The Workers Circle Elects New Board President and Members to the Board of Directors
October 20, 2022
Contact: Jake Oliver, jake@anatgerstein.com, 347 361 9983
(New York, N.Y.)— Members of The Workers Circle voted to elect Zeev Dagan to a two-year term as the organization’s new Board President. Dagan succeeds Richard Rumelt, who will now serve as Past President. Additionally, members of the organization voted to elect Robert Kaplan, and re-elect Eva Zasloff to the Board.
Dagan, a professor of Mechanical Engineering at City College of New York, has served on the Workers Circles Board of Directors since 2018. He currently serves on the Development, Social Action, and Finance and Investment Committees. Dagan has been affiliated with CCNY since 1983, and has served as Department Chair (1990-93), Associate Dean of the Grove School of Engineering (1993-97), Deputy Provost (1997-99), and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (1999-2010). He has received several awards including the Pi Tau Sigma Teacher of the Year Award, the Goldene Ehrenzeichen from the Austrian Ministry of Education, and the prestigious Townsend Harris Medal from the Alumni Association of CCNY, and has authored and co-authored over forty scientific articles.
“I am honored to be elected by my fellow members of the Workers Circle as President of the Board, and would like to congratulate Robert Kaplan on his election to the Board, and Eva Zasloff on her re-election. I look forward to working with our diverse and talented Board and staff to advance the Workers Circle’s mission of advancing social justice and democracy through a Jewish lens,” said Board President Zeev Dagan.
“I am delighted to congratulate Zeev Dagan on his new position as Board President for the Workers Circle. I look forward to partnering with Zeev and the entire Board to carry our mission forward as we strive to preserve our democracy and fight authoritarianism at this pivotal moment in our nation’s history,” said Ann Toback, Chief Executive Officer of the Workers Circle. “I also want to thank Richard Rumelt for his partnership during his service as Board President.”
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Robert Kaplan is a past Workers Circle President (2008-2010), Executive Director (1989-1998), and Executive Director of the Second Century Fund (1998-2003). Bob is a former member of the Workers Circle Board of Directors and National Executive Board. He served as Secretary of the Board, and on the Development, Finance, Governance, Strategic Mission, and Nominating/Executive Committees. Professionally, Bob was a laser physicist, founder and VP of Quantronix Corp., and President of Pilkington Medical Lasers. In the past, Bob has served on the Boards of the Forward Association, the Workmen’s Circle MultiCare Center, the Folksbiene Yiddish Theater, and the the Jewish Labor Committee. He currently serves as a director of the Atran Foundation.
Eva Zasloff joined the Workers Circle Board of Directors in 2012, and has served as the Vice President for Strategy. Eva serves on the Camp, Executive, Strategic Mission, and Nominating committees. Eva became active in the Manhattan Workers Circle School in 2010, and helped to organize and run the Workers Circle Teen Civil Rights Trips to Alabama and to Virginia and Washington, DC. Eva received a BA in 1993 from the University of Chicago, and a 1997 MSEd from Bank Street College of Education. Since 1993, she has been working at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn as a 4th and 5th grade teacher. The Workers Circle has enabled Eva to re-engage in the world of Jewish culture and activism, and to renew her commitment to making the world a better place.
About the Workers Circle
Founded 122 years ago, the Workers Circle (formerly known as the Workmen’s Circle) is a social justice organization that powers progressive Jewish identity through Jewish cultural engagement, Yiddish language learning, multigenerational education, and social justice activism. For over a century we have provided this 360-degree approach to Jewish identity-building. Through contemporary cultural programs, strategic social justice campaigns, vibrant Yiddish language classes, interactive educational experiences and more, we connect Jewish adults, kids and families of all affiliations with their cultural heritage, working to build a better and more beautiful world for all. Learn more at www.circle.org.