The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) is pleased to announce the results of the election of IAJGS officers, conducted at the 37TH IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy held recently in Orlando, Florida. All officers were elected to serve a two-year term.
Ken Bravo, of Ohio, was elected President of the IAJGS. Ken was Vice President of the IAJGS from 2015-2017 and also brings experience from his legal career and other non-profit board governance to the IAJGS. Ken was Co-Chair of the IAJGS Salt Lake City 2014 conference. Ken has served on the national board of the Alzheimer’s Association. He is a past president of both the Cleveland Bureau Jewish Education and the Great Lakes Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs. He has served as both Treasurer and Vice President of The Park Synagogue. He currently serves on the board of Menorah Park Center for Senior Living and chair of its Government Affairs Committee. Ken is Past President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Cleveland and a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Ken has been engaged in genealogy for 35 years and is a frequent speaker on a number of genealogical subjects.
Jay Sage, of Massachusetts, was elected Vice President of the IAJGS. Jay was a Director of the IAJGS from 2010 to 2013 and Co-Chair of the IAJGS Boston 2013 conference. Jay was Co-President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston (JGSGB) and served in other officer, director, and committee roles. Jay has been a key contributor to the IAJGS website, web developer for IAJGS LIVE! streaming, and advisor on other technical matters to both the IAJGS and other regional genealogical organizations. Jay received the 2009 IAJGS Outstanding Project Award for a Hebrew College course he co-developed. Jay received his PhD in Physics from Harvard University and is retired from MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
Avraham Groll, of New Jersey, was elected Secretary of the IAJGS having previously served a partial term as Secretary filling a vacancy. Avraham is the Director of JewishGen.org. Prior to his appointment as Director in February 2017, he served JewishGen in a variety of roles since 2008, including Administrator, Director of Business Operations, and Senior Director of Business Operations. Avraham holds an MBA from Montclair State University, an MA in Judaic Studies from Touro College, and a BS in Business Administration from Ramapo College.
Douglas Cohen, of Florida and Massachusetts, was re-elected treasurer of the IAJGS. Doug has 40+ years of financial experience, including serving as an independent consulting chief financial officer (CFO) and having been the CFO of four different Boston-area public and private companies. Doug has also served as the long-time treasurer of Temple Isaiah in Lexington, MA and is the treasurer of JGSGB. He has been researching his family for over 15 years. Doug holds an MBA degree from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree from Harvard College. He also received a Masters degree in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College.