NEW YORK, NY — Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, is pleased to announce that Steven Mark has been named Chief Development Officer and Dana Asher Co-Director of Marketing & Communications. Both Mark and Asher, whose appointments take effect on July 14, will report to CEO Ellen Finkelstein.
Steven Mark comes to Hadassah from StartCare, the addiction-recovery and behavioral healthcare provider, where he was Chief Development Officer. Dana Asher joins Hadassah after serving as Senior Executive Director, Fundraising & Marketing Communications, in the Office of Institutional Advancement at Yeshiva University.
“With the arrival of Steven Mark and Dana Asher, we once again have the full staff team we need to help our members and volunteer leaders advance Hadassah’s mission,” said Carol Ann Schwartz, National President. “During one of the most challenging times for Israel and Jews in living memory, that mission – to advocate for Israel, fight antisemitism, support the work of Hadassah’s hospitals in Jerusalem and promote women’s health equity – is more important than ever.”
Supporting the Work of Hadassah’s Medical Center and Youth Villages in Israel
Steven Mark will lead a team of 41 philanthropy professionals who collaborate with more than 75 volunteer leaders around the country. Together, they raise funds to support the work of the Hadassah Medical Organization, Hadassah's academic medical center in Jerusalem, and Hadassah’s Youth Aliyah program, which operates residential communities for vulnerable Israeli teens and pre-teens.
Mark comes to Hadassah with a string of noteworthy fundraising accomplishments under his belt. At Hunter College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY), he raised $10 million in gifts from first-time donors, oversaw the completion of a $40 million library campaign and partnered with then-president Jennifer Raab to secure a $52 million donation for the nursing school, the largest gift in CUNY history.
At New York Medical College, Mark shepherded a dental school from capital campaign launch to groundbreaking, while at StartCare, he built a development department from scratch while increasing fundraising revenues to nearly $10 million from less than $100,000.
“With his skill in securing major gifts, leading successful capital campaigns and dramatically increasing individual donations, Steven Mark is the ideal person to lead Hadassah’s development effort,” said CEO Ellen Finkelstein.
Mark earned a BS in Exercise Physiology from Hofstra University and an MSW, with a certificate in Jewish Communal Service, from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. He lives in New York City with his family.
Dana Asher Will Be Half of a Powerhouse Duo Leading Marketing & Communications
Dana Asher will partner with fellow co-director Sharon Scalora to lead a 20-person Marketing & Communications team charged with articulating Hadassah’s mission and sharing news of the organization’s activities with its many stakeholders. Like Scalora, she will work with Hadassah volunteer leaders across the country.
Asher will oversee Hadassah’s marketing activities (the website, digital communications, creative services, advertising and video production), collaborating on branding and other cross-functional initiatives with Scalora, who directs the organization’s communications functions (editorial content, social media, media and public relations, and strategic and executive communications).
Over the course of three decades, Asher has held a variety of marketing roles at Jewish organizations that include UJA-Federation and Women’s American ORT as well as Yeshiva University (YU), her most recent employer. Having worked in a broad swath of marketing specialties, she has a wide-ranging skill set, with a particular expertise in branding. An emblematic example of her accomplishments is a marketing strategy instrumental in driving a $613 million, five-year YU capital campaign so successful it reached 85 percent of its goal in just three years.
Said CEO Ellen Finkelstein, “Dana Asher’s broad experience in not-for-profit marketing and her deep knowledge of the Jewish communal world are a perfect fit for Hadassah, with its diverse array of programs and activities in the US and Israel.”
Dana Asher graduated cum laude from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications with a BS in Journalism and Public Relations. She lives in the New York City area with her husband.