Our Leadership
- Seth J. Riklin, President
- Brad Adolph, Vice Chairman
- James Altman, Senior Vice President
- Eric Book, Senior Vice President
- David Djemal, Senior Vice President
- Paolo Foa', Senior Vice President
- Dr. Sandra Horowitz, Senior Vice President
- Gina Strauss, Senior Vice President
- A. Michael Gellman, Treasurer
- William K. Peirez, Chief Justice
Seth J. Riklin, President
Seth J. Riklin is the immediate past chairman of the Executive Board of Directors and is a longtime member of the B’nai B’rith Board of Governors and Executive Board of Directors. He has served as chair of the B’nai B’rith Senior Housing Committee and twice served as B’nai B’rith’s treasurer.
Riklin has been part of the B’nai B’rith Senior Housing Network for more than 30 years, serving as Vice President and President of the Goldberg B’nai B’rith Towers, a federally subsidized low-income, non-denominational affordable senior housing building in Houston, Texas. Riklin’s desire to join B’nai B’rith was inspired by his father, the late Sam J. Riklin, and his uncle, Arthur Riklin, who both served as President of the San Antonio B’nai B’rith Lodge, as well as Sarah Riklin, his aunt, a past tenant of Goldberg Towers. Outside of his efforts for B’nai B’rith, Riklin practiced business law for almost 30 years. Riklin is the founder and current President and CEO of Hill Country Wind Power, LP and Clean Power Texas, which develop utility-size wind and solar energy projects. He is also deeply involved in his community, having served as a member of the Sugar Land Rotary Club and on the Government Relations Committee of the Fort Bend County Chamber of Commerce. Riklin is also a pilot and has served as Captain in the Civil Air Patrol. Riklin received his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and bachelor’s degree in accounting from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. He has been recognized in “Who’s Who in American Law, 10th Edition.” 
Brad Adolph, Vice Chairman
Brad Adolph of Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, serves as vice chairman of B’nai B’rith International. It is the vice chairman’s responsibility to serve as the direct liaison with volunteers and carry out other internal and external functions. Adolph was a recipient of the Chicago B’nai B’rith Sports Lodge Scholarship in 1973. He has served as the Sports Lodge president, Midwest Regional president and most recently served as B'nai B'rith International senior vice president and fundraising chair. During his time with B’nai B’rith, Adolph has met with numerous world leaders, showing his support for Israel at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva and at the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. Over the past 25 years, Adolph has been an active community leader both in Chicago and South Florida, having served on the boards of several organizations, but clearly states that his heart, soul and passion belong to B’nai B’rith International. Professionally, Adolph has enjoyed a four decades-long career in the corporate branding industry. Adolph is married with twin sons and four grandchildren. He splits his time between Hawthorn Woods and Naples, Florida. James Altman, Senior Vice President
James Altman serves as Senior Vice President from Australia. Altman also served as president of B’nai B’rith Australia/New Zealand (BBANZ) from 2002-2006 and 2010-2013. He is also past chairman of B’nai B’rith Courage to Care—a community educational program for students and adults aimed at teaching how to be an upstander (rather than a bystander) in the face of discrimination and prejudice, especially in relation to anti-Semitism. Having been involved with the program since its inception in 1999, he became chairman of Courage to Care in 2019 and was honored with the B’nai B’rith International President’s Award for his work with the program. Altman is also chairman of the B’nai B’rith Foundation in Australia, which aids victims of natural disasters around the world. Through his involvement in BBANZ, Altman was instrumental in securing amendments to the Resolution on the Rights of the Child from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. He has also volunteered with the Refugee Council of Australia, the Australian Refugee Foundation and the Online Hate Prevention Institute. In 2008, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia from the Australian government for his service to the Jewish community and for fostering intercultural understanding. Altman is the son of Austrian Jews who escaped to Australia from Vienna in 1938. They were among the founding members of B’nai B’rith Australia, established in 1944. Outside of his work with B’nai B’rith, Altman has a passion for music and has been involved in choirs for most of his life, including in the late 1970s and 1980s when he conducted the choir of the Great Synagogue in Sydney. Altman is married to Elaine and together they have two adult daughters and three grandsons. Eric Book, Senior Vice President
Eric Book joined B’nai B’rith in 1975 as an Encino B’nai B’rith Lodge member, and for his first project raised money for the B’nai B’rith Youth programs. He is currently a member of the B’nai B’rith International Board of Governors and Executive Board of Directors. Book previously served as vice president (finance) of B’nai B’rith Southern California and president of B’nai B’rith Pacific Southwest Region, and of the American Red Magen David for Israel (ARMDI). He has received many prestigious service awards including the Akiba Award, Guardian of the Menorah Award, Past Presidents Service Award, Anti-Defamation League Distinguished Service Award and the Pioneers of Israel Award. Over the past 40 years, Book has dedicated many hours of service to civic, community, charitable and government organizations. He currently serves as a board member at the Child and Family Guidance Center. Book was born in Montclair, New Jersey. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from California State University at Northridge and is a life member of AEPi fraternity. He is married to Julie, and they have a son, Robert. They are current members of Temple Judea. David Djemal, Senior Vice President
David Djemal is longstanding member of B’nai B’rith Panama, a member the Board of Governors of B’nai B’rith International, and president of District XXII of B’nai B’rith International North Latin America and the Caribbean, a regional unit that serves Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Curaçao, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela. Djemal is a first-generation Panamanian, born to Syrian-Jewish immigrants. He has held various positions within Panama’s Jewish community over the past 40 years, including being a member the Maccabi youth movement, president of the Anti-Defamation Commission of B'nai B'rith Panama’s Irving Zapp Lodge and membership in the Central Hebrew Community Council of Panama. Professionally, Djemal works in real estate and is a founding partner and CEO of Total Quality Management, a company dedicated to managing all types of properties. He is married to Rebecca Cohen, with four daughters and five grandchildren. Paolo Foa', Senior Vice President
Paolo Foa’ serves as Senior Vice President from Europe. Foa’ joined B’nai B’rith Milano in 1997 and served as its secretary in 1998. Foa’ served as the lodge’s president from 2002-2004 and again from 2014-2018, and has been a member of the B’nai B’rith Europe and B’nai B’rith International Executive Committees, and the International Board of Governors and Executive Board of Directors. Foa’ has attended missions to the U.N. in Geneva and New York, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris and the United States Congress as a representative of B’nai B’rith. He also participated in meetings with Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis at the Vatican. In 2020 Foa’ helped facilitate the delivery of a donation of 27,000 face shields from Brothers Brother Foundation to the Lombardy Regional Government in Italy to distribute to those in need during the early days of the pandemic. Professionally, Foa’ has worked in investment banking since 1990. He currently works as a private banker for Banca Mediolanum and is a working member of The Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG), aimed at finding long-term financial solutions for energy efficiency. He was also co-head of the Italian Market Hub of the Energy Efficient Mortgages Action Plan (EeMAP) Initiative—created by the European Covered Bond Council - European Mortgages Federation (ECBC-EMF)—which aimed to encourage borrowers to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings through mortgage incentives. Foa’ is currently collaborating with ECBC-EMF to encourage borrowers improve the energy efficiency of their budlings through dedicated financial instruments. Foa’ is married to Claudia, mother of Giacomo. Dr. Sandra Horowitz, Senior Vice President
Dr. Sandra Horowitz is a member of the B’nai B’rith Executive Board of Directors. She has been a B’nai B’rith supporter since 2007 and has been part of B’nai B’rith missions to the U.N. in Geneva and New York, Azerbaijan, Georgia, India and Israel. In 2020, Horowitz was appointed as a B’nai B’rith delegate to the Zionist General Council and, in 2021, as a voting delegate to the American Zionist Movement. Horowitz was also appointed as a board member of AJIRI-BBI, the new entity formed when the American Jewish International Relations Institute (AJIRI) became part of B’nai B’rith International in October 2020. Horowitz helped develop the Women’s Leadership Network, an initiative to foster an intergenerational group of female leaders focused on B’nai B’rith’s advocacy efforts, launched in early 2021. Members of the network meet virtually to learn from one another and experts in the areas of B’nai B’rith’s policy priorities and to hone leadership skills. Horowitz grew up in Brooklyn and attended Barnard College and Jefferson Medical College. After medical school, she completed her residency in diagnostic radiology and fellowship in neuroradiology at Rush Presbyterian St. Lukes Medical Center. Professionally, Horowitz worked as a neuroradiologist and founded an outpatient practice in suburban Chicago, where she served as director of radiology. She also taught at Loyola Medical Center and Northwestern Memorial University Hospital as an associate professor of radiology. In 2011, she was named Fellow of the American College of Radiology (FACR). Horowitz is married to Dr. Steven L. Horowitz, also on the B’nai B’rith Executive Board of Directors, and they have two children. Gina Strauss, Senior Vice President
Gina Strauss created a new chapter of B’nai B’rith—B’nai B’rith of South Florida—which focused on causes like local and international disaster relief, assisting the elderly and Holocaust survivors and promoting Jewish education in the community. As president of B’nai B’rith of South Florida, Strauss was responsible for the management and support of leadership development programs, events, fundraising projects and new and innovative initiatives. Strauss has been active in humanitarian aid and disaster relief, representing B’nai B’rith of South Florida. She participated in food drives to distribute to families in need in South Florida, made toy donations for underprivileged children, helped collect and donate supplies to victims of the earthquake in Haiti and assisted with donations following the tragic building collapse in Surfside, Florida. Originally from Mexico, Strauss received her bachelor’s degree in advertising and marketing and a Bachelor of Applied Science in photography and production from the Universidad de la Comunicación (College of Communication) in Mexico City. She received her master’s in business administration and management from Universidad Chapultepec and recently completed a master’s in entrepreneurial and social responsibility through Universidad ORT online. Professionally, Strauss has worked in the advertising and marketing industry since 1994, working with clients like Kimberly Clark, Nestle Dairy and Meat Division, Pepsi, Campbell’s, Motorola, Kraft Foods, Michelin Tires and many more. Strauss moved to the United States in 2000, where she continues to work in marketing and advertising. She currently runs her own business, Strauss Production and Entertainment LLC. Strauss’ family is also active within B’nai B’rith, with her husband joining a 2019 B’nai B’rith delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Geneva in support of Israel and her daughter interning at B’nai B’rith over the summer of 2021. 
A. Michael Gellman, Treasurer
A. Michael Gellman also sits on the board of the B’nai B’rith International Center for Human Rights and Public Policy. Gellman is an independent fiscal and financial strategist for nonprofit organizations and a co-founding principal partner of Fiscal Strategies 4 Nonprofits, LLC (FS4N) and co-founder of Sustainability Education 4 Nonprofits (SE4N). Before starting FS4N, Gellman had 30 years of public accounting firm experience as a partner managing not-for-profit business, fiscal and financial services consulting groups. He has also been teaching budget, projection-based systems and fiscal and financial management enhancement strategies for over 30 years. He has conducted numerous seminars and has written articles on budgeting, operating reserve and investment policies, financial management, fiscal sustainability, leading economic indicators for nonprofits, and the impact on governance and transparency and accountability. Gellman teaches courses and has made presentations for Georgetown University, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Institute for Organization Management, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), many State CPA Societies, the Center for Nonprofit Advancement and for many national nonprofit organizations. In addition to his distinguished business career and within B’nai B’rith, Gellman served as president of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs in 2001 and received the group’s Impact Award in 2012 for successfully launching the Academy, which provides a pathway for new nonprofit industry professionals to learn, attend conferences and connect with mentors, and serves as president emeritus. He has also served as chair of Greater Washington Society of CPAs Not-For-Profit Committee and chair of the Annual Not-For-Profit Organizations Symposium. He has also served on the Finance & Administration Section Council of the American Society of Association Executives. 
William K. Peirez, Chief Justice
William K. Peirez, who joined B’nai B’rith International 58 years ago, served as acting chief justice in April 2008 and was elected to his first term in December 2009. He was re-elected in 2015 and again in 2018. The B’nai B’rith Court of Appeals oversees internal disputes. Peirez also served as president of the B’nai B’rith MetroNorth region and has been a longtime member of the International Board of Governors and the Executive Board of Directors. During more than five decades of service, Peirez has held a wide range of positions at B’nai B’rith, including chairing the Evaluation and Monitoring Committee and the B’nai B’rith Camps Committee. He’s been B’nai B’rith’s liaison to a committee of regional and community leaders, and has served as an international vice president. In 1980, Peirez won the prestigious Label A. Katz Outstanding Young Leader Award, which is given to individuals under 45 who have demonstrated outstanding service to the totality of B'nai B'rith and have worked to achieve the goals of the B'nai B'rith Young Leadership program. Peirez served on a committee to help choose the 2009 Label A. Katz winners. Outside of his B’nai B’rith duties, Peirez is a retired attorney who specialized in real estate, landlord and tenant law, contracts, corporate law, partnership law, buying and selling of businesses and wills. He graduated from Boston University and Brooklyn Law School. He is honorary vice president of Temple Beth-El of Great Neck. Peirez also served as a member of the New York Society for the Deaf and the Good Samaritan Foundation board of directors. He was president of the Allenwood Little League and chairman of the Great Neck School Board Prejudice Reduction Committee. |
Past Presidents
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