CJM Welcomes a New Board President and Three New Board Members

New Appointees Further Strengthen the Museum’s Professional and Cultural Networks as it Prepares to Open

The Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Esther Safran Foer as Board President and three new members to the board of directors. Esther Safran Foer, previously Member-at-Large on the executive committee of the board, was elected unanimously as President. “The Capital Jewish Museum’s board and Esther’s leadership will further strengthen our contributions and connections to the greater metropolitan region,” stated Ivy L. Barsky, Executive Director. “With fresh ideas and new voices, our leadership is hard at work as we prepare for the Museum’s grand opening this spring.”

Esther Safran Foer, President, founded FM Strategic Communications in 2002. For 10 years she was the CEO of Sixth & I, where she helped develop a nationally recognized model for young professional engagement within a historic synagogue and cultural center. She was named one of the Forward 50 Jewish leaders. In 2020 she published the post Holocaust memoir I Want You to Know We’re Still Here, which has been translated into 8 languages.

“Almost 150 years after the region’s first purpose-built synagogue was dedicated, the Capital Jewish Museum will figuratively and literally connect the story of Jewish Washington’s past, present, and future,” said Esther Safran Foer, President. “The Board of Directors and I can’t wait to welcome the local community and visitors from around the world to Washington’s first Jewish museum.”

Nancy Robinson Breuer, a resident of the District, served as legal counsel for the National Gallery of Art, Washington, starting in 1990, holding the title of general counsel from 2016 until her retirement in 2022. She also held the office of Secretary on the National Gallery’s Board of Trustees as well as ethics officer and manager of the Gallery Archives. Prior to joining the National Gallery, Nancy was an associate in the trusts and estates and not-for-profit departments at the New York law firm of Patterson, Belknap, Webb and Tyler. Among her volunteer service roles, Breuer was the co-chair of Washington Hebrew Congregation’s Carrie Simon House, serving single women and their children.

Jules Polonetsky, a resident of the District, serves as CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that serves as a catalyst for privacy leadership and scholarship, advancing principled data practices in support of emerging technologies. FPF is supported by the chief privacy officers of more than 200 leading companies, several foundations, as well as by an advisory board composed of the country’s leading academics and advocates. FPF’s current projects focus on AI & Ethics, Connected Cars, Health, Research Data, Smart Communities, Ad Tech, Youth, Ed Tech, Privacy Legislation & Enforcement, and Global Data Flows. Polonetsky’s previous roles have included serving as Chief Privacy Officer at AOL and DoubleClick, as Consumer Affairs Commissioner for New York City, as an elected New York State Legislator, a congressional staffer, and an attorney.

Dee Sanae, a resident of Northern Virginia, is an advocate for diversity and inclusion, equality, and women’s empowerment. She is a writer and social justice activist who has promoted diversity and inclusion within the Jewish space, most notably through her work founding and leading Mosaic Visions. Sanae works in criminal defense, rehabilitation, and reform in the DMV area. She is a proud alumna of Virginia Tech. Sanae holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies and is a candidate for an Executive MBA focusing on Global Business, Leadership, Governance, and Entrepreneurship Innovation. Sanae is a member of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Caucus of Virginia Tech, Diversity and Inclusion Director of the Northern Capital Region Virginia Tech Alumni Association, DEI Chair of Jewish Women International’s National Young Women Network, and named a 2022 Jewish Women International’s “Woman to Watch.” Sanae was newly appointed to the alumni advisory board of Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

Additional board transitions include Sherry Bindeman Kahn’s appointment to the executive committee as Howard Morse, a past president, rotates off the executive committee and remains on the board.