Brandeis Magazine

35th Reunion
June 5-7, 2015

Janis Boyarsky Schiff was one of 25 recipients of the Women Who Mean Business award, presented annually by the Washington Business Journal. In a profile in the publication, the Holland & Knight partner recalls being told at one point in her career that since her husband had a good job, she should not balk at her salary. As chair of her firm’s real-estate department for the past five years, Janis has worked with virtually every major Washington-area developer. She was recently elected chair of the board at Easter Seals in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Elliot Gruber is president and CEO of the Mariners’ Museum, in Newport News, Va. The museum has the largest collection of maritime-related items in the Western Hemisphere, and the USS Monitor is being conserved there. Elliot previously headed the Civil War Preservation Trust, and served as vice president and COO of the Gettysburg Foundation. Susan Feinberg joined Graber Associates, a public relations, marketing and research firm, as a senior consultant. She focuses on corporate-banking technology research, marketing support and training. Mansur Hasib wrote “Cybersecurity Leadership: Powering the Modern Organization,” a comprehensive guide to cybersecurity governance. Hank Kopel and his wife, Dawn Weiner, live just outside New Haven, Conn., with daughter Rebecca, son Joseph and dog Lev. Hank is a federal prosecutor in New Haven. Janet Domenitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, was featured in a Boston Globe story about the 32-year-old Massachusetts bottle bill. As a young activist, Janet worked on a successful lobbying campaign to override former Gov. Ed King’s 1981 veto of the original bottle bill. She is working on an update to the law, which proponents say is badly needed because of the advent of bottled water, juices, teas and sports drinks not subject to the 5-cent deposit. The updated bottle bill has been pending in the legislature since 2001 and was a ballot question before Massachusetts voters in November 2014.

SUMMER SENDOFF: At the home of Lewis ’80 and Denise Silber Brooks ’84, P’16 — and with Hannah Brooks ’16 (via Skype) — alumni and parents welcomed Philadelphia-area members of the Class of 2018 to Brandeis.