Board of Directors & Staff

Board Officers

MATTHEW PESTRONK

Co Chair

Mr. Matthew Pestronk is the President and Co-Founder of Post Brothers.  Following his early-career success as a commercial real estate finance executive, Mr. Pestronk co-founded Post Brothers at the age of 29, and has grown the company into one of the most prolific real estate development and investment firms on the East Coast. Mr. Pestronk and his wife, Carrie, reside in Gladwyne, Pa., with their two children: Max, 8, and Zac, 5. Mr. Pestronk is a recognized leader both in his industry and his community, volunteering as a passionate youth sports coach and serving on the executive board of several charitable organizations, including Beat the Streets Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, and Jewish Federation Real Estate of Greater Philadelphia.


JACOB REITER

Co Chair

Jacob Reiter is the founder of Verde Capital and founder and CEO of Gramercy Capital Partners, a leading real estate private equity firm. In addition to working as Vice Chair of the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Board, Mr. Reiter serves on the executive board of Jewish Federation Real Estate, (JFRE), the executive board of the Philadelphia Real Estate Council, is a past trustee of Jewish Federation of Philadelphia and works extensively with at-risk families. Mr. Reiter is the proud father of two beautiful children, Kristin Elise and Matthew Theodore, (Teddy), Reiter.


JARED SZYCHTER

Treasurer

Jared S. Szychter is the Senior Vice President of 1932 Capital Management, a private family investment office.  Prior to his current position, Mr. Szychter spent most of his career in public accounting, most recently as a Managing Director in the Philadelphia office of Grant Thornton, LLP. While in public accounting, Jared focused primarily on tax and estate planning for ultra high net worth families and business owners. Mr. Szychter has co-authored numerous articles on taxation for national publications including Bloomberg BNA. Mr. Szychter is a Certified Public Accountant and has a Master of Taxation from Villanova University.  In addition to his role at the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, he has served various volunteer roles for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Wetherill School in Gladwyne, PA. Jared and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Villanova, PA. with their two sons, Zachary and Evan.


STEVEN J. KESSLER

Secretary

Steven J. Kessler has enjoyed a 50-plus year career in accounting, finance, and real estate, and is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Resource Capital Corp. (trading under the symbol RSO). He has been a member of the board since 2009 and served as Chairman from November of 2009 to September of 2016.

Prior to becoming Chairman of Resource Capital Corp., Mr. Kessler served in a variety of leadership roles, including: Chief Financial Officer of Resource America, Inc. (trading under the symbol REXI); the Chief Financial Officer of Atlas Pipeline Partners, L.P., (trading under the symbol APL on the NYSE). Vice President of finance and acquisitions at Kravco Company; trustee and chairman of the audit committee of GMH Communities Trust; and Chief Financial and Chief Operating Officer of Strouse Greenberg & Co.

Mr. Kessler also gives back to the community, previously serving as Chairman and presently serving as Treasurer of the Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation, and is a trustee of the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network.


DAVID J. ADELMAN

Vice Chair

As CEO of Campus Apartments, David J. Adelman is one of the nation’s leading experts on university-affiliated real estate development. Under his leadership, Campus Apartments has grown into one of the nation’s largest providers of on- and off-campus student housing with more than $2 billion in assets under management across 24 states.

Mr. Adelman is an active private investor, entrepreneur, and member of his community.  He has served in leadership positions at Franklin Square Capital Partners, a leading manager of alternative investment, as well as FS Investment Corporation and FS Energy and Power Fund, both publicly registered business development companies focused on investing in the debt securities of private U.S. companies.

Mr. Adelman also serves on the Actua Corporation (Nasdaq: ACTA) Board of Directors; Penn Medicine Board of Trustees; Wheels Up Board of Directors; Board of Councilors of the USC Shoah Foundation-The Institute for Visual History and Education; Vice Chair of University City District Board of Directors; and a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).


CORIE MOSKOW

Vice Chair

Mrs. Corie Moskow is the President and Founder of Gloss PR, a local public relations firm that has spearheaded marketing and event-planning projects for local organizations and nonprofits. Gloss PR originally began as a boutique agency specializing in fashion, hospitality and luxury lifestyle. Since its founding in 2004, the work of Gloss has expanded to include more complicated matters like investing, placemaking and real estate development, philanthropy, entrepreneurship and the science of leadership.

In addition to her work with Gloss, Corie also serves as Executive Director of Rittenhouse Row, and as the Director of Events and Partnerships for The Philadelphia Citizen. She is a member of the Advisory Board of Our Closet, powered by JFCS, and the Women’s Philanthropy Board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
Mrs. Moskow and her husband Evan reside in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania, with their two sons Matthew, 15 and Spencer 12.

Staff

ESZTER KUTAS

Executive Director

Eszter Kutas is an accomplished nonprofit professional and lawyer. Eszter became PHRF’s Executive Director after serving as the project lead and acting director for two years through her employer Fairmount Ventures, a consulting firm serving the nonprofit and public sectors in Philadelphia.

A native of Budapest, Hungary, Eszter is the granddaughter of four Holocaust survivors. Her commitment to the Holocaust Memorial project is both personal and professional; as staff attorney at The Claims Conference, Eszter oversaw the administration of a $1.25 Billion fund established by a consortium of Swiss Banks and supported the assessment of more than 80,000 Holocaust restitution claims across international borders.

Eszter has served as a senior advisor and chief of staff, program developer, fundraiser, and project manager at Philabundance, the Philadelphia region’s largest hunger-relief organization, and was the project planner and lead manager for the nation’s first nonprofit grocery store to address food inequality and access in urban food deserts. Eszter is the Secretary of the Board of Child’s World America.

Eszter earned her J.D. at the University of Eotvos Lorand in Hungary and her LL.M. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.


SOPHIE DON

Senior Manager, Programs & Operations

Sophie, a proud Philadelphian, is excited to serve on staff at the Foundation. She has worked as a program coordinator, museum educator and tour guide for many of the City’s cultural institutions.

Sophie received her MA from Brown University in the Public Humanities, exploring cultural institution structure, function and practice. This built on her BA in History at Skidmore College where she focused her thesis research on Holocaust education and memorialization across the United States and in Berlin.

Along with her former studies, Sophie has a personal passion for the mission of PHRF, as her grandparents and other family members are Holocaust survivors and were involved in the 1964 memorial effort.

Board of Directors

Marc L. Felgoise

Julie Fox

Julie Golderer

Jerry Greenspan

Hope Haron

Madeleine Kessler

Jonathan Krause

Tony Payton

Carrie Pestronk

Joseph Rubin

David Waxman

Justin Wineburgh

Emeritus Board

Susanna Lachs Adler, Esq.

Marcel Groen, Esq.

Bradley J. Korman

Jay B. Minkoff

Constance Smukler

Jake Sztejman

Deborah Feith Tye

Spencer Yablon

Robert A. Zuritsky