Amanda Ritz- Executive Director

Amanda Ritz became Executive Director in September 2009. She originally joined the Foundation in January 2008 as Director of Programs and in August 2009 was named Chief of Staff. She brings with her a breadth of marketing knowledge and has worked in corporate, non-profit and educational settings. Amanda's experienced interaction with public figures, including celebrities and sports figures, consumers and students will be beneficial to her Foundation work. While at Slim Fast Foods Company, Amanda created and supervised marketing and public relations programs in support of their successful advertising campaign. Amanda earned a BS in Advertising and a BA in Psychology from Arizona State University and an MS in Special Education from CUNY/Hunter College. A native New Yorker, Amanda resides in New York City with her three children.

 

 

Walter Ruby- Muslim Jewish Relations Programs Director

Walter Ruby has served as Muslim Jewish Relations Officer since March 2008. A strong advocate of Muslim-Jewish communication and reconciliation, he organized The Foundation-sponsored First National summit of imams and rabbis in November 2007 in New York. As a career reporter, Ruby covered President Anwar Sadat's historic trip to Jerusalem and the breakup of the Soviet Union. He has served as New York and United Nations correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, and Moscow correspondent for The Jerusalem Post and The Forward. Today, Ruby writes for many newspapers including the New York Jewish Week, and the New York Daily News.