Southwest Region Welcomes New Board Chair

Date: January 20, 2012

Southwest Regional Board members have a new chair as veteran board member Rochelle Jacobson takes the reigns for 2012.  Jacobson has been on ADL's board for many years, and she and her family are longtime supporters of ADL's mission, both personally and financially.  She also is a recipient of ADL's Torch of Liberty Award.

Co-owner of her family's 90-year-old steel pipe company and other enterprises, Jacobson incorporates ADL's mission into her daily life.  It's a mission she believes in deeply:  "ADL's mission aligns with my core values," Jacobson says.  "Its mission becomes the basis for individual freedom and the ability for a person to pursue a life of quality and the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment," she adds.

While she has dedicated much of her time to ADL over the years, serving as chair of the Development Committee, and on ADL's Executive and Governance Committees, she says she is flattered and honored to be this year's chair.  She sees it as a great opportunity: "Serving as chair translates to having made the greatest commitment to ADL that I could make."

Jacobson and her family also have been involved in supporting many educational ADL endeavors, including the annual Beau and Abe Merfish No Place for Hate® Youth Summit, named after her parents, which brings hundreds of middle school students and educators together to fight bullying and renew their dedication to the ADL’s No Place for Hate® campaign.

And though it sounds like Jacobson has been involved in almost everything a lay leader could get involved in, she realizes there’s much more to do.  "During my year as chair," she says, "I’d like for ADL to reinforce how important its work is to each and every person in our community.  I’d like for us to advance our essential programs, and promote embracing diversity with empathy and understanding.  Hopefully," she adds,"our community can become a place absent of hate."

Jacobson is joined by some impressive new board members this year.  They include the Alan Bernstein, Dr. Gary Branfman, Phyllis Cohen, Lance Davis, Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein, Richard Freed,  Carl Josehart, Missy Krantz, Marcy Margolis, Michael Schiff, and Randy Wile. 

"I’m excited and inspired by our new board members," Jacobson says.  "Their enthusiasm is contagious.  I know it’s going to be a great year."