AFHU Opens Office to Service Growing Donor Base in Southern California

AFHU Opens Office to Service Growing Donor Base in Southern California

Experienced Jewish Community and Government Relations Executive Caron S. Berkley Named Director of Orange County, San Diego and the Desert

LOS ANGELES, Calif. –  As part of a strategic expansion of its Western Region organizational presence, American Friends of The Hebrew University (AFHU) today announced the opening of a new office serving Orange County, San Diego and Palm Springs, Calif. AFHU also announced that Caron S. Berkley, the former Association Director of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC), has been hired as director of the office.

AFHU’s renewed focus in Orange County, San Diego, and Palm Springs will further the organization’s mission in support of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  Through an array of activities, the new office will showcase the University’s achievements, state-of-the-art research and expertise in a broad spectrum of scientific and scholarly fields.

“Southern California is a hotbed of Jewish community engagement, rooted in a commitment to Israel, higher education, and scientific and technological research,” said Martin E. Karlinsky, president of AFHU. “Under Caron’s leadership, the communities of Orange County, San Diego, and Palm Springs will have increased opportunities to participate in stimulating programs and support the highest ranking university in Israel.”

A veteran organizer in the California Jewish community, Ms. Berkley most recently served as Association Director for JPAC, the largest single-state coalition of Jewish organizations. She also served as Director of Government Relations for The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.  In this role, she supported the Federation’s governmental affairs and public policy agenda, and worked with officials at all levels of government to advocate on behalf of the Jewish community and the State of Israel.

Ms. Berkley came to California from Washington, D.C., where she spent five years in politics and government. In that time, she was Deputy Press Secretary to U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA); Deputy Political Director for Arizona during the Gore-Lieberman 2000 presidential campaign; and served as a top aide for Dan Glickman, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture during in the Clinton Administration.

She is a former Young Leadership Chair for HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and Board member at USC Hillel and is a graduate of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Glass Leadership Institute. She graduated from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication.

“There is such a tremendous opportunity to grow support for Hebrew University in these diverse and vibrant communities in Southern California. I look forward to expanding educational and social programming that will help AFHU share the story of The Hebrew University as the foundation of Israel’s success and strength,” said Caron.

AFHU, which is headquartered in New York City, has seven offices throughout the U.S. The new office in Orange County will report to the AFHU’s Los Angeles headquarters.

AFHU Director Caron S. Berkley may be reached at American Friends of The Hebrew University, 18340 Yorba Linda Blvd. Suite 107, Box 233, Yorba Linda, CA 92886. Caron’s phone number in the Orange County office is (direct) 949-407-6547 or (toll free) 800-916-9998 x214.