KORET NAMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

(SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2005) — Business executive and community leader Jeffrey A. Farber has joined the Koret Foundation’s senior management team as executive director to enhance and strengthen the San Francisco-based foundation’s reach and impact as it embarks on its next quarter century, Koret President Tad Taube announced today.

Farber joins Chief Operating Officer and Director of Grants Sandra Edwards, who has grown Koret’s grantmaking program from $6 million in 1986 when she began her career at Koret, to more than $21 million last year; and Chief Financial Officer Claudia Hardin, who oversees administration and investment activities. Both will continue in their roles.

In addition to general management of the Foundation, Farber’s responsibilities will focus on external relations and outreach programs, the direction and promotion of collaborative funding with sister philanthropies, and direct supervision of the Foundation’s overseas grantmaking opportunities.

Farber’s multi-faceted business experience ranges from 25 years in various positions at Bank of America, where he was Executive Vice President, to Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Shorenstein Realty Services, and Partner of the Quellos Group, a financial boutique that integrates investment management, strategic financial planning and brokerage services.

Farber’s community and philanthropic leadership is diverse as well. He has served on the executive committee of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, where he and his wife, Barbara, co-chaired the annual campaign in 1999 and 2000; the board of directors of American Friends of Koret Israel Economic Development Funds; and the Northern California Board of Directors and National Executive Committee of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He also serves as Vice Chair of the Jewish Home of San Francisco.

In addition, Farber is a trustee at the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights at his alma mater, Claremont McKenna College, and he is a member of the Jewish Community Relations Council of San Francisco, Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties.

Farber’s community involvement extends to the Exploratorium, where he served as a director for eight years and continues as a member of the development committee; and to the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, where he served on the executive committee and board of directors for six years.

“Jeff brings that rare combination of business acumen and community leadership to the Koret Foundation,” Taube said. “Moreover, he understands how to maximize the positive impact of philanthropy. As we look toward our next 25 years, Jeff’s vision and management expertise, together with Sandy’s experience and intricate knowledge of our historical contributions to the communities we serve, will be significant in guiding Koret’s future.”

“I am looking forward to this new challenge, which calls on both my business and community experience,” Farber said. “The strength of Koret’s board and staff will be instrumental in taking the foundation the next step in terms of community leadership. I am eager to learn from them, and to move forward in making an impact in Bay Area communities as well as in Israel.”

“All of us at the Foundation are looking forward to working with Jeff,” Edwards said. “Our strategic planning will be enhanced by the breadth and depth of Jeff’s perspective, as well as his first-hand knowledge of our community and its needs.”

Since its inception in 1979, Koret has awarded nearly $285 million in grants focused on a range of areas including education reform and youth development, community and cultural development, and policy analysis that responds to socioeconomic challenges. In Israel, funding has primarily focused on economic expansion and higher education.

“The growth and impact of the Foundation’s philanthropic reach is reflected in the strengthening of our senior staff,” Taube said. “We are extraordinarily fortunate to include as part of our front-line team these three highly-experienced individuals.”

Contact: Director of Communications
Koret Foundation
(415) 882-7740