HFL Leadership

Amy Krulik is the Executive Director of Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood, PA.  Prior to that, Amy was CEO of Kaiserman JCC. Amy began her career in the Philadelphia Jewish community as the Director of Communications and Cultural Arts Programs at Kaiserman. She then moved on to become the Membership Director and then the Site Director before moving from Kaiserman to the then JCCs’ central office as VP of Marketing for the JCCs of Greater Philadelphia. From 2007-2016, she was the Executive Director of the Jewish Relief Agency, the largest hunger relief agency supporting the Philadelphia Jewish community. Amy is known as an enterprising organizational leader with a proven ability in program and fiscal management, board and community engagement, fund development and strategic marketing. Her particular strengths include a commitment to best practices that foster sustainable programs and resource development, leading organizations through periods of transition, and creating a common vision that ensures viability and mission fulfillment for the future.

Amy holds a Masters in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Government and English from Hamilton College. When she’s not putting her OSHA forklift operator’s license to good use, Amy serves on the board of Healthy NewsWorks, a student journalism program for elementary and middle school aged students. Amy lives in Philadelphia with her husband Jeff and has two daughters who share her commitment to community engagement.

Marshal Granor has many job titles and licenses, all surrounding his love of real estate transactions. With his father, Bernard, Marshal practices law, concentrating in the areas of condominium and community association law, real estate residential and commercial sales and leasing. He was a principal author of Pennsylvania’s Uniform Planned Community Act, and is a member of the Montgomery, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations, serving as Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Section on Real Property, Probate and Trust Law. In addition, he holds Pennsylvania and New Jersey licenses as a real estate broker and title insurance agent, as well as being a Pennsylvania licensed real estate instructor.

Marshal frequently teaches continuing education courses for attorneys, real estate agents, community association professionals and title insurance agents, and is an adjunct professor of law at Manor College.

Along with his wife, Tamar, Marshal is co-president of the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia, which was founded in 1984 by his parents, Marie and Bernard Granor. Marshal is proud to follow in the family tradition of giving back to the community, being able to help people needing temporary financial assistance.

Tamar E. Granor is the owner of Tomorrow’s Solutions, LLC, a software development company that specializes in database applications. She is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books, and hundreds of magazine articles. She is also the technical editor of two books, and served as Editor/Technical Editor of the magazine, FoxPro Advisor, for more than a decade. Together with two partners, she organizes an annual conference for Visual FoxPro developers. She has spoken about software development throughout North America and Europe.

Tamar is a lifelong community volunteer. Her experiences include serving as co-President of the Cheltenham United Parents Group, the Cheltenham High School Parent Teacher Organization, and the Beth Sholom Young Marrieds. She was a trained Nursing Mothers Counselor. She served on the board of the Old York Road Little League for many years. For her volunteer efforts in her professional community, she received the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award annually for 15 years and in 2007, received the Visual FoxPro Community Lifetime Achievement Award. Serving as co-president of the Hebrew Free Loan Society allowed her to combine her commitment to social justice with her professional expertise, as she helped HFL improve its uses of technology.

Tamar and her husband, Marshal, are longtime residents of Elkins Park, and members of Beth Sholom Congregation. They have two adult sons.

Jess Slutsky is Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the Digital Assurance & Transparency practice.  She is a self-starter with a demonstrated history of leading teams in consulting and assurance engagements over companies’ business and IT processes and controls. Jess is also an XBRL subject matter expert helping companies improve the quality and usability of their XBRL financial reports. Jess particularly enjoys finding creative, technology-driven solutions to problems and is a key individual in the firm’s digital strategy.

Jess was born in Moscow, lived in Israel, and currently lives in the Philadelphia area with his family. Jess enjoys cooking, baking, and playing with her three children.

Jess joined the board in January 2021 and is serving on the Finance committee.

Justin Bell is a Managing Director at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, one of the world’s leading commercial real estate advisory firms, where he handles office and industrial landlord and tenant representation as well as end – user sales, relocations, expansions, lease renewals, lease diagnostics, broker opinion of values and financial analysis. A graduate of Upper Dublin High School, he has a degree in Finance from the University of Maryland.

Justin lives in North Wales with his wife, Lauren and their daughter, Charlotte.

Arik works as a Realtor and is a member of The Haupt Team at Elfant Wissahickon Realtors. Growing up in Southern California, he moved to Philadelphia to attend Swarthmore College. After gaining experience in an array of fields, Arik earned his JD at Temple University Beasley School of Law.

As a licensed attorney and real estate agent, Arik focuses his professional and volunteer efforts on supporting the growth and resilience of the community throughout Philadelphia.

Bara comes from a background in EdTech and currently works as an Onboarding Customer Success Manager at Verbit, an Israeli company focused on media accessibility. In her role she guides leadership from college, universities, non-profit organizations and corporations in providing more accessible content to their stakeholders.

Since moving to Philadelphia in late 2019 she has jumped into involvement with the community including serving as a volunteer tax preparer, completing the Leadership Development Program with Federation and as a soon-to-be zoning committee member for her local civic association.

Bara lives in South Philadelphia.

Harold F. Marcus recently retired after a 40+ year career with Development Corporation for Israel/ Israel Bonds serving for 30 years as a registered representative in the Pittsburgh office before being promoted to the position of Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Region in 2011 which brought him to Philadelphia. During Harold’s tenure, the region more than doubled its annual sales of Israel Bonds.

In Pittsburgh, Harold also was a 45-yr member of the professional faculty of Temple Sinai Religious School where he taught Judaic Studies to 6th, 7th and 9th grades. At the age of 23, he was the youngest person to be elected to the Temple Sinai Board of Trustees. The congregation honored him for his years of service and ZOA honored him for his service to the State of Israel. He also served as Vice President and Development Chair of Heritage Community Initiatives, a community foundation in Braddock, PA dedicated to improving the lives of those living in the Mon Valley.

Harold and his wife, Maureen, married in August 2011 the day before they permanently moved to Philadelphia. They have 4 children and 6 grandchildren. They are members of Old York Road Temple- Beth Am where Harold serves as Co-Chair of the Israel Connections Committee.

Martin Roffman is Visiting Assistant / Adjunct Professor of Business Intelligence at St Joseph’s University, Haub School of Business. He is a people-oriented professional with a track record of increasing corporate profitability by applying strategic planning and optimization tools to grow revenues while reducing risk. He has served as visiting assistant professor, program manager (JP Morgan Chase), project manager, and hands-on senior analyst in financial services, transportation (Conrail and USAirways), and manufacturing industries (Merck & Company and US Army). He has a strong interest in improving operations in marketing, risk/fraud, sales, revenue management, and information systems.

Martin has served in various board positions at Bustleton Somerton Synagogue in Philadelphia, including president of the congregation. He developed a program for adult torah reading in the Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, PA., chavurah. He staffed technical educational positions (Computers, Astronomy, Amateur Radio) at Camp Ramah in the Poconos.

As a board member of Philadelphia Hebrew Free Loan Society, Martin has provided analyses of current HFL operations as well as strategic plans for improving future effectiveness of the organization. He has also applied his background of commercial loan practices obtained at a major multinational commercial bank to improve loan policies for the HFL.

Evan Segal is President and CEO of Segal Financial, LLC, a commercial loan advisory firm located in Blue Bell, PA. Segal Financial consults and arranges financing for business owners and real estate investor throughout the region.

Evan is board chair of Federation Early Learning Services (FELS), a non-profit early childhood education organization; board trustee and treasurer of Congregation Beth Or; and board member of Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia.

Evan’s personal interests include spending time with his family, sports, music, and vising the Jersey Shore.  He currently lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with his wife and two children.

Neil Shupak retired from the industrial real estate business in December 2019 after working as a broker his entire career. He started with Lanard & Axilbund in 1975 and spent 25 years with Zalesne & Herd Realtors. He was with Newmark Knight Frank/Smith Mack since 1998. Neil is well versed in all facets of commercial and industrial sales and leasing – he has sold or leased over 20,000,000 square feet of space with an aggregate value in excess of $1 billion. Neil was Newmark Knight Frank Smith Mack’s Broker of the Year in 2006, 2007 and 2011. Neil served on the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Board of Realtors and as Chairman of the Commercial & Industrial Division. He is also a charter member of the Tri State Realtors Commercial Alliance.

Neil is a lifelong resident of the Philadelphia area and an active member of the Jewish community. Born in Philadelphia in 1952, he grew up in Abington Township. He graduated from Abington High School and attended Montgomery County Community College and successfully completed Temple University’s Real Estate Institute. Neil is a an active lifelong member of Beth Sholom Congregation. He was a Bar-Mitzvah there in 1965, married there in 1975 and his three children had their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and were confirmed at Beth Sholom. Neil has served on Beth Board of Directors and as President of the Men’s Club. His wife, Helen, is a past President of the Sisterhood and they served as presidents of the two auxiliaries at the same time, only the second husband and wife in the history of Beth Sholom to have served as presidents of the Men’s Club and Sisterhood simultaneously.

Neil has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2004. He and Helen reside in center city Philadelphia and have three married children and five grandchildren.

Steven Stone is an attorney in private practice in Montgomery County, PA. He has a wide range of experience in banking, finance and transactional matters, having served as an attorney in the banking department of White and Williams, LLP, as Vice President & Resident Counsel of Provident National Bank (now PNC Bank), as Vice President-General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Blue Cross of Greater Philadelphia (now Independence Blue Cross), and as Senior Vice President & General Counsel of Advanta Mortgage Corp USA.

Steve is a honors graduate of both the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is a member, Trustee and Past President of Congregation Beth Or, Maple Glen, PA. Steve is also Chairman of the Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission and a member of the Upper Dublin Open Space Advisory Group.

After Law School and military service as a Captain in the US Army Finance Corps, Steve moved to Center City, Philadelphia where he became a Director and President of the Washington Square West Project Area Committee, Director and Vice President of the Washington Square West Civic Association, Chair of the Seger Recreation Center Advisory Council, President of the Washington Square Homeowner’s Association, Secretary of the Washington Mews Condominium Council, a founder and Director of Washington Square West Parkers, Inc, Director of Philadelphia Citizens for Children & Youth, and a member of the Committee of Seventy.

Steve formerly served as Vice-Chair of the Upper Dublin Township Civil Service Commission, a Board Member of the Bux-Mont Jewish Federation and the Bux-Mont JCC WithOut Walls, and a member of the Upper Dublin School District’s Policy Review Committee. He has received a number of awards, including membership in the Order of the Coif (Honorary Legal Society), Omicron Delta Epsilon (Honorary Economics Society), and a Community Service Recognition Citation from the Philadelphia City Council. He is particularly proud of his selection as Man of the Year by Beth Or’s Brotherhood in 1999.

In December, 2013, Steve was appointed by Congregation Beth Or to serve as one of its two representatives to work with the newly-formed Business Loan Committee of the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia, in the oversight, management and administration of the initial and subsequent contributions from time to time made to the R&B Business Loan Fund. He is a resident of Upper Dublin Township.

Max Tabak is a Vice President of Commercial Banking Division at Fulton Bank. Fulton Bank is a regional bank located in the mid-Atlantic region with $19 Billion in assets. Max possess over twenty years of experience in commercial and retail banking with a successful background in sales management, risk management, commercial credit, financial planning, and portfolio management. Besides the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia, he also serves on the board of Russian-Speaking Professionals Network and is involved in The Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia and The Enterprise Center, as well as, wide variety of civic and charitable organizations in the Philadelphia area. Max resides in Collingswood, New Jersey with his spouse and child. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with concentration in Risk Management and Human Resource Administration from Temple University.

Neil Gorchow was born in Sioux City, Iowa and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After receiving a degree in Business Administration from the University of Iowa, he returned to Sioux City to join his family business. While there, he served as a chairman of the United Jewish Appeal, as Commander of the Jewish War Vets, and as a member of the board of the Sioux City Federation.

Neil married the former Roslyn Wein in 1955, and in 1956, the couple moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where Neil began his career with Sperry Univac as a Software Systems Analyst. After assignments in Dayton, OH, and Washington, DC, in 1965, Neil was promoted to Vice President of the Systems Programming Division in Blue Bell, PA. While at Univac, Neil participated in developing software for NASA’s Gemini Space Program and attended as a guest NASA’s first night shuttle flight into space.

With the move to the Philadelphia area, the family joined Beth Sholom Congregation. Neil chaired several committees before serving as Congregational President from 1981 to 1984. He also served as co-Treasurer of Solomon Schechter and, along with Roslyn, was honored by Israel Bonds at Beth Sholom.

Neil is a founding board member of the Hebrew Free Loan Society, where he has often helped with granting loans. He has also served on the Advisory Board of Temple University’s Graduate School of Business.Neil also served as a member of the United States’ Emergency Management Agency from 1971 to 1986.

Neil and Roslyn have four married children and are the proud grandparents of 12.

Bernard Granor is the immediate past president of the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia and a past president of the International Association of Hebrew Free Loans. In 1984 along with Aaron Landes, then Rabbi of Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, his wife Marie Granor and other senior members of the Synagogue, he founded the Hebrew Free Loan Society. The group initially raised over $60,000 from a gathering at the home of Leonard and Madlyn Abramson.

Bernard is an Attorney, Realtor, and Home Builder. Since 1970 under the name of Granor Price Homes, over 4500 homes were built in the Greater Delaware Valley. He has been President of the North West Chapter of the Philadelphia Board of Realtors and President of the Home Builders Association of Bucks and Montgomery Counties. He taught Real Estate related courses in the evening school (Ogontz Campus) of the Pennsylvania State University from 1972 to 1982

Bernard was President of the West Oak lane Jewish Community Center from 1970 to 1972 and helped to arrange the merger with Beth Sholom Congregation in 1980, where he is a life member of the Board of Directors. He received the Man of the Year award from the Men’s Club of the West Oak Lane Jewish Community Center. For his Synagogue-related services, he was inducted into the Legion of Honor of the Chapel of the Four Chaplains in 1971. In 2010 Bernard and Marie were honored by the Men’s Club of Beth Sholom Congregation as Humanitarians of the Year for their work with the Hebrew Free Loan Society.

Bernard has been active in a number of charitable organizations including membership on the Board of Directors of the Lower Bucks County Chapter of the American Red Cross. He was named Citizen of the Year by the Chapter in 2004.

Bernard is married to Marie. They have 3 children and 4 grandchildren. His son, Marshal, and daughter-in-law, Tamar, were the co-presidents of the Hebrew Free Loan Society.

Marie Granor, now retired, taught elementary school and pre-school in the Philadelphia School District for 18 years. She has been a community volunteer throughout her adult life, including teaching English to immigrants through the Nationalities Service Center, and serving as both a Girl Scout leader and a Cub Scout den mother. She is a member of Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, where she volunteered for the Golden Years Resource Service for many years. She has 3 children and 4 grandchildren.

Along with her husband, Bernard, and several others, Marie founded the Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia in 1984, and served as the group’s intake manager for many years. She enjoyed interacting with the group’s borrowers, and seeing how a small loan can make a big difference in their lives.

Carl A. Polsky is a retired Practice Professor of Accounting at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania .A member of the faculty for fifty years, he taught the graduate courses in Federal Tax and International Tax. He is presently Of Counsel to the Philadelphia Law firm of Diamond,Polsky and Bauer,a firm that he co-founded. Carl is a CPA and Attorney. He is a long-time member of Temple Sinai.

A former Hebrew Free Loan borrower herself, Anna knows first hand the impact interest-free loans can have in our community. Anna’s background is Jewish nonprofit management, having served many Jewish organizations in professional, consulting, and volunteer capacities in the past. In addition to her role as Executive Director of Hebrew Free Loan Society of Greater Philadelphia, she also operates Anna Marx Consulting LLC, helping small business and nonprofit leaders achieve their goals faster and more efficiently with a focus on strategic operations and team development. Anna holds two master’s degrees from NYU: MA, Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and MPA, Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy. She is married to Cantor Jamie Marx (Temple Sholom in Broomall) and together, with their two children, live in Wynnewood, PA.