Board of Directors 2020-2021
Jeff Kline
President
Jeff grew up in Plano, Texas and attended Temple Shalom and Adat Chaverim. He is an Eagle Scout who camped over 1,000 nights before turning 18. While earning his undergraduate degree at The University of North Texas he served as the Student Body President, was a member of the UNT Hillel, and Theta Chi Fraternity. Jeff moved to Oklahoma City to attend law school at Oklahoma City University. He was in private practice for 5 years at a small law firm and now serves as the Deputy General Counsel at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. He is married to Christian Kline and has three fur-children, Abby (cat), Penny (corgi), and Midge (cat).
Lisa Brodsky
Nominating and Board Development
Lisa grew up in Dallas, Texas. She attended Arizona State University and received a Bachelors in Social Work. She also has a Master’s of Science and Social Work from The University of Texas at Arlington. Lisa has been in the nonprofit arena for 30 years. She has been the CEO of Community Homes for Adults (CHAI) for 6.5 years. Lisa is a board member of University of Oklahoma Hillel, serves on the Special Needs Partnership Committee at Jewish Family Service, and is a member of the CEO Leadership Circle for the Center for Non-Profit Management. Lisa is a tireless advocate and cheerleader for those with intellectual disabilities. Lisa lives in Dallas, is married and has two adult children and a future daughter in-law.
Mark Ephraim
Facilities
Mark was born and raised in OKC, a lifelong member of Temple B’Nai Israel. Married to Jennifer Lynn Ephraim, who is also born and raised in OKC. They have two great kids, almost 18 years old Jake, an Eagle Scout and senior at Heritage Hall and looking at colleges, and a daughter, Maggie who is a Junior at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. Maggie will be studying in Glasgow Scotland next semester. After graduating from The Univ. of Oklahoma, he began working with one of the original developers of the growing area of Downtown OKC we now call Bricktown. He enjoys spending time and traveling with his family, skiing, shooting, hunting, camping, Thunder Basketball, and all OU Sports. He has served as the past Heritage Hall Board Trustee and both board member and treasurer at Temple B’nai Israel. He looks forward to contributing and learning from his involvement on the Hillel Board.
Lance Friedensohn
Finance & Fundraising
Lance graduated from The University of Oklahoma in 2007. During his undergraduate career, he was a founding member of the Omega Upsilon chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity and a leader in Hillel. Lance spent his first year after graduation as a national consultant for AEPi and now serves as the volunteer Regional Governor of AEPi for the Texas/Oklahoma region. Lance has a tenured career in the recruiting industry as a Senior Staffing Consultant at Thomas Edwards Group. He is also Director for Camp Impact, a Dallas/Fort Worth week-long day camp for homeless and underprivileged children. Lance resides in Dallas, where he is an active member of the Jewish community. He and his son make frequent trips up to Norman to cheer on the Sooners!
Ari Berkowitz
Secretary
I am a Presidential Professor in the Department of Biology at OU. I conduct research in neurobiology and teach courses in neurobiology and human physiology. I published a book for a general audience called Governing Behavior. Since we arrived in Norman in 1997, I have been involved in OU Hillel, as well as the Norman Jewish Community Organization and the Norman Jewish Sunday School (both now defunct). I have spent a total of about 2 years living in Israel, long ago
Juan Arango
University Outreach Committee
Juan Arango is an Environmental Engineering PhD candidate at The University of Oklahoma (OU). Originally from Bogota, Colombia, Juan moved to Norman, Oklahoma in 2009. Since then, he has been awarded a B.S in Environmental Engineering and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from OU. Currently, Juan is involved with different organizations on OU campus (Oklahoma Clean Water Lakes & Watersheds Association (OCLWA) student chapter, Sooners Without Borders (SWB) and Hillel at The OU). On this last one, Juan is not only an active member; but; also seats on its board of directors as the graduate student representation.
Isaac Freeman
TBA
Isaac grew up all over the place, but moved to OKC in high school, where he finally felt like he had found a home. He graduated from The University of Oklahoma in 2010. After that, he did Teach for America in Dallas, which is how he fell in love with teaching and the education field. He taught in Dallas for eight years before returning to Oklahoma City in 2018 to join Teach for America staff as a Manager of Teacher Leadership Development, essentially a coach for new teachers.