Friends of Israel’s Environment Board of Directors

Mission

We are a diverse group of attorneys, environmental policy experts, educators, and business leaders from the United States who support the work of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense – Adam Teva v’Din – as it addresses the critical environmental challenges facing Israel and the region.  For a description of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense’s timely and important work, go to http://www.adamteva.org.il/

Directors:

Mike Gildesgame
Mike Gildesgame has worked for 30 years in natural resources project management and program administration.  From 1987 to 2007, he served as Director of the Office of Water Resources in the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.  More recently, he was the Southern New England Policy Manager for the Appalachian Mountain Club, developing policies and advocacy positions to protect the region’s forests, waters, and other resources.  Currently he is involved in a number of environmental mediation projects.

Viva Hammer - Washington DC
Viva Hammer is a Secretary of the FIE Board. She is a partner at Crowell & Moring in the Tax and Financial Services group. She previously worked for the Office of Tax Policy in the U.S. Department of Treasury where she was Associate Tax Legislative Counsel responsible for developing policy and laws governing the taxation of financial institutions and products.

Evan Kaizer - Los Angeles
Evan Kaizer is currently Treasurer and past Chairman of the FIE Board. He is President of the Sieroty Company, a commercial real estate company based in Los Angeles. Evan Chairs the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles' Environmental Initiatives Committee of the Los Angeles - Tel Aviv Partnership.

Howard Learner - Chicago
Howard Learner is Vice Chair and former Chair of the FIE Board.  He is an experienced public interest attorney and serves as the Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, the Midwest's leading environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization.  Howard is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Michigan.

Daniel Rosenblum - New York
Dan Rosenblum is founder of the Carbon Tax Center based in New York. He has worked for over thirteen years as an energy and environmental attorney advocating for increased energy efficiency and the expanded use of renewable energy. He is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law.

Geri Unger - Cleveland
Geri Unger currently serves as the Director of Education at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. As a consultant to foundations, non-profit organizations, universities, and government entities, she specializes in program development on environmental issues and evaluation of sustainability efforts. She has a M.Sc. from The Hebrew University and a B.Sc. from University of Michigan.

Philip Warburg - Boston
Philip Warburg is Chair of the FIE Board.  He has served as President of the Conservation Law Foundation, New England’s leading environmental advocacy group, and as Executive Director of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense.  A graduate of Harvard Law School, he currently writes about U.S. energy policy and has recently authored Harvest the Wind: America’s Journey to Jobs, Energy Independence, and Climate Stability.

Jonathan Zasloff - Los Angeles
Jonathan Zasloff teaches law at UCLA. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, holds a PhD in the history of American foreign policy from Harvard and an M.Phil. from Cambridge University. His interests focus on the response of public institutions to social problems and the role of ideology in framing policy responses.