Joel Levy named president and CEO of Center for Jewish History

Marcy Oster

(JTA) — Joel Levy is the new president and CEO of the Center for Jewish History in New York City.

The center, the home to five partner organizations, made the announcement on Wednesday. It also announced that Amy Goldman Fowler was appointed board chair.

Levy most recently served as development director at the Vera Institute of Justice and was formerly the New York Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League for nine years. He previously served as chairman for Germany of the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation and co-managing director of the SHOAH Visual History Foundation, both based in Berlin. For many years, Levy was a senior U.S. foreign service officer.

Goldman Fowler, a philanthropist and author, has served since 2011 as vice chair of the center’s board of directors. In addition to her leadership of the Amy P. Goldman Foundation, Goldman Fowler is a trustee of the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust. She has served as executive director of the Sol Goldman Charitable Trust of New York City.

The center’s top executive, Michael Glickman, resigned in May.

Its five partner organizations are the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute, the Yeshiva University Museum and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Their collections total more than 500,000 volumes and 100 million documents, and include thousands of pieces of artwork, textiles, ritual objects, recordings, films, and photographs.