Key people
David Ossip
President
David Ossip - President
David Ossip was elected as the President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies at its 2022 annual general meeting.
David previously served as the organisation’s Vice President since 2018 and is a member of the Committee of Management of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and a Director of the Council for Jewish Community Security.
David also previously chaired the Board’s Public Affairs Committee. In 2012, David was elected to Ku-Ring-Gai Council at the age of 20 and served as Deputy Mayor from 2015-2017.
Ossip is currently a senior executive at a multinational software company. Previously, he worked in funds management and as a solicitor.
Darren Bark
CEO
Darren Bark - CEO
Darren is an accomplished professional with experience leading senior multidisciplinary teams and collaborating strategically and effectively with stakeholders.
After working in the IT and legal sectors, Darren worked for over 10 years in a number of senior executive roles, including at the NSW Department of Justice and the NSW Police Force. He also served as a senior ministerial adviser to the NSW Government.
His responsibilities have included oversight of justice and law enforcement priorities, including managing performance across multiple disciplines such as policy, legal, projects, digital transformation, blockchain, artificial intelligence and business analysis.
Darren Bark – Chief Executive Officer
Lauren Alagh – Chief Operating Officer
Michael Gencher – Head of Community Programs
Jacquelynne Willcox – Head of Public Affairs
Suzanne Green – Education & Engagement Manager
Ydele Nathan – Administrative Coordinator
Romi Rutovitz – Coordinator – Projects
Evan Zlatkis – Manager, Media and Digital
Honorary Officers
David Ossip – President
Natalie Rubinstein – Vice President
Richard Glass – Vice President
Ed Feiner – Honorary Treasurer
Melissa McCurdie – Honorary Secretary
Lesli Berger – Immediate Past President
Directors: Michelle Filler, Gabi Stricker-Phelps, Nathalie Samia, Sam Zweig
Committee chairs/Directors
Julia Sussman – Community Relations
Benjamin Ezzes – Education
Dane Stern – Holocaust Remembrance
Liam O’Callaghan – Public Affairs
Josh Kirsh – Social Justice
Honorary Life Members
Peter Wertheim AM
The Honorable Justice Stephen Rothman AM
Robert Goot AO, SC
David D Knoll AM
Yair Miller OAM
Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton
Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins OAM
Auditor – DFK Laurence Varnay
Honorary Solicitor – Paul Schroder, King & Wood Mallesons
Honorary Returning Officer – Roger Selby
Executive Council of Australian Jewry councillors (NSW)
Dr Avril Alba
Lesli Berger
Jane Feller
Robert Goot AO, SC
David D Knoll AM
Melissa McCurdie
Yair Miller OAM
David Ossip
Jillian Segal AO
Peter Wise
Our Committees
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Chair: Julia Sussman
The Community Relations Committee works to build constructive partnerships with non-government organisations, ethnic and religious bodies, women’s groups, think tanks and other civil society players.
EDUCATION
Chair: Benjamin Ezzes
The Education Committee represents and advocates on behalf of the different arms of Jewish education in the community, liaising with Jewish and non-Jewish education stakeholders to achieve strategic and policy outcomes such as to prevent the rise of anti-Semitism in the education sphere. The committee works collaboratively with Jewish-educational organisations to align existing activities and programs, offer resources and forums of support, and provide an interface with Government and other authorities in the educational arena.
HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE
Chair: Dane Stern
The Shoah (Holocaust) Remembrance Committee is responsible for planning events and other initiatives to remember the six million Jews, including one and a half million children, who perished in the Holocaust, and to honour the survivors. The main commemoration events organised by the committee are for Yom Hashoah and Kristallnacht. The committee includes representatives of other organisations involved in Holocaust remembrance, thereby promoting unified Holocaust remembrance activity in the NSW Jewish community.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Chair: Liam O’Callaghan
The role of the Public Affairs Committee is to provide strategic advice to the CEO and other professional public affairs staff. This is central to the Board of Deputies’ role as the voice of the NSW Jewish community to government, media, academia, think tanks and trade unions. The committee oversees a number of ongoing activities such as political briefings, luncheons, outreach events, Israel study tours, media relations and visits by overseas speakers.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Chair: Josh Kirsh
The Social Justice Committee provides a networking facility for the Board of Deputies for general community outreach and advocacy within the Jewish community on social justice issues.
Issues covered by the committee include: developing policies and protocols for Jewish organisations to ensure the protection of children and young people from abuse within Jewish community institutions; understanding and responding to issues of disability; mental health; ageing and carers; and associated services for members of the community; understanding the circumstances and needs of families, children and young people experiencing adversity and vulnerability in the Jewish community; housing and homelessness; working cooperatively with relevant community organisations in the Jewish community and consulting with welfare organisations in the broader community on these issues; cooperative Jewish and Indigenous activities.
