The CSS Team
CSS Leadership Team
The CSS Team
CSS Leadership Team
The Team
Chair and CEO
Eddie Sugar
Eddie Sugar is the Chair of the CSS Board of Directors. In line with his longstanding commitment to the security of the Jewish community, Eddie has overseen the transition of CSS from a small-volunteer led initiative in New York to a prominent national organization with a dedicated professional staff operating from coast to coast.
Eddie has more than 25-years of experience in the commodities and related sectors. He founded EAS Advisors, a private New York-based boutique corporate advisory firm. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director of Jefferies & Co. in New York from 1999 until 2008, responsible for international equity sales and trading. Prior to Jefferies, Eddie worked as Managing Director for Marc Rich & Co. in Sydney, Australia and as a personal and private advisor to Solomon Lew and his associated companies out of Melbourne, Australia.
As a student in Australia, Eddie volunteered for the Community Security Group (CSG) – the Australian equivalent organization of CSS – to protect the local Jewish community. From standing guard at local synagogues to taking on a variety of leadership roles, Eddie was responsible for helping to protect dozens of Jewish institutions and events across Sydney.
Richard Priem
Richard Priem is the CEO of the Community Security Service (CSS). Joining as the organization’s second full-time staff member, he spent four years as Chief Operating Officer and Deputy National Director before becoming CEO, during which he built CSS’s nationwide network of community and volunteer-driven security operations.
The grandson of Holocaust survivors liberated by American forces in World War II, Richard has devoted his career to ensuring that Jewish communities remain secure, confident, and free. A former paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, he has spent two decades advancing Jewish and civic security across the United States and Europe— from leading Jewish community protection efforts to advocacy and advising the United Nations Security Council on counter-terrorism and law enforcement training.
He holds a Master’s of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Bachelor’s in History and Arabic from the University of Amsterdam.
Leadership Team
Vera Krimnus
Benjamin Erbs
Grant Mendenhall
Noga Katz
Chuck Berkowitz
Stuart Frisch
Ofer Shalom
Itay Hertz
Jon Bridge
Co-CHAIRS AND MEMBERS
Advisory Council
International experts providing guidance for CSS’s state-of-the-art volunteer security training and procedures
David Delew
David Delew spent 30 years as Chief Executive of the Community Security Trust, and was responsible for providing security and fighting antisemitism across the United Kingdom. He was a founding member of the European Jewish Congress’s Security and Crisis Centre. Delew was awarded an OBE citation from the Queen for his service to the Jewish community.
Don Aviv
Don Aviv is the President of Interfor. Prior to working for Interfor, Aviv was the head of Global Security & Investigations for a Fortune 500 technology company. He serves as the Vice Chairman of the ASIS International Security Services Council. Aviv is also an advisor to several companies that develop novel security and emergency notification technology.
Steve Hughes
Steve Hughes spent 25 years with the U.S. Secret Service, where he was the 32nd Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office. He served on protective details for Presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush. He currently is the Chief Security Officer at Elliott Management Corporation.
Greg Ehrie
Greg Ehrie is the former Chief of the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Operations Section where he was responsible for all domestic terrorism investigations throughout the US and oversaw the operations of the National Joint Terrorism Task Force. Previously he served as the Vice President of Law Enforcement & Analysis at the Anti-Defamation League. He is curently the head of security for the Port Authority.
Doug Farber
Doug Farber is the former Director of Security for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as the Director of Security for the World Trade Center. Farber is a veteran of the Secret Service who was responsible for internal White House safety. He is currently serving as the head of security for Millennium, a global alternative investment management firm.
John Franchi
John Franchi is a former senior officer of the CIA, retiring after 29 years of distinguished government service which included high-level positions internationally and in Washington DC, as well as with the U.S. military and U.S. Department of State. He is currently the Director of Intelligence for Brosnan Risk Consultants in NY.
Prof. Dr. Bruce Hoffman
Bruce Hoffman is a tenured professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service where he directs the Center for Jewish Civilization, and senior fellow for counterterrorism and homeland security at the Council on Foreign Relations. He previously held the corporate chair in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency at the RAND Corporation.
Carly Maisel
The Global CEO of Kirsh Philanthropies, Carly Maisel advises the Kirsh family on their philanthropic portfolios. Additionally, Maisel provides strategic communications and risk management guidance across their various entities. Prior to joining Kirsh Philanthropies, she held a senior security role in the Community Security Trust in the United Kingdom.
Mark Sullivan
Mark Sullivan was the Director of the U.S. Secret Service and held a variety of leadership roles in the organization for nearly 30 years. Sullivan serves on several boards of directors and security/safety advisory boards and maintains top-secret security clearance. He co-founded Global Security Innovative Strategies and worked with the firm until 2017.
Mitch Silber
Mitch Silber is the Executive Director of the Community Security Initiative a partnership between the UJA Federation of New York and the JCRC of New York. A professional global political risk and intelligence analyst with more than 20 years of experience, he previously served as Director of Intelligence Analysis at the New York City Police Department.
Ira Weiss
Ira Weiss is the founder and President of SECINT Corporation, a security and intelligence company providing training, investigative, protective and strategic services to corporate, governmental, and private sector clients. Ira is a retired First-Grade Detective with over 20 years of law enforcement experience with the New York City Police Department, Intelligence Bureau.
Carrie Talansky
Carrie Talansky is a seasoned legal executive and strategic advisor who previously served as the Deputy General Counsel for the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
Zachary Fasman
Zachary Fasman teaches employment law at the University of Michigan Law School, having previously taught at NYU, where he is an emeritus member of the Advisory Board of the NYU Center for Labor and Employment Law. Zach has written and spoken extensively on labor and employment law matters, testified in Congress on many occasions on issues in his field.
Dr. Mark Goldfeder
Rabbi Dr. Mark Goldfeder is the CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center and the Senior Partner with Goldfeder, Schlager, & Beck, LLC. Previously, he served as the founding Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Law and Judaism, a Trustee of the Center for Israel Education, and as an adviser to the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations.
“CSS was created because the security of the American Jewish community is everyone’s responsibility—no matter your age, gender, politics or observance level. Our members all serve side-by-side in pursuit of a single mission: to protect the lives and the way of life of all Jewish Americans. By doing so, we aim to create a culture of responsibility around security and transform the way so-called “ordinary people” can help protect themselves, their families, and their communities.”
Get Involved Today
From volunteering to raising awareness about our programs, CSS welcomes the involvement from everyone in the community to support its mission —to protect the Jewish life and Jewish way of life.