I serve in dual roles as the Executive Director of Jewish Community Services (JCS) Cape Town and as the recently appointed COO of Care Services, the new centralised body uniting seven Jewish welfare organisations under one umbrella.

Over the past seven years, I have focused on strengthening JCS by implementing systems, processes, and collaborations, as well as developing strategies and new initiatives to ensure sustainable care for
our most vulnerable and indigent community members, supporting individuals and families from cradle to grave.

JCS is one of the largest Jewish social service organisations in South Africa, with a proud legacy spanning more than 160 years. Our services include professional statutory/social services, material relief – accommodation, rental assistance, food security and financial disbursements. We oversee five communal homes: a step-down psychiatric facility, two cottages for low-functioning individuals, a 17-bedroom group home, and most recently, a welfare aged-care home.

Despite these services, accommodation remains one of our greatest challenges, and JCS continues to contribute significantly toward rental support for those in need.

To address the growing demands of JCS aged clients, along with my team we initiated the Assisted Daily Living Initiative, the first of its kind in our community. Establishing a Client Care Services division, with care staff providing Constant, Roving, and Ad hoc Care to more than 210 elderly clients living in both rented and JCS-owned accommodation.

Services are tailored to individual needs, ensuring that our clients remain safe, secure, and properly cared for. From this work came the recognition that a dedicated residence was required for those needing more intensive care.

This led to a major milestone: the acquisition and renovation of Spes Bona, a 50-bed welfare aged-care residence. I worked alongside JCS’s Chairman, Paul Berman, to secure donor partnerships, navigate compliance requirements, and oversee logistics and operational systems. Spes Bona, set to welcome its first residents in October 2025, represents a transformative step for welfare aged care in our community.

The newly established Centralised Care Services Organisation is tasked with centralising admissions, finance, HR, and care management across seven organisations: Highlands House, Glendale, Oranjia, Astra, CJSA, Nechama, and JCS.

Though still in its early stages, this restructuring has already reduced duplication, streamlined administration, and centralised intake, enabling each organisation to focus more fully on its service delivery.

Together with the Care Services team, we developed the Suite of Services, a pioneering initiative that provides tailored care packages for financially independent seniors requiring assisted daily living. This model not only supports elderly clients in their homes but also generates sustainable revenue to subsidise welfare care for those unable to pay.

I believe my nomination reflects both my personal commitment and the collective achievements of the extraordinary teams I work alongside. Our community faces immense pressures—an ageing population, rising care costs, and funding challenges.

Through strategic leadership, donor and communal engagement, disciplined governance, and innovation, I have helped position JCS and Care Services as resilient, sustainable, and forward-thinking organisations. At the heart of my work lies a simple principle: every person, regardless of circumstance, deserves dignity, security, and care. I pair compassion with accountability, ensuring services are delivered with excellence while building donor confidence through transparency and measurable outcomes. This balance of vision, discipline, and care continues to guide and drive me in serving our community.

Vision: I will continue to lead with empathy, passion, accountability, and purpose — hands-on, building strong teams, drawing partners, financially secure and turning ideas into lasting services. My goal is to create a well-structured welfare organisation that ensures the security of the indigent and vulnerable in our Cape Town Jewish community, long after my role ends.

I envision Jewish Community Services and all the Care Services organisations as financially resilient, focused on delivering excellent services, care, and support to every member of our community. These organisations will remain accountable, responsible, efficient, and transparent in their operations. With reliable, centralised systems, they will scale sustainably and harness technology to enhance client care by reducing service gaps, accelerating placements, and strengthening monitoring.

This future includes seamless centralised client intake, HR, and finance across all organisations, supported by diversified and predictable funding streams that reduce reliance on emergency appeals. In practice, this will mean measurable outcomes, excellent governance, an empowered workforce, and stronger partnerships with communal organisations, donors, and funding partners locally and internationally. By working together, we will ensure the ongoing care and well-being of our community.

I envision a South Africa where compassion and capability go hand in hand, and where civil society organisations are trusted and effective partners in social protection. It is a country where no one goes hungry or homeless because of systemic failures, and where communities build resilience through education, awareness, employment initiatives, care, and social inclusion. Locally, this vision means advocating for smarter collaboration between government, corporates, and communities, sharing best practices, and scaling community-led solutions that address poverty, employment vocational initiatives, elderly persons care and social isolation.