Staff and Board of Directors
American Friends Staff
Eric Heffler, CFRE
Executive Director
Eric Heffler is a Certified Fund Raising Executive with a passion for Israeli healthcare innovation. He previously served as National Executive Director of Israel Cancer Research Fund, where he oversaw a national staff of 15 professionals and raised funds to support world renown cancer researchers throughout Israel, including several at Sheba Medical Center. Having begun his career in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War as a field representative for National United Jewish Appeal, Eric went on to receive his Masters Degree in Fundraising Management from the New School University in New York. He served as National Major Gifts Director for American Friends of Magen David Adom, Executive VP of American Friends of The Open University of Israel, and also completed a capital campaign to establish the Jewish Chapel at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Eric is married, with two adult children, and resides in Mt. Vernon, NY, where he serves on the Board of Directors of his synagogue and founded the temple choir.
Alan Frent
South Florida Regional Director
Alan Frent has more than three decades of experience in nonprofit and Jewish advocacy groups. Prior to joining American Friends of Sheba Medical Center, Alan was the Director of Development for The Everglades Foundation – an organization that works to restore and preserve one of the world’s most treasured ecosystems. An active lay leader both in South Florida and Syracuse, Alan has served on the Board of Directors for his synagogue, both the Syracuse and North Miami Jewish Federations, the Syracuse Jewish Community Center, Syracuse University and the Jewish Home of Central New York. Alan attended Syracuse University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services, and has worked in development and consulting roles for various organizations.
American Friends Board of Directors
Peter Halasz
Chairman
Peter Jonathan Halasz is educated in both law and business, and his practice includes mergers & acquisitions, securities, private equity, international business and investment funds. In the area of private equity M&A, he has represented clients in auctions and sales, restructurings and leveraged capitalizations, mergers, unsolicited tender offers, privatizations, international joint ventures, special-committee representations and venture capital investments. In the finance area, Peter has represented issuers and underwriters in public offerings of equity and debt, commercial paper and euro medium-term note programs, Rule 144A offerings, and the organizations and offerings of alternative investment fund products.
The United States Lawyer Rankings – 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 editions ranked Peter as one of the Top 10 lawyers in the nation in the area of International Trade and Finance. After graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College in 1980, Peter was admitted to a dual-degree program offered jointly by Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School and, in 1984, was awarded a J.D., cum laude, and an M.B.A.
Mira Bar-Mashiah
President
Mira Bar-Mashiah brings a wealth of experience to Bayport Funding’s executive team. Ms. Bar-Mashiah was a principal of Mortgage Enterprise Ltd., a New York State Licensed Mortgage Banker, where she was responsible for establishing pools of mortgages for sale in the secondary market to mortgage conduits and investment firms, negotiating the terms of each transaction and supervising deliveries. In addition, Ms. Bar-Mashiah oversaw operations and regulatory compliance and was the firm’s underwriting manager for FHA and conventional mortgages.
Ms. Bar-Mashiah received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the City University of New York, Queens College.
Daphna Cramer
Vice President
David Bieber
Treasurer
Arnold Breitbart, M.D.
Secretary
Shlomo Grofman
Honorary Director
Oren Fuerst, Ph.D.
Gili Gibli
Ishaia Gol
Jane Gol
Brian Jedwab
Margarita Leinfelder
Cantor Joseph Malovany
Mark Moskowitz
Sol Reuveni
Florida Advisory Board
Dr. David Pulver, Chairman
Mrs. Lisa Pulver
Mrs. Daphna Cramer
Mr. Michael Stern
Ms. Anat Goldstein
Mr. Daniel Naim
Commissioner Gladys Mizrahi
Commissioner Marc Nartosky
Dr. Sammi Siegel
Mrs. Caryn Linsey Schwartz
Ms. Louisa Cannella
Mr. Tatum Martin