Archive for September, 2008

Doug Berman brings vast knowledge from a successful career in finance and investments to the Jewish Federation of Broward County. Economic challenges are impacting the entire country, as well as the Federation’s fund-raising efforts. As such, Doug Berman faces the daunting task of co-chairing the Investment Committee for the Jewish Community Foundation, managing a permanent endowment fund of $65 million.

Doug is the Managing Director of H.I.G. Capital, the Miami firm that brought Doug to South Florida in 1996. He has made investments in manufacturing, telecommunications and business service industries.

Successful businesswoman realized the importance of the Jewish legacy as her children were growing up. Keeping the miracle of this faith and continuing the heritage is important to Anita Byer.

Family Ties

A South Florida native, Anita Setnor Byer feels she had a “Jewish Awakening” ten years ago. As one of three sisters, along with her parents David and Bernice, the family didn’t have a huge connection to any Jewish community, moving from Miami to Hollywood and later to West Palm Beach.

From humble roots
His grandfather owned a haberdashery on New York’s lower east side, and he grew up on a farm in Huntington, Long Island, where his father was a chicken farmer. From these humble beginnings, Steve Jackman rose to become the primary shareholder and chairman of the board of Seitlin Insurance, the largest independent insurance agency in the state of Florida.

The immediate past Board Chair of the Jewish Federation of Broward County, and a tireless volunteer who continues to serve on the Federation’s board of directors, Steve not only never forgets where he came from; he also remains extremely proud of his Jewish heritage.

Michael Moskowitz is a Brooklyn boy who was inspired by JFK in the early 60’s and became a political leader in South Florida, and a fighter for the Jewish community. He has a hard time saying “no” to important causes and a different way of looking at the world.

“I look at what needs to be done now and get busy to improve whatever I can,” he explains. “I do what I do to improve my family, my country, and my Jewish community. Everything counts, whether it’s a vote, a dollar or an hour of time.”

Finding the “journey more important than the destination”, Colombian-born Salomon Sredni thinks Jewish living in South Florida a little too easy. The large Jewish population and abundance of Jewish activities may actually create tough challenges ahead.

Latin Exodus
Salomon Sredni spent the first fourteen years of his life growing up in Cali, Columbia, in a close-knit family with a very small number of Jews around. No matter the circumstances, the family held tight to the Jewish culture, enjoying Friday night dinners, and every Sunday at the mostly social Jewish Club. “We went to a Jewish school,