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Mentor Bios

Mentor Bios

Mentors are individuals with expertise who can help develop the career of a mentee through guidance, advice, and promoting career development based on their personal/professional experience and community connections. Our Mentors are here to help you because they believe in maintaining and adding to the strong Jewish professional community here in New Orleans.

Our Mentors

Get to know our Mentors!

  • Mike Wasserman is a senior pediatrician at Ochsner.  He previously was the managing partner of the private Rothschild Pediatric Group. 

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  • Laura Stein is the co-Founder and Executive Director of Dancing Grounds (DG), a nonprofit arts organization that brings inclusive and accessible dance education programs to New Orleans residents of all ages and backgrounds.

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  • Brad Philipson is the incoming Oscar J. Tolmas Head of School at the Jewish Community Day School of Greater New Orleans. A native New Orleanian, he has seventeen years of experience as a teacher and administrator, primarily in independent schools.

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  • Austin Marks was born and raised in New Orleans. He went to Syracuse University for undergrad and came back to New Orleans as quickly as he could.

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  • Roselle M. Ungar, CFRE has served as a nonprofit professional for over 25 years. Since 2015, she has held the position of Executive Director of Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans (JFS).

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  • Mark Mayer

    Mark currently serves as the President and CEO of Peter Mayer Integrated Marketing Agency, where he has been an employee for 32 years.

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  • Marcel Wisznia

    Marcel’s dedication to New Orleans is visible from the ground up. After graduating from Tulane School of Architecture in 1973, Marcel opened his own practice, which has been in business and developing young design talent ever since.

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  • Lisa worked as a Paralegal in the Business Section at the law firm of Montgomery, Barnett, Brown, Read, Hammond & Mintz, where she worked until 2000.

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  • Larry Manshel

    Larry is a fourth-generation family man running ITC4promos, a promotional product business his great grandfather began in 1898.

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  • Kevin is the Founder and Managing Director of trepwise, a growth consulting firm whose mission is to power organizations to maximize their potential.

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  • Jody Braunig

    Since 2013, Jody has served as the Executive Director for Girls on the Run New Orleans whose mission is to inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident

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  • Gary Silbert

    Gary works closely with State and Regional Partners, Site Selectors, business owners, and corporate executives in assisting industrial prospects with expansions

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  • Gary Lazarus

    Gary is a real estate investor and agent who advises with buyer/seller representation, investing & consulting on residential property in and around New Orleans.

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  • Eric is a Banker in J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank for the Greater New Orleans area. In his role, he works with high net worth individuals to manager their full financial portfolio including investing, estate planning, lending, and banking.

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  • As a Tax and Employee Benefits Director, Ellen specializes in working with clients from the retail and wholesale industries and medical and legal professions.

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  • David Shepard

    David, a New Orleans native, is the Executive Director of School Development for the Louisiana Department of Education, where he works to support school improvement in Louisiana’s most struggling schools.

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  • David Rubenstein

    David’s family started the clothing store Rubensteins in 1924 and David currently serves as the President.

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  • Chandler Nutick

    Chandler founded Community Works of Louisiana, Inc. in February of 2009 and has served as the organization’s Executive Director for the last 9 years.

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  • Cathy Glaser

    Cathy is an attorney and the former South-Central Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League.

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  • Brianne Oxenrider

    Brianne is an LCSW working with federal agencies in the New Orleans area as well as several other states. She provides short-term counseling to federal employees and their family members.

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  • Barbara Kaplinsky

    Barbara is the former President of the National Council of Jewish Women, Greater New Orleans and served as Director of Strategic Marketing and Development for Jewish Community Day School (JCDS).

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  • Austin Lavin

    Austin has served as the Sales and Leasing Associate and the Director of Marketing and Communications for Corporate Realty since 2011. Austin’s career started as the CEO of myfirstpaycheck.com, which he sold in 2010.

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  • Ashley Merlin

    Storyteller by heart, photographer by nature, Ashley was born and raised in New Orleans and graduated from Lehigh University with a B.A. in Journalism.

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  • Asher Friend

    Asher is a partner at Jones Walker LLP who focuses his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, secrutities, and general Corporate Law.

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