Eva Heinstein serves as the Program Director of Arts and Culture at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Eva worked at Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, where she managed partnerships with the Center’s board, alumni, and community organizations.

She has developed a range of creative initiatives over the course of her career, such as the Entrepreneurial Musicianship Department at New England Conservatory, and Piyut North America, a project that aims to revitalize Jewish musical and spiritual traditions from North Africa and the Middle East.

She holds an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, an MA in Ethnomusicology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a BA in Musicology and Hebrew Literature from New York University.

Deena K. Fuchs is the inaugural Executive Director of Micah Philanthropies. A seasoned philanthropic and nonprofit professional, Deena works in partnership with Ann and Jeremy Pava, Trustees of Micah Philanthropies, to develop and implement the foundation’s grantmaking and field-building strategies.  

Deena takes an adaptive, collaborative, and solutions-oriented approach to her work, joining grantee-partners in crafting organizational strategy, program design, and knowledge-sharing. Her commitments to Jewish wisdom, tradition, and innovation, along with her devotion to the Jewish people, guide her as she seeks out authentic and creative frameworks, strategies, and partners to help shape the Jewish future.

Deena comes to Micah with more than 20 years of experience working in the Jewish philanthropic community, most recently as Executive Vice President at the Jewish Funders Network, where she worked to grow and transform the organization into a catalyst for partnerships and coalitions in the Jewish world. 

Deena enjoys spending as much time as possible with her husband Robert and their four children. She thrives on daily walks, culinary adventures, and good books.

Thomas Porter is a strategic planning and executive-level financial and operating veteran with experience in media, arts, and education, as well as network and membership community-building. Tom has served in controller, CFO and treasurer roles in eight different organizations and has held P&L responsibility in various settings for over 25 years. He now consults on financial planning for organizations, and serves as Finance Committee Chair for the Jewish Community of Amherst. Tom is also Trustee and administrator of two Special Needs Trust funds.

Early in his career, Tom headed strategic planning for National Geographic Television, before establishing and running Discovery Channel Enterprises where he was named one of “50 Top Creatives to Watch” by Variety magazine. He later served as CEO for Artist Network Ventures. Tom then developed expertise in professional education and held COO/senior strategic or P&L roles in Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, and Certified Financial Planning (CFP) Board of Standards.

Tom has special expertise in innovation as a corporate head of new venture creation/operation (Discovery Channel, VeriSign, Artist Network Ventures), start-up entrepreneur (4x COO and 2x CEO), and enabler (VentureWell/National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance, UMass Isenberg School, Harvard Business School).

Tom was born in Istanbul Turkey, raised in Amherst MA, and graduated from Hamilton College. He holds several professional designations.

Yosi Sergant has worked in community organizing, communications, marketing, and business development for over fifteen years—integrating art, music, and culture into his work whenever possible. 

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Sergant engaged artists from across the globe in a vast viral movement to support Barack Obama, including the “Hope” campaign, managed with artist Shepard Fairey.

Following the election, Sergant served in the White House Office of Public Engagement, before accepting an appointment to the National Endowment for the Arts as the Director of Communications. 

Sergant then launched TaskForce, a pro-social cultural strategy agency. TaskForce engages leaders of the creative community to raise awareness and build momentum for organizations and businesses tackling our world’s most pressing challenges. TaskForce is behind some of the most notable public will campaigns of the previous decade and continues to lead the field of cultural organizing and strategy.

Shayna Rose Triebwasser is Executive Director of the Righteous Persons Foundation, Senior Program Officer of the Hearthland Foundation, and a lover of stories. She spent the first twelve years of her career in journalism. During her nine-year tenure at Los Angeles magazine, where she rose to Senior Editor and oversaw the editorial development of LAmag.com, she focused on the people and the issues shaping the future of Los Angeles.

Inspired to play a larger role in developing communities and supporting the arts, she joined the Righteous Persons Foundation in 2016. Shayna now focuses on galvanizing the power of the arts, media, and Jewish storytelling for social change. 

She is the 2020 recipient of the JJ Greenberg Award, which honors professionals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in Jewish philanthropy.