Name:
Anita Friedman
AIPAC Role:
Member of AIPAC's Board of Directors
Professional Profile/Associations:
National board member of AIPAC. Executive Director of Jewish Family and Children's Services (JFCS) of San Francisco since 1979, one of America's largest family service institutions serving over 100,000 people annually through 40 programs. President of the Board of Trustees of the Koret Foundation, one of the Bay Area's most prominent philanthropies supporting Jewish educational and community projects in the U.S. and Israel; facilitated the foundation's $10 million gift to establish the Koret Center for Jewish Civilization at Tel Aviv University. Vice Chairperson of TAU's Board of Governors and Chair of its Global Campaign; received TAU's 2024 Honorary Doctorate. Former policy consultant to Israel's Ministry of Social Affairs on immigrant absorption. Executive producer of documentary "Among Neighbors" (2024), examining post-Holocaust antisemitic violence in Poland. Trustee of USC Shoah Foundation, Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture, and Polin Museum of Poland. Co-chairs California's Governor's Council for Holocaust and Genocide Education. Received the American Jewish Committee's "Light Unto the Nations Award" in 2022 and Tel Aviv University's "Visionary Leadership Award" in 2021.
Accountability:
As a member of AIPAC's Board of Directors, Anita Friedman bears individual legal responsibility for the organization's conduct. Under U.S. nonprofit law, board members hold fiduciary duties to ensure organizational compliance with applicable legal standards, implement oversight systems for core activities, and respond to credible information about organizational wrongdoing. In Stern v. Lucy Webb Hayes (1974), the federal district court held that nonprofit directors who fail to supervise organizational decisions breach their fiduciary obligations. In In re Lemington Home for the Aged (3d Cir. 2015), the Third Circuit upheld $2.25 million in damages against nonprofit directors who ignored red flags and failed to exercise reasonable oversight.
