Ann Pava, President of Micah Philanthropies, is an activist, philanthropist, and thought leader. A natural community builder, Ann strives to embody the core Jewish values that animate her work, as expressed by the prophet Micah – “Only to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”
As a philanthropist, Ann takes the lead in innovative giving while making all who participate feel counted and treats all those they support as valued partners. As an activist, she has the unique ability to bring all types of people together, analyze challenges, and devise solutions. Ann believes that one of the strongest avenues to success for any organization is a strong lay and professional partnership. She is an articulate and passionate ambassador for the organizations and leaders she supports. A hallmark of her success over her career is her ability to inspire, mentor, and empower others, especially women, to lead and to make the world a better place.
Ann is the past chair of Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools and a past chair of National Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). She is Founding Chair of the Hebrew High School of New England, and past chair of the Jewish Federation of Western MA. She currently serves on the boards of Prizmah and JFNA. She serves as Co-Chair of JFNA’s Community and Jewish Life Committee and as the Committee Chair for the Graduate Program for Advanced Talmud Studies for Women (GPATS) at Yeshiva University.
Ann and Jeremy were honored to Chair GA 2021 on behalf of JFNA. She and Jeremy are PJ Library Alliance Partners, AIPAC Minyan members, and founders of the Jewish Free Loan of Greater Hartford.
Ann is a past recipient of the JFNA Kipnes-Wilson Friedland Award for outstanding women philanthropists. She also received the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s Lay Leadership Award for Excellence in Jewish Education. She and Jeremy received the Connecticut ADL Torch of Liberty Award.
Ann enjoys spending time with Jeremy and their beautiful family including their three married children and seven grandchildren and has become the world’s best babysitter. She is an avid reader of any type of fiction and loves to cook for company.
Jeremy Pava, Chairman of Micah Philanthropies, is a businessman, communal leader, and philanthropist. In all facets of his life, Jeremy strives to embody the core values and aspirations of Judaism that he learned from his parents Samuel and Beverly Pava – treating everyone with respect and dignity, working to improve the world, and serving humanity and G-d with humility. In partnership with his wife, Ann, their philanthropy has focused on supporting effective organizations and programs which make the timeless teachings and practices of traditional Judaism more relevant and accessible and foster more meaningful Jewish living.
Partnership and hands-on involvement have been the hallmarks of Jeremy’s success. He approaches all of his initiatives and projects with a mix of optimism, pragmatism, and realistic idealism, embracing all constructive approaches to advance goals and meet challenges. Jeremy believes that everyone has a responsibility to make this a better community/country/world than we received. He takes on this task with boundless energy, integrity, and a deep commitment to excellence and professionalism. He is especially grateful to his professional and philanthropic mentor, Harold Grinspoon for his guidance, advice, and friendship.
Jeremy is Executive Chairman of Aspen Square Management, Inc. a national real estate investment and management firm owning over 14,000 apartment units nationwide. Jeremy has been with Aspen Square for over 37 years since graduating Brandeis University with a B.A. in Economics in 1984, Magna cum Laude. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa Together with Ann, he is a PJ Library Alliance Partner, recipient of the ADL Torch of Liberty Award, founder of the Jewish Free Loan of Greater Hartford, and co-chaired the Jewish Federation of North America’s 2021 General Assembly.
Jeremy cherishes time with his wife Ann, their three married children and spouses, and especially their seven grandchildren. He is an avid and competitive swimmer and is an emphatic New England sports fan!
Dear friends,
Living a life consistent with the covenantal ideal of improving the world through a relationship and partnership with G-d has been a generational project of Judaism.
Learning, debating, and interpreting the Torah and applying its teachings to daily living has sustained the Jewish people and contributed more broadly to the advancement of all civilization.
We are inspired by our mentor Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, who teaches that the concept of the infinite value, equality and uniqueness of all people has its origin in the Torah’s teaching that we are all created in the image of G-d. This core concept forms the foundation of just, compassionate societies which afford equal rights and opportunities to all citizens.
We founded Micah Philanthropies because we believe that, now more than ever, Jewish values and practice grounded in tradition can contribute to making each of our lives more meaningful and transform society for the better.
We invite you to learn with us, teach us, and join us on this journey.
With gratitude,
Ann and Jeremy
Deena K. Fuchs is the inaugural Executive Director of Micah Philanthropies. A seasoned philanthropic and non-profit professional, Deena works in partnership with Ann and Jeremy Pava, Trustees of Micah Philanthropies, to develop and implement the foundation’s grantmaking and field-building strategies.
Deena takes an adaptive, collaborative and solutions-oriented approach to her work, joining grantee-partners in crafting organizational strategy, program design, and knowledge sharing. Her commitments to Jewish wisdom, tradition, and innovation, along with her devotion to the Jewish people, guide her as she seeks out authentic and creative frameworks, strategies, and partners to help shape the Jewish future.
Deena comes to Micah with more than 20 years of experience working in the Jewish philanthropic community, most recently as Executive Vice President at the Jewish Funders Network where she worked to grow and transform the organization into a catalyst for partnerships and coalitions in the Jewish world. Prior to her work at JFN, Deena served as Senior Director of Strategy and Partnerships for The AVI CHAI Foundation, leading the Foundation’s partnership strategy, thought leadership program, and the Foundation’s strategy related to its 2020 sunset.
Deena enjoys spending as much time as possible with her husband Robert and their four children. She thrives on daily walks, culinary adventures, and good books.
Shoshana Batya Greenwald, grants manager at Micah Philanthropies, is passionate about making positive change in the Jewish community. She has collaborated with several organizations on issues surrounding antisemitism advocacy and women’s leadership including the Orthodox Leadership Project, Repair the World, USC Hillel, Hasbarah Fellowships and OKClarity. She was previously Director of Collections at Amud Aish Memorial Museum where she oversaw the Holocaust museum’s archival, artifact and photography collection. She worked on both on-site and traveling exhibitions and developed and taught workshops to middle, high school and college age students. She has worked at and with several museums and institutions on exhibitions and collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York State Supreme Court and Brooklyn Public Library and holds an MA in design history and material culture from Bard Graduate Center and a Bachelor’s from Stern College.
She and her husband and children live in Fair Lawn, New Jersey and she writes about design history in her spare time.
Ruthie Braffman Shulman is a Program Officer at Micah Philanthropies where she focuses on developing and supporting women in Torah Leadership positions in Orthodox synagogues and the greater Modern Orthodox community. Ruthie has been passionate about the importance of women’s roles in Torah Leadership positions since her days as a Congregational Intern at the Hebrew Institute of White Plains while studying Talmud and Halacha in Yeshiva University’s Graduate Program for Advanced Talmudic Studies for Women (GPATS). Drawing on her wide range of professional experiences and excited about the historic opportunity to strengthen communities’ commitment to Ahavas Hashem and Talmud Torah, Ruthie has a forward-looking approach to problem solving and supports both women and Synagogues in developing pathways to successful community engagement.
Ruthie spent more than a decade working in Torah Leadership positions across a range of demographics and communities, including serving as an OU-JLIC campus educator at the University of Pennsylvania, founder of the OU-JLIC program at Drexel University, Director of Education at Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE), Director of Education and Engagement at United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston and she is currently the Yoetzet Halacha and Community Scholar at Young Israel of West Hartford Connecticut.
In addition to earning an M.A. in Talmud at GPATS, Ruthie studied in Sha’alvim for Woman and Yeshiva University’s Stern College. She is certified as a Yoetzet Halacha by Nishmat’s Miriam Glaubach Yoatzot Halacha Fellows Program and was a member of the inaugural cohort of Devorah Scholars.
