Here are 9 things to know about Isaac.

1. He grew up in Staten Island but found his home in Baltimore.

Isaac grew up in Staten Island, New York and moved to Baltimore to attend Ner Israel and then Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his MBA. Nearly 27 years later, he calls Baltimore home.

He met his wife, who grew up in Seattle and was attending college in New York, while they were both vacationing in Miami. They connected through a mutual friend, and their long-distance relationship between Baltimore and New York eventually led to marriage and a family.

So, what made Baltimore the place to stay?

“I am amazed by the community in Baltimore,” he says. “I think it’s very unique nationally and internationally. And I hear it when I travel. ‘Oh, Baltimore, that’s a really great Jewish community.’”

2. His family has twins in three generations.

Isaac and his wife have five children, four daughters and one son, and four grandchildren. Their family has a pretty remarkable distinction: twins in three generations.

His wife is a twin, they have twin daughters, and one of those daughters recently welcomed twins of her own, a boy and a girl.

Isaac is just 46, so he has plenty of time to keep up with his growing family. His oldest daughter is 23, and his youngest child is a 15-year-old son in high school.

Three of his children are married. Two of those couples are now living in Baltimore, while the third is in Israel, where his daughter is finishing her master’s degree and an internship and her husband is studying in yeshiva.

About three years ago, Isaac and his wife purchased an apartment in Jerusalem.

“It’s always been a dream of ours,” he says.

Their goal is to spend more time there, perhaps a month at a time, several times a year. For now, family ties keep them rooted in Baltimore, but Israel will always be a second home.

4. His favorite Israeli food is shawarma.

After all those trips to Israel, Isaac has a clear answer when asked what Israeli food he could eat every day: shawarma.

And when asked what he always brings back from Israel, he doesn’t name a particular souvenir.

“Memories,” he says.

For someone whose children have studied and started families in Israel, and who has built lasting relationships through community missions, those memories carry a lot of meaning.

5. He didn’t always know much about Jewish federations.

Isaac’s involvement with The Associated began about 20 years ago, when a community leader invited him to coffee and explained the organization’s work.

Growing up in Staten Island, he says he wasn’t particularly familiar with federation life. He also remembers the Orthodox community there as more insular, with less interaction among different parts of the Jewish community.

Learning about The Associated helped him understand how a federation could bring people together to address shared needs.

He became involved in the Young Leadership Council (YLC) and went on to serve on committees and boards, including the real estate committee and Board of Governors. He has also supported the Annual Campaign and encouraged other Orthodox Jews to get involved.

One program that made an impression was Dinner for Eight, which brought together four couples, two Orthodox and two non-Orthodox, to build relationships across the community.

More than 15 years later, Isaac and his wife still keep in touch with the couples he met through the program.

“In Baltimore, many friends and colleagues are working together,” he says. “It doesn’t matter, Orthodox, non-Orthodox. We work on different things for the community.”

During a National Young Leadership mission, Isaac visited a camp in Hungary where Ukrainians displaced by the war had found refuge. Some of the people there were from Odesa.

“They were just crying to me, telling me how helpful The Associated has been,” he recalls. “Like, literally, saving their lives.”

The experience made the impact of Baltimore’s generosity tangible.

“You see how far it goes and the relationships that you create,” he says.

For Isaac, supporting Jewish communities overseas is about more than financial assistance. It’s about recognizing that Jews have a responsibility to one another, especially when people lack the resources to meet basic needs such as food, electricity and shelter.

“I think we’re a stronger community when we help others,” he says.

7. He believes Baltimore has a special relationship with Israel.

Isaac has visited Ashkelon, Baltimore’s partner city in Israel, many times. Through The Associated’s partnership, Baltimore-area Jews have developed personal connections with Israelis and supported programs that address local needs.

He believes these relationships matter because they make the connection to Israel more personal and meaningful.

“It’s important for us in Baltimore to have a connection with Israel and with the people in Israel,” he says.

The Israel and Global Partnership Council is also working to make international giving more targeted. One new grant initiative is expected to direct approximately $500,000 toward three areas: communities on Israel’s northern periphery, Jewish communities overseas and efforts to strengthen Jewish identity around the world.

About 30 organizations applied for funding, giving the council an opportunity to consider how its support can make a meaningful difference.

8. He wants the next generation to look beyond its own community.

For Isaac, supporting Jews in Israel and overseas isn’t separate from building a strong Jewish community in Baltimore. The two go hand in hand.

He believes that when Baltimore Jews help people facing hardship in other parts of the world, they demonstrate a core Jewish value to their own children.

“It shows our kids and the next generation that we’re not selfish and only looking inward,” he says.

He also sees Baltimore’s involvement in national and international Jewish organizations as a reflection of the community’s willingness to take on responsibility beyond its own borders.

To him, that is one of the things that makes Jewish Baltimore stand out.

9. The Jewish leader he’d most like to spend a day with is…

When asked which person involved in Jewish communal life, past or present, he’d most like to spend a day with, Isaac initially landed on Moses.

“Moses learned directly from God and led the Jewish people.”

It’s a fitting choice for someone whose own communal work centers on responsibility for the Jewish people, even when that responsibility extends far beyond the place he calls home.