Jori Mendel serves as Chief Foundation Officer of Atlanta Jewish Foundation, bringing proven expertise in building meaningful business relationships, launching and scaling businesses. She now brings her talent and expertise from years in private, public, and nonprofit sectors to her role with the Atlanta Jewish Foundation where she focuses on business development and growth strategies.   

Jori is a changemaker whose driving entrepreneurial spirit sparks innovation. At AT&T, she spearheaded the launch of new services, led and scaled high performing international teams, and created new systems that streamlined operations and boosted ROI.  

Before joining the Atlanta Jewish Foundation team, Jori served as the first-ever Vice President of Innovation at Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. In this role, she built the infrastructure to firmly establish Jewish Atlanta as a thriving center of Innovation. She led a team that incubated and championed new ideas and methodologies, and also raised significant funds to seed new ideas and spur collaboration. Jori’s leadership has firmly positioned Federation as a change agent in Jewish Atlanta. 

Jori is a native Californian who earned her MBA in Marketing & Entrepreneurship. She has spent the last decade in the City of Atlanta with her husband, two little girls, and dog. She was on the board of The Atlanta BeltLine, and is active in her Morningside neighborhood NPU. Jori currently serves on the Jim Joseph Foundation’s Teen Operating Committee advisory board. 

Rob Mann grew-up in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago. He comes from, as he describes it, a “Federation Family” – his grandparents were donors to Federation in Chicago, and his father was Campaign Chairman in the 80s. He earned his BSM from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University before moving to Atlanta to work in Macy’s Management Training Program. He transitioned into radio advertising sales with Emmis Broadcasting, a position which brought him to Indianapolis, and then home to Chicago.

In 1990, he joined the family business, Henry-Lee and Company. His grandfather, the “Henry” in “Henry-Lee,” founded the company 65 years ago. Rob eventually became President, as well as 3^rd generation owner, and successfully pivoted the brand from dressmakers to purveyors of premium denim. While at Henry-Lee and Company, he earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

But philanthropy and service are truly Rob’s passion. He has a long history of volunteering with Federation; in Chicago, he was a member and Campaign Chair of the Young Leadership Division of Jewish United Fund in Chicago, and then a member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet of which he was Campaign Chair and Chair of the Men’s Cabinet. He was also chair of the National Training Department for the United Jewish Communities—now known as the Jewish Federations of North America. Rob has spoken at or trained in more than 30 Federation communities throughout North America and has been on more than 15 Federation journeys to Israel, The Former Soviet Union, and Ethiopia—often as a chair or learning resource.

Rob is thrilled to have reached a point in his career where he can make the leap into this field full-time. “Working for Federation is what I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” It is important to him to see Federation succeed, and to usher in a new generation of philanthropists. He says, “My main drive is always harnessing on my own enthusiasm for a cause and then sharing and giving that excitement to others.” He has big dreams for Jewish Atlanta, including enhancing and growing our Young Leadership Division.

Ikepo Talabi serves as the Controller for Foundation and Federation. She manages accounting, investments, and finance for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta and Atlanta Jewish Foundation, including its audit, tax returns, treasury functions, financial reporting, and internal controls.

She ensures that all accounting and finance operations follow GAAP rules. Before joining the Foundation, Ikepo worked at the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.

Ikepo holds a BSc in Computer Science and Accounting from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria, a Graduate Certificate in Financial Analysis, and a Master’s in Accounting and Financial Management from Keller Graduate School of Management.

 Originally from London, Ikepo grew up in Nigeria and now lives with her family in Austell.

Ghila Sanders joins the Atlanta Jewish Foundation team as our Senior Philanthropic Officer, she will lead lead the development and implementation of engagement strategies and stewardship opportunities for fund holders to deepen, maintain and grow relationships. She joins us from Roswell Arts Fund, where she served as Executive Director since 2019. Ghila’s career over the past 15 years has been focused on nonprofit leadership and development. Her areas of expertise and passion include operations management, strategy, and community engagement.

Born and raised in Rome, Italy, she holds a JD from Universita’ di Roma “La Sapienza” and an MBA from Georgia State University. Prior to Roswell Arts Fund, Ghila was with the Breman Museum, where she served in several capacities, ultimately leading operations as Interim Executive Director. Earlier, she managed the Programs & Events Department at the Jewish Museum of Rome, Italy.

Ghila is actively engaged in several community organizations, including Congregation Shearith Israel, New American Pathways, and Furnish with Love, and lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband David and their family.

Tova Baruch is the Atlanta Jewish Foundation’s Senior Director of Operations and Donor Services. She develops recommendations to simplify, streamline, and improve current practices and lead the prioritization and implementation of solutions.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, she holds a BFA from Rochester Institute of Technology in photography and an MAT in education from Georgia State University. Tova’s career over the past 20 years has included nonprofit leadership in her community and beyond. She served as an educator, advisor, and program manager for the Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School beginning in 2017. Previously, she worked with the City of Atlanta Parks Department.

Tova has been involved with Jewish Kids Group and Forward Warrior, has served as an NPU representative, and is currently an emeritus member of the Cabbagetown Initiative Community Development Corporation. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, two teenage daughters, and three pups.

Kathy Evans brings tremendous experience in finance and operations to her role as Atlanta Jewish Foundation’s Director of Operations. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, with an MBA from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University, Kathy launched her career in New York in investment banking, working for Merrill Lynch, and then moving to finance at ABC News. Kathy honed her operations experience working for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. She headed up the Staff Accreditation Center, managing a staff of over 100 who processed 30,000 volunteers working on the 1996 games. Since then, Kathy has worked in finance for The Weather Channel and the Breman Jewish History Museum. She is very active in the city’s Jewish community, serving on the finance and film selection committees for the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, the finance committee of the National Council of Jewish Women, Atlanta Chapter and is a trustee and member of the finance committee of the Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta. Kathy is a member of Temple Sinai and a past treasurer of their preschool board.

Cindy Weik, is Philanthropic Services Senior Associate for the Atlanta Jewish Foundation. Cindy has a long history working in the Federation system. She spent 15 years at the Jewish Federation of Greater Miami in the Women’s Division, three years at the Broward County Florida Federation, and 14 years at the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta in foundation relations. Cindy attended University of Miami. When she is not working, she enjoys RV camping with her husband, Glen Lanphear, 20 years retired Navy. Cindy is the proud mother of Kristin and the proud grandmother of Mikael and Sophia.

Rachel Lehrer Rosner serves as the Life & Legacy Coordinator at Atlanta Jewish Foundation. She began her career as an executive at Bloomingdale’s department stores, serving in various management and merchandising positions for a decade. Rachel is an avid volunteer and is currently treasurer and immediate past president of the National Council of Jewish Women, Atlanta Section. She serves on the boards of the Northwestern University Club of Atlanta and the Atlanta chapter of American Jewish Committee. She is a past board member of the Northwestern Alumni Association and past executive committee member for the Sandy Springs Society. Rachel has a BA in philosophy from Northwestern University.

Kaylin Berinhout serves as the Foundation Philanthropic Officer for the Atlanta Jewish Foundation where she applies her passion for building community and driving impact. In her role, she focuses on donor education and engagement, tech implementation, event management, and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) for the Foundation team. Her previous experience includes working for Women of Earth Institute, where she worked directly with a network of community leaders to globalize their film project and allocate impact capital for improved infrastructure for women’s health and environmental stewardship in Brazil. She also spent time working with the Women’s International Social Welfare in Tel Aviv, Israel, creating marketing content and news stories for the organization’s website and social media in partnership with Head of English Content Writing. Kaylin is a second–generation graduate from Georgia Tech and pretty much a native Atlantan. In her free time, Kaylin enjoys volunteering locally with environmental non-profits and globally on various eco-farms, as well as leading community-oriented interfaith discussion groups, and exploring ATL on her bike.

Madelaine Tesori serves as the donor services associate and is a graduate of Weber State University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Communications with an emphasis in Civic Advocacy. Madelaine has worked with various nonprofits here in Atlanta and is excited to bring her effervescent energy and unique skill set to the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. Madelaine has an irrepressible zest for life and when she is not working hard trying to make a difference in the world, you will find her adventuring in it with her fur baby.