The JCC Board of Trustees comprises members of the JCC from a variety of backgrounds. Our Governance Committee seeks to include people with expertise and experience across our various businesses, people with accounting and legal skills, and people who can contribute and/or cultivate gifts to the JCC. Responsibilities of board members include stewardship of our resources, creativity, professional expertise, and a willingness to meet the agency's financial and intellectual requirements.
Members are usually nominated by the Governance Committee and elected by the agency's membership at its Annual Meeting, held every summer, for a one-year term following committee or volunteer work. If the fit is right, a trustee is invited to serve for a two-year term and may serve up to seven consecutive years. Our agency has been responsible for developing dozens of community leaders over the past 60-plus years.
Officers
Sheryl Schechter, President
Ronald Benderson, Vice President
Rion Kweller, Vice President
Everett Weiss, Secretary
Randal Spivack, Treasurer
Board of Trustees
Eric Alcott • Lisa Allen • Matthew Burwick • Ann Marie Carosella • Deborah Goldman • Michael Komm
Glenn Pincus • Zabrina Reich • Carrie Rich • Rabbi Sara Rich • Douglas St. Cyr • Alyssa Strang
2025 Annual Meeting
On June 19, 2025, JCC Buffalo held its Annual Meeting at the Benderson Family Building, where CEO Patty Simonson delivered her second address to an enthusiastic crowd. Attendees also received updates from the Buffalo Jewish Federation, the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies, and JCC Board President Sheryl Schechter.
The evening's highlight was the presentation of the Ralph Kushner Volunteer Services Award to Robert Burgash, a past JCC President, in recognition of his exemplary volunteer leadership.