Children’s Home at the Village, which was destroyed in the December 2010 wildfire.
David Elcott is the Taub Professor of Practice in Public Service and Leadership at the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and senior research fellow at the Research Center for Leadership in Action and Faculty Director of Wagner's Executive MPA program. He has spent the last 25 years at the intersection of community building, the search for a theory of cross-boundary engagement, and interfaith and ethnic activism.
Gary Fisher is recognized as a leader and innovator in the field of digital and traditional marketing and promotion with 20-years of entertainment, consumer goods and content creation experience. He is deeply interested in promoting the Village’s robust music program which provides solace and therapy for Yemin Orde’s emotionally-fragile kids.
Daniel Garrie is the General Counsel at Pulse Advisory, a venture development firm based in New York. Daniel is also the Executive Managing Partner at Law & Forensics. He is a renowned e-discovery special master and thought leader in the fields of information security, cyber warfare, forensics, e-discovery, information governance, and digital privacy.
David Lonner is a passionate Israel advocate. He has visited Yemin Orde Youth Village frequently as the leader of entertainment industry missions to Israel. David is the founder of Oasis Media Group, a management and production company that represents writers, directors, and producers in the film, television, and online content arenas.
Adrienne Price is a private investor with expertise in the areas of investment banking and commercial real estate. She has visited Yemin Orde several times and close family relative who live in Israel serve as the Village’s volunteer “grandparents.” Adrienne has served as an active volunteer and lay leader in many nonprofit enterprises, including Wexner Heritage Foundation Fellowship, UJA National Leadership Cabinet and the Board of Governors, American Jewish Committee, among others.
At Yemin Orde Youth Village, nearly 500 at-risk kids live in a safe and loving home, have a top-rated education and are surrounded by positive role models. The Village operates on a 24/7 basis with exceptional extra-curricular programs and therapeutic services typically not offered at other youth villages and schools in Israel. Its successful educational methodology, called the Village Way, is a model of excellence throughout Israel and offers opportunities for vulnerable children to develop leadership skills, self-esteem, cultural identity and hope for the future. Graduates remain connected to the Village for life. Yemin Orde Educational Initiatives expands the Yemin Orde methodology throughout Israel thereby, reaching thousands more at-risk children and educators. Today, there are currently 20 educational settings in Israel that partner with YOEI.
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barbara[.]yeminorde.org 
