Staff:

Sam Hoenig is a founder and President of the Negev Foundation. Sam has had over 40 years of experience with foreign and domestic agricultural and land-related projects. He has assisted the United States Department of Agriculture and Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and coordinated agricultural transfer initiatives between the United States and Israel. Sam has also served as a consultant to the Minister for Agricultural Affairs to North America at the Israel Embassy in Washington. In addition, Sam is a member of several civic committees in Cleveland including the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, The Ohio Jewish Communities, and was Chairman of Kol Israel Foundation. Prior to becoming President of The Negev Foundation in 1991, Mr. Hoenig spent seventeen years as Regional Executive Director of the Jewish National Fund in Ohio. He attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Wisconsin. He later went on to the Hebrew Union college and University of Southern California for Master’s degrees in Education and Nonprofit Administration.

Julia DiBaggio-Friedman is the Director of the Negev Foundation’s Ohio-Israel Ag & CleanTech Initiative. She has over 10 years of experience working for Cleveland nonprofits, including community development corporations and social service agencies, in fundraising and programing. Julia was responsible for securing grant funding and managing fundraising events increasing overall funding for multiple organizations. Julia particularly enjoyed community work, bringing together different voices for a common goal of making neighborhoods more livable. Julia graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.A. in English and Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs with a M.A in Environmental Studies.

Jessie Paley is the Director of Resource Development for The Negev Foundation. Previously, she served as the Director of Israel Experiences at Penn State Hillel from 2018-2021 where she led over 100 students on trips to Israel. Jessie received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cincinnati in 2018 with a major in Judaic Studies and a minor in Organizational Leadership. She is currently pursuing her Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University. Jessie is originally from the Greater Cleveland area, and thrilled to be back home working for an organization that supports her passions for Israel and Judaism.

Stephanie Luksenburg Sumner is the Office Manager at The Negev Foundation. She manages the day-to-day operations of the office. Stephanie has been working in nonprofit organizations for over 10 years, focusing on Donor Relations, Grant Writing and Database Management. Before starting at The Negev Foundation, Stephanie was the Fundraising & Events Officer at Good Neighbors UK in York, England where she secured over $260K in funding in less than 6 months. She is passionate about philanthropy and has worked at Community Foundations, supporting local communities, as well as at an international NGO. Stephanie has a Master’s degree from Arizona State University and a Bachelor’s degree from The American University, both in Art History. Stephanie was born and raised in Beachwood, Ohio and after studying and living in diverse cities and counties, she is excited to be back and supporting local and international Jewish communities.

Josh Brooks serves as the Israeli opportunities consultant for both the Ohio-Israel Ag & CleanTech Initiative as well as the Negev Foundation. Previously, he worked alongside the Agro Research Center of the Negev and the Ashalim Solar Thermal Power Station from 2018-2020. Josh has had numerous supervising roles, acting as a personal mentor to underprivileged children in the Perach Tutorial Project from 2017-2019, as the Head of Jewish Studies in Weizmann Primary School in Cape Town from 2013-2014, and as the head counselor of Camp Kanfei Nesharim in the summers of 2012 and 2014. Josh received his B.Sc. Cum Laude degree in Geology from Queens College in 2013 and then served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a combat infantry soldier from 2015-2017. He received his M.Sc. honors degree in Hydrology from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in 2020, specializing in microbiology and water quality. His research-based thesis was primarily investigating enhancing Soil Aquifer Treatment in conjunction with the Shafdan Wastewater Treatment Facility in Israel. Josh was born in Queens, New York, but moved to Israel in 2015.