ELEM Leadership
Ann Bialkin
Founder
Bio
Ann Bialkin received a Bachelor’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College in New York and earned a Master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Social Work in New York City. Upon graduating, she worked as a family therapist and treated youth similar to those ELEM serves.
Ann managed and supervised a liaison program at the Jewish Board of Guardians (now called Jewish Board) to support children who were in trouble with the law by linking them with volunteers in the family courts of New York City. These activities gave her insight into the functioning of the juvenile justice system and spurred the creation of ELEM in 1982.
She served as President of ELEM for 28 years, and currently serves as a member of the International Board of Directors of ELEM. Ann routinely travels between New York and Israel to participate in policymaking and professional issues.
Ann's civic and philanthropic commitments extend beyond ELEM. She is an executive committee member of the board of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, a patron of Carnegie Hall, and an honorary director of the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services. She was married to attorney Kenneth J. Bialkin, who was a committed supporter of ELEM’s activities and a member of ELEM’s advisory board.
Lenore Ruben
President
Bio
Lenore Ruben, LMSW co-founded the Group for ADHD, LLC, a multi-disciplined clinic providing full diagnostics and treatment for families, adults, and children living with ADHD and/or learning disabilities. The clinic was dedicated to providing a combination of both traditional and alternative treatments for their clients. She holds a B.S. from Boston University School of Education and an MSW from the Shirley M. Ehrenkranz School of Social Work at New York University.
Lenore has been active in ELEM/Youth in Distress in Israel for the past 18 years. She currently holds the position of President of American Friends of ELEM and is a member of the International Board of ELEM. She has been instrumental in the success and professionalism of ELEM’s vocational training program at Liliyot Restaurant in Tel Aviv. The program trains youth who have fallen out of traditional educational frameworks and trains them in the culinary arts.
Lenore is also a member on the Hillel International Board of Governors and sits on the board of the Bronfman Center at NYU and the board of Hillel Israel.
Lori Gosset
Vice President
Bio
Lori has more than 25 years of experience in public relations helping companies and organizations find their unique position and communicate it to their audiences. At Robert Marston and Associates in New York City, she created programs for The Juilliard School, generating exposure for the school’s centennial celebration and organizing its first leadership conference, and for the National Audubon Society, creating its centennial event honoring three generations of the Rockefeller family.
Prior to Marston, Lori provided media training and media relations counsel as head of Clarke & Company’s Media Center. She won a Silver Anvil, the public relations industry’s top award, for an anti-drug abuse program for a Johnson & Johnson company, McNeil Pharmaceutical. Lori also served as Director of Public Relations at Howard Johnson Company where she launched an integrated campaign to rebuild the image of the hotel division.
As Vice President of American Friends of ELEM, Lori heads up communications and branding.
Tracey Stulberg
Chair
Bio
Tracey Stulberg, Ph.D. founded the Birmingham Family Therapy Clinic, Inc. in 1988 and her non-profit, the Michigan Restorative Justice Project, in 2012. For the past 35 years, Dr. Stulberg has provided systemic, trauma-informed therapy and restorative justice to survivors, offenders, and families healing from sexual abuse, physical violence/fatalities, human trafficking, and severe neglect. In addition, Dr. Stulberg works with court-mandated and attorney-referred clients (children and parents) dealing with high-conflict relationships, pre- and post-divorce, reunification, blended family, and parental alienation issues.
Dr. Stulberg holds a B.A. in psychology from Michigan State University, a M.A. in Clinical psychology from Stephen F Austin State University, and a Ph.D in marriage and family therapy from Texas Tech University. She is a clinical fellow and approved supervisor for American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and a member of both the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force and the Michigan Inter-Professional Association on Marriage-Divorce and the Family. Dr. Stulberg has published, presented on and received both federal and state grants working with issues of marriage and the family including family violence, restorative justice, sexual abuse, and human trafficking.
Alon Harnoy
Treasurer
Bio
Alon Harnoy is Managing Partner of Shiboleth LLP, as well as the practice group leader of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group. He has extensive experience in domestic and international transactions across various industries. Alon's practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, securities, corporate finance, capital markets, private fund formation and compliance, and general corporate commercial matters.
Alon has a distinguished professional legal career spanning over 20 years, including experience at the firms of Skadden Arps and Schulte Roth in New York and Fried Frank in London. He has also served as Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel of a leading European music download site headquartered in London. Alon’s clients include private equity firms, hedge funds, venture capital funds, financial institutions, international companies, startups, and private investors.
He was selected as a Top Rated International Attorney and New York Metro Super Lawyer for 2016. Each year, no more than 5% of lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers.
Johanna Bialkin
Board Member
Bio
Johanna Bialkin is a New York native who has found her home in the Bay Area. After a successful career in advertising and time spent within the non-profit sphere, she decided to combine her love for people and creating beautiful spaces by launching Aldea Home & Baby in September 2005.
Aldea, which means “small village” in Spanish, has been a place for Johanna to lean into her passion for travel, appreciation for culture, and eye for design by bringing eclectic and trend-setting items that add an element of uniqueness and charm into the home. By offering expectant parents personalized baby registries and nursery design services, Johanna has established relationships with customers built on a foundation of trust and support. These families have naturally evolved into a trusted community born into and grown within the Aldea family.
With store locations and clients in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Johanna found that her customers began coming to her for help in curating personalized gifts for colleagues and clients. With this, the idea for Aldea for Business was born. Aldea for Business offers a personalized touch and thoughtfully assembled gifts for corporate events, holidays, or a life moment that is too special to be missed.
Alan Hedrick
Board Member
Bio
Alan Hedrick is a licensed real estate salesperson for Compass. Originally from Denver, CO, he obtained his Colorado real estate license and began working as a broker part-time, specializing in the resort and vacation-home markets while living in Aspen, and a branch manager at Enterprise Rent-a-Car after college.
Alan graduated from college in Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Communications and relocated to New York City in 2011 after spending several years in Aspen.
He speaks Spanish fluently. When he is not at work, he enjoys traveling, hiking, sailing, and spending time outdoors.
Noam Laden
Board Member
Bio
After graduating from Emerson College in Boston, Noam Laden took an assortment of jobs, including producer of television infomercials, most notably his infamous pasta machine spot, which was watched by millions of insomniacs. His persistence in breaking into radio finally paid off when he was offered a job as a morning show host at WSC in Charleston, SC.
Noah landed a job at WOR radio and has worked across the New York dial but feels he has found his “home” at WABC, where he has been for the last ten years. During his radio career, Noam received numerous Associated Press awards and an Achievement in Radio (AIR) Award. He can be heard Monday through Friday on “The Newshour with Noam Laden,” “IMUS in Morning,” and “The Geraldo Rivera Show" where he has played Geraldo’s sidekick for the last five years.
Noam can also be seen weekly on HLN’s “The Nancy Grace Show” where he is a crime reporter. He resides in Northern New Jersey with his wife and two sons.
Connie Rubin
Board Member
Bio
Connie Blaser Rubin was born and raised in New York City and attended Cornell University where she received a Bachelor of Science. She subsequently earned a JD from Georgia State University College of Law in 1998. She worked for The September 11 Fund and the Law Firm of Regina Skyer, specializing in special education law. Her other professional experience includes computer programming, magazine writing, and mediation.
Connie and her husband, Carl Wisotsky, attend Kehillat Rayim Ahuvim in Manhattan and The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton. She has a deep appreciation for the work that ELEM does in Israel.
Dan Sapadin
Board Member
Moriah Schervone
Board Member
Liora Attias-Hadar
CEO
Bio
Liora Attias-Hadar is the Chief Executive Officer of American Friends of ELEM, where she has spent more than a decade building support in the United States for ELEM/Youth in Distress in Israel and championing the needs of Israel’s most vulnerable young people.
Since joining the organization in 2014, Liora has risen through its leadership ranks, serving in multiple roles before ultimately becoming CEO. Her career at ELEM has given her a rare, comprehensive understanding of the organization and has established her as a passionate advocate for Israel’s youth and for strengthening the connection between American philanthropy and ELEM’s work on the ground.
Born and raised in Israel, Liora moved to the United States in her teens. Her commitment to vulnerable youth is rooted not only in her professional career, but also in her own lived experience. Having experienced homelessness as a teenager, Liora understands firsthand how profoundly a young person’s life can be changed when someone believes in them at a moment when they need it most. That perspective remains at the heart of her leadership and her conviction that no young person should ever be defined by their most difficult circumstances.
Liora holds a B.A. in Psychology from New Jersey City University and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Nonprofit Management at Johns Hopkins University, along with fundraising studies at New York University. She also holds a certificate in Event Planning from NYIAD.
Drawing on her Israeli roots, lived experience, and more than a decade of nonprofit leadership, Liora has made advancing ELEM’s mission a deeply personal commitment to ensuring that young people facing their most difficult moments are seen, supported, and given the opportunity to thrive.