Our Leadership

Board of Directors

OFFICERS

Joseph S. Allerhand, Co-President 

Benjamin Tisch, Co-President

Richard Mack, Chair

Barry Bergman, Vice President

Linda Spitzer, Secretary

Scott M. Weiner, Treasurer

Merryl H. Tisch, Chair Emeritus

Joseph C. Shenker, Chair Emeritus

DIRECTORS

Scott Alper

Abraham Biderman

Michelle Chugh

Kenneth H. Eckstein

Israel Englander

Brian Feil

Rebecca Feit

Ziel Feldman

Abraham Foxman

Susan Frieden

Stuart Goldberg

Howard I. Hoffen

David S. Lazarus

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein

Robert Morris

Drew Parker

Willy Pilku

Andrew Rechtschaffen

Stacy Scheinberg

HONORARY BOARD MEMBERS 

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman,

Of Blessed Memory

Menachem Lubinsky

Martin Minkowitz

Joseph C. Strasburg

Executive Staff

Chief Executive Officer
David G. Greenfield

David G. Greenfield is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Met Council. He is an accomplished legislator, popular law professor, and noted media personality with broad experience in government and not-for-profit organizations. As CEO and Executive Director, David has expanded Met Council’s mission and services to help over 305,000 New Yorkers in need through a multitude of direct services and policy advocacy.

In his eight years in the New York City Council, David authored nearly thirty pieces of legislation that were signed into law by Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio. David passed historic legislation mandating affordable housing, reforming the landmarks preservation process, and providing free security guards for over 100,000 private school children.

David chaired the New York City Council’s influential Committee on Land Use from 2014 through 2017, overseeing the Department of City Planning, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. In that role, David was instrumental in developing and implementing a new affordable housing plan for New York and rezoning four neighborhoods, including East Midtown Manhattan. He was also a member of the City Council Speaker’s leadership team and the Council’s budget negotiation team, which is responsible for determining the city’s more than $85 billion budget with the Mayor’s Office.

Prior to serving on the City Council, David was Executive Vice President of the Sephardic Community Federation, working closely with public officials at every level of government to improve the lives of all New Yorkers. He was also the founding Director and Counsel of TEACH NYS, advocating on behalf of parents of New York State’s 500,000 Catholic, Jewish, and independent schoolchildren. His work led to legislation providing for $600 million in tax credits to parents of all school-age children.

David is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. and Touro College in New York City, where he graduated summa cum laude and was valedictorian. David has received numerous commendations and recognition for his work as a civic and non-profit leader. Most recently, he was listed in the Power 100 list of most powerful New Yorkers, Power 100 list of most influential non-profit leaders, and Power 100 list of Brooklyn’s most powerful leaders. He was also recognized by City & State as among the top ten most influential residents of Brooklyn. David also teaches the next generation of lawyers as Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. He is a proud lifelong resident of Brooklyn, where he happily lives with his wife and children.

Chief Operating Officer
Robert J. Newman

As Met Council’s Chief Operating Officer, Rob Newman is responsible for overseeing and ensuring best internal practices for the organization’s operations. In this role, Rob also focuses on public policy and community needs to help identify and support policy changes that can advance Met Council’s mission to help the neediest New Yorkers. Rob has over two decades of management and policy development experience in the non-profit and government arenas.

Before joining Met Council, Rob worked at the New York City Council for over twenty years, where he served as Counsel to two City Council Speakers and was a top aide and principal adviser on legislative, oversight and policy matters. Rob also helped develop and carry out the Speaker’s legislative agenda. Most recently, Rob spearheaded the Speaker’s efforts to build the Council’s oversight capacity by creating and managing the Council Oversight and Investigation Unit, which uncovered seriously hazardous conditions in the city’s public housing stock. Rob also drafted legislation to create a Charter Revision Commission tasked with reviewing and recommending changes to the City Charter, the city’s foundational governing legal document.

Prior to his work in the Council, Rob was a Senior Staff Attorney at Gay Men’s Health Crisis, where he provided a wide array of legal services for people with HIV/AIDS and established financial and employment counseling programs designed to help clients re-enter the workforce after recovering from illness.

Rob earned his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and B.S. degree from New York University.

Chief Financial Officer
Philip Kibel

Managing Director, Food Programs
Jessica Chait

Jessica Chait is the Managing Director of Food Programs at Met Council and is responsible for the Kosher Food Network, the largest free kosher food distribution system in the world, as well as bringing greater visibility to food insecurity within the Jewish community.

Prior to joining Met Council, Jessica worked for UJA-Federation of New York in various roles of increasing responsibility, culminating as Chief of Staff, and was responsible for several important strategic initiatives, including UJA’s yearlong centennial celebration. Jessica is passionate about helping the vulnerable, and prior to her move to New York, she worked for non-profits in Poland and Zambia.

Jessica grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and holds a B.A. in Psychology from University of Texas and a master’s degree in Public Administration from New York University.

Managing Director, Development
Brian Tregerman

As Met Council’s Managing Director of Development, Brian Tregerman is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic plan to raise vital funds for the organization, as well as overseeing the grants and volunteer departments. With more than ten years of sales and fundraising experience in both the private and public sectors, Brian provides a goal-oriented approach to his team to ensure that Met Council continues to have the essential resources needed to serve its clients.

Before joining Met Council, Brian served as the Westchester and Riverdale Director for AIPAC, where he was responsible for building the pro-Israel community and mobilizing key activists in support of the organization’s legislative efforts. Additionally, he led a team of fundraisers who grew a $4.5 million-dollar annual campaign to $6.5 million in just four years. Prior to that, Brian worked in the commercial real estate industry in Manhattan, representing some of the industry’s largest retailers and landlords.

Brian earned his degree in Public Policy from the University at Albany, Phi Beta Kappa.

Managing Director, Legal & External Affairs
Aaron Cyperstein

As Met Council’s Managing Director, Legal & External Affairs, Aaron Cyperstein is responsible for corporate compliance, procurement compliance, government funding, monitoring and assisting our JCCs and COJOs, and serving as a liaison to the organization’s pro-bono attorneys.

Before joining Met Council, Aaron served as Associate General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of a national healthcare company. Aaron has over 25 years of experience as an attorney, with concentrated expertise in compliance and regulatory matters. He worked as an Assistant Attorney General, Administrative Law Judge, and Deputy Chief Contracting Officer for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. In all of those capacities, Aaron was responsible for administrative, regulatory and compliance issues.

Co-Managing Director, Affordable Housing Development & Regulatory Compliance

Elena Sytcheva

Elena Sytcheva serves as Met Council’s Senior Director for Regulatory Compliance and Affordable Housing Development. In her role, Elena is responsible for leading new affordable housing development projects and preservation opportunities in furtherance of Met Council’s mission. She also advises the organization on federal, state, and local regulatory compliance issues.

Before joining Met Council, Elena served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of Development at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD). During her time at HPD, she managed high priority projects and advised the HPD Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner for Development on the implementation of housing policy initiatives and legislation. She has also worked on financing to facilitate the preservation over 800 units of affordable housing across New York City. Prior to her work at HPD, Elena worked as Legislative Counsel at the New York City Council focusing primarily on zoning and land use issues. Elena previously worked as a financial services regulatory attorney for a boutique law firm in Washington, D.C.

Elena earned her B.A. in Politics, summa cum laude, from New York University and holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. A lifelong New Yorker, Elena currently lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and enjoys practicing yoga.

Senior Director, Housing Facilities
Dena Johnson-Herrera

As Met Council’s Senior Director, Housing Facilities, Dena Johnson-Herrera provides technical assistance to the Residence Directors, manages major building projects, and develops and manages building operation contracts. Dena has worked in the Met Council housing department for over twenty years and managed several of Met Council’s housing sites before her current role.

Dena, who resides in Queens, holds a B.A. in Sociology from Queens College and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Baruch College. She is a Certified Occupancy Specialist, a Certified Assisted Housing Manager, and a Certified Maintenance Manager.

Senior Director, Holocaust, Geriatrics and Safety Net Services
Susan Moritz

In 2019, when Met Council merged the Geriatric, Safety Net and Holocaust Survivor Services programs, Susan Moritz became the Senior Director of the newly created Holocaust and Geriatric Services Department. In this role, Susan is responsible for program development and oversite for all adults over the age of 65.

Susan began her career working with children and families. However, she soon became interested in issues of aging and focused her practice on the elderly. Susan spent seventeen years at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, where she developed their program of Daily Money Management for Older Adults and subsequently developed programs for caregivers of the elderly.

In addition to agency work, Susan served as a member of the faculty of the NYU and Hunter College Schools of Social Work, has presented at numerous city, state, and national conferences on issues of aging and worker burnout, and has served on the Board of Directors of the NYC Chapter of National Association of Social Workers (NASW) both as a Member at Large and as the Second Vice President of Budget and Finance. Susan received her MSW from Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work.

Senior Director, Family Violence Awareness Program
Nechama Bakst

Nechama Bakst, LCSW-R is the Senior Director of the Family Violence Services Program at Met Council. In this role, Nechama oversees the Family Violence Services program where she provides clinical and administrative supervision to all program staff and has a special focus on strengthening and expanding clinical programming. Nechama is also focused on bringing more awareness about intimate partner violence to the community and speaks regularly about the subject in different communities.

Nechama obtained her MSW from Loyola University Chicago and spent more than a decade working for community-based agencies, where she provided clinical and case management services to individuals and families with a variety of needs ranging from trauma and abuse to couples treatment, anxiety, and depression. In December 2020, Nechama was nominated as one of New York City’s “Advocates of the Year” by the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence.

Before joining Met Council, Nechama spent several years supervising staff and treating clients at The Jewish Board. Additionally, she co-chairs the UJA Taskforce on Family Violence, which is a collaboration of community agencies and leaders who come together quarterly to discuss trends in the community and how to best provide support and recourses to vulnerable populations affected by family violence. Nechama has also attended post-graduate training at Ackerman Institute for the Family and is trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy.

Controller
Perel Kaufman

In her role as Met Council’s Controller, Perel Kaufman directs and implements all accounting and finance management functions ensuring timely, accurate, and complete financial information for senior management, program directors, and members of the Board of Directors. In addition, Perel provides core support to the CFO.

Perel joined Met Council in 2017 with over eighteen years of prior experience in the non-profit arena. Perel is a Certified Public Accountant with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Touro College and a member of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA).

Director of Information Technology
Steven Alter

Steven Alter has been at Met Council for over twenty years. In his role as director of Information Technology, he has ensured that the organization’s technology has been well maintained and upgraded consistently.

Steven has spent the majority of his career working at various non-profits, including The Rockefeller Foundation and The Corporation for Supportive Housing. Steven loves working for an organization that helps the needy, especially Holocaust survivors, like his mother was.

 Steven attended Brooklyn College, majoring in Information Systems. He and his wife Tammy are blessed with four children and several grandchildren.

Director, Foundations and Government Grants
Jennifer Baron

As Director, Foundations and Government Grants, Jennifer Baron is a key member of Met Council’s Development Team and focuses on advancing the organization’s grant-funding efforts.

Jennifer joined Met Council in 2016 and brings extensive experience in successfully securing extramural support from multiple private and public sources for a wide range of health and human services programs.

Jennifer holds a master’s degree in Health Policy and Management from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.

Director, Leasing
Temima Dublin

As Director, Leasing, Temima Dublin manages the initial lease-ups and re-opening of the waiting lists in Met Council’s federally subsidized buildings as well as the initial lease-up and subsequent leasing of vacant units in the organization’s inclusionary housing buildings.

Temima, who began working at Met Council in 1992, initially worked with the scattered site program finding apartments for homeless and mentally ill clients in the five boroughs.

Temima graduated from Brooklyn College with a B.A. in Psychology.