The people driving
this work forward.

Jessie Dowsakul is the Executive Director of the Columbia Jewish Federation in South Carolina, where she leads with a focus on building relationships, strengthening Jewish life, and creating new opportunities for community growth and engagement.

With more than a decade of experience in Jewish communal leadership, education, and engagement, Jessie has worked across a range of Jewish communities and brings a collaborative, people-first approach to her work. Before joining Columbia Jewish Federation, she served as Chief Program & Engagement Officer at the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, where she developed programs, strengthened community connections, and cultivated leadership across generations.

Jessie is passionate about the future of American Jewish life and the many ways Jewish communities are adapting, innovating, and building for what comes next. She believes that stronger communities emerge when leaders share ideas, build meaningful partnerships, and learn from one another.

Through AJ 2054, Jessie is exploring what we can learn from communities across North America and how better information, collaboration, and intentional investment can help Jewish life continue to grow and thrive for generations to come.

Gidi is the Founder of Reut Group and President of Reut USA. Gidi has been involved for many years in public policy and political affairs in Israel. Gidi played an important role in designing the Birthright Israel Program between 1995 and 1999, when he established and led the Israeli team that transformed the original vision into a model that is now the largest and most successful project in the Jewish World.

From 1999-2001 Gidi served as the Secretary of the Israeli delegation to the Peace Negotiations with the PLO under Prime Minister Ehud Barak. He participated in the 2000 Camp David Summit and in the negotiations on the Clinton Ideas. Gidi’s first book Flexigidity: The Invisible Hand of Jewish Adaptability was published in 2013.

Edun is the CEO of Reut USA, overseeing operations worldwide. Prior to moving to the US, Edun was a Research Associate at the Reut Group and specialized in M&A and Corporate Law at one of Israel’s largest law firms, Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal, Law Offices.

Earlier in his career, Edun worked at Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office and served as a commander in a counter-terrorism unit in the Israel Defense Forces. Edun holds a Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and an LL.M. in Business Law (cum laude) and an LL.B. in Law and Government (cum laude) from the IDC Herzliya.

Ilay Kielmanowicz is a graduate student at Columbia University and the London School of Economics. Ilay graduated in 2023 Magna Cum Laude from the University of Missouri with a BA in History, a BS in Psychology, and minored in German. Ilay’s academic research has been on the impact of the Holocaust on East Germany and the legacy of this memory within contemporary German socio-political discourse. His undergraduate thesis utilized novel quantitative methods to explore East Germany’s foreign policy in the Middle East. His graduate thesis titled “The Price of Admission” highlights the impact of Jewish claims on East German international integration, with a specific focus on the threat that reparations posed to an unstable East German economy based on an immature economic theory.

He has assisted in the writing of (In)Sights: Peacemaking in the Oslo Process Thirty Years and Counting (Gefen Publishing – 2023), and has been assisting with LeChaim America and AJ2054 for the past three years.

Ilay is responsible for research and support for the committee, providing crucial quantitative and qualitative sources for the committee's work and factual foundations.

Karen is a seasoned nonprofit leader with extensive experience in community engagement, informal education, and combating antisemitism. Most recently, she spent seven years with the Israeli American Council, where she served as Vice President of Civic Engagement and Fighting Antisemitism, leading national advocacy and community empowerment efforts. Karen holds an MBA from Boston University and a BA in Psychology. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Ma’alot, Israel, she lives in the Greater Boston area with her husband and their three children.

Gila H. Madjar is an executive leader and community development strategist with over 20 years of experience driving organizational growth, strategic partnerships, and philanthropic initiatives across the US and Israel. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Netaim North America, leading regional strategy, operations, and cross-border educational and leadership programming.

Her extensive background spans leadership and operational roles across global non-profits, cross-cultural educational travel, and the tech and healthcare sectors. A committed civic leader, Gila serves on the board of Education for Excellence (E4E), actively participates in several executive leadership fellowships, and holds an M.A. in Educational Counseling alongside a B.Sc. in Criminology.

Rebecca Engel is the Director of Legacy Giving & Impact for the Jewish Endowment Foundation of South Carolina and previously served as Chief Development Officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charleston. A fifth-generation member of Charleston’s Jewish community, she brings deep personal and professional experience building and sustaining Jewish life in a small, rapidly growing community.

Rebecca’s work focuses on strengthening South Carolina Jewish organizations’ sustainable revenue and building partnerships to address shared challenges. Through her statewide work and previous professional roles with the Foundation for Jewish Camp, she has engaged with Jewish communities across North America and is passionate about collaborative, creative solutions that help small and emerging Jewish communities thrive.

Bio coming soon. Alex's full biography will be added following the committee's first convening.