Weinberg Foundation Names Former Ambassador as New Trustee

BALTIMORE, Nov. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States, today celebrated the past year of philanthropy with its Annual Community Gathering.

During the past year, the Weinberg Foundation distributed more than $90 million in grants to nonprofits serving low-income and vulnerable individuals and families. Nearly 1,000 community, civic, and business leaders attended the afternoon event which included keynote remarks by Daniel Lubetzky, CEO and Founder of KIND Healthy Snacks and the KIND Movement, as well as the announcement and introduction of the Weinberg Foundation's next Trustee. For the first time since 1990, the Trustee was chosen by the current Board rather than being named in the Foundation's charter by Harry Weinberg.

Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin (Ret.), will succeed Judge Ellen M. Heller as the next Weinberg Foundation Trustee when Judge Heller concludes her role with the Foundation on May 16, 2016.

"We are delighted that Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin will become the Foundation's next Trustee," said Rachel Garbow Monroe, Weinberg Foundation President and CEO. "Her extraordinary background will enrich the Foundation's leadership moving forward." Garbow Monroe added, "This milestone for the Foundation is a product of the organizational blueprint Harry Weinberg crafted roughly 25 years ago. The Board and I are confident Ambassador Levin embodies all of the qualities emblematic of a Weinberg Foundation Trustee as demonstrated by the prior and current Trustees of the Foundation."

Ambassador Levin will join the Foundation team informally starting in January 2016 as she orients herself to the work of the Foundation, including investment management of more than $2 billion in active real estate and investment holdings, grant strategy and review of close to $100 million in grants annually, as well as beginning to engage with the Board and staff of the Foundation.

Ambassador Levin will officially begin her term as Trustee on May 16, 2016, the same day Judge Ellen M. Heller will conclude her exemplary six and a half years of service as a Trustee. The additional Weinberg Foundation Board members include Donn Weinberg, Barry I. Schloss, Robert T. Kelly, Jr., and Alvin Awaya. Rachel Garbow Monroe serves as the President and CEO.

Upon receiving the news of her unanimous nomination to serve as the next Trustee of the Weinberg Foundation, Ambassador Levin stated, "It is a great honor and privilege to join the Weinberg Foundation as a Trustee. The impact that the Foundation has had locally, nationally, and internationally sets a high standard which I am humbled to serve."

Ambassador Levin is a Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs where she facilitates connections for the Council with the government and business leaders on a variety of political, economic, and environmental issues. She also serves as an advisor for the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago. Levin was the 65th Ambassador of the United States of America to the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 2009-2011. Her parents were Dutch Jews who fled from the Netherlands to Suriname in 1942 and emigrated to the US in 1948, shortly before she was born.

Ambassador Levin's prior professional roles include serving as a senior consultant at Res Publica Group, Vice President for External Affairs at the Field Museum, and a legal advisor to the Illinois State Board of Education. Ambassador Levin holds, or has held, numerous board positions with organizations including the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, WWCI (WTTW-WFMT), the East Bank Club, the Chicago Board of U.S. Bank, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging (Novato, CA), the Foundation for the National Archives (Washington, DC), and the Roosevelt Institute (New York, NY). She has served as a member of Chicago's Host Committee for the 2012 NATO Summit and chaired the Arts Alliance Illinois Board of Directors. Ambassador Levin is a graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Russian language and literature. She received her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law. She resides in Winnetka, Illinois with her husband, Daniel Levin, Chairman of The Habitat Company and CEO of East Bank Club.

About The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the United States, provides approximately $100 million in annual grants to nonprofits that provide direct services to low-income and vulnerable individuals and families, primarily in the US and Israel. Grants are focused on meeting basic needs and enhancing an individual's ability to meet those needs with emphasis on older adults, the Jewish community, and our hometown communities of Maryland, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and Hawaii. The trustees, some of whom also serve as executive officers of the Foundation, are Donn Weinberg, Barry I. Schloss,  Robert T. Kelly, Jr., Alvin Awaya, and Chair Ellen M. Heller. Rachel Garbow Monroe serves as the Weinberg Foundation's President and Chief Executive Officer. For more information please go to www.hjweinbergfoundation.org.

Media Contact: Craig Demchak, 443-738-1159, [email protected]

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SOURCE Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation