Leadership
The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County is led by committed community leaders who reflect the diversity of our Jewish community. Volunteers and professional staff work in partnership to fulfill the vision of a vibrant and caring Jewish community.
Sandy Baklor - President
Federation President Sanford M. Baklor is a long-time leader in Jewish communal work.
His involvement with the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County includes serving as Planned Giving & Endowments Chair, Annual Campaign Chair, Chairman of the Financial Resource Development Committee, a participant in the Corky Ribakoff Leadership Institute, and treasurer of the Board of Directors.
In his hometown of Baltimore, Baklor served as president of Junior Achievement of Baltimore, Inc., the Jewish Vocational Services, and the Maryland Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. He also held leadership roles with the United Way of Central Maryland and The ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, and served as Chairman of the Board of the Baltimore Museum of Industry, and as a member of the Board of the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Additionally, Baklor served at the national level with the United Jewish Appeal, where he was as a member of its national training center, providing solicitor training to volunteers and lay leaders from around the country. Baklor has lead several missions to Israel and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to visit Jewish communities in Czechoslovakia, Russia, Hungary, Germany and Argentina.
He and his wife Arlene Kaufman – a former Federation president – are supporters of Birthright Israel, Birthright Next, and MASA.
Baklor worked for 28 years for the Maryland Cup Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, and was vice president for 15 years of a consulting company specializing in mergers and acquisitions.
David Phillips - CEO
David Phillips assumed the role of CEO of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County on March 12, 2012. He plans to strengthen existing collaborations between the Federation and its partner agencies and places of worship; extend relations and partnerships both within and beyond the Jewish community; find new and innovative ways to demonstrate the local Federation’s commitment to community betterment and to meeting the needs of vulnerable populations in the geographic areas it serves; continue to support Israel and build relationships with Jewish populations worldwide; and fully engage the next generation of Jewish thinkers, community leaders and philanthropists.
Prior to joining the staff of the Federation, Phillips served as the president and CEO of Capital Camps & Retreat Center in Rockville, MD. The Jewish community overnight camp and year-round retreat center serves approximately 700 campers each summer and receives more than 6,000 visitors annually. There, Phillips oversaw a master planning process and an $18 million capital campaign. Previously, he was the program director at the Jewish Community Center of Charlotte in Charlotte, NC, and a major gifts officer at the United Way of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, PA. He was also a program associate and consultant at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. A native of England, Phillips served as the director of special events and program at the Association for Jewish Youth (AJY) in London and also worked as a residential social worker there. He holds a master’s and bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh.
He and his wife Karen are the parents of two teenagers.
