Jewish Council for Public Affairs Names Walter E. Spiegel Board Chair, Welcomes Five New Board Members

NEW YORK, July 14, 2026 — The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), the national convener of Jewish coalitions working to build a just and inclusive democracy, today announced that Walter E. Spiegel of Cincinnati, Ohio has been elected chair of its board of directors. JCPA also elected four other key leaders to its Executive Committee — including elevating Shawn Landres of Santa Monica, California to Vice Chair — and welcomed five new members to the board. A full board list is available here.

Spiegel, who previously served as JCPA’s vice chair and governance chair, succeeds Leslie Dannin Rosenthal after her three-year tenure. Rosenthal will continue serving on the board as chair emerita. 

“JCPA has never been more essential than it is right now, when antisemitism and threats to our democracy are on the rise together,” said Spiegel. “We know that Jewish safety and inclusive democracy are inextricably linked, and the work of defending those values only gets done when communities come together across their differences. JCPA is at the center of building those coalitions — leading difficult conversations, bridging communal gaps, and providing the institutional know-how to break through polarization and binary thinking.” 

“I’m honored to take on this role, and grateful to my predecessor, Leslie Dannin Rosenthal, for her leadership. I look forward to building on that foundation alongside this remarkable new group of board members.” 

Spiegel served for 25 years as chief legal, compliance, and government relations officer for Standard Textile Company, a global manufacturer and supplier of textile products for the healthcare and hospitality markets. He was previously a partner at a Washington, D.C., law firm and senior international trade counsel for a Fortune 500 company. He is a past co-chair of JCPA’s Chairs Initiative and a past president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Cincinnati, and he serves on the boards of the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center and the Immigrant and Refugee Law Center. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and his bachelor’s degree in political science from Emory University. 

New Board Members 

JCPA welcomes the following five new members to its board of directors: 

John B. Harris, of Scarsdale, New York, is a litigation partner at the New York City law firm Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, P.C., with more than 35 years of experience in civil and white-collar criminal matters and a current focus on representing lawyers and law firms. A longtime leader at the Anti-Defamation League, including serving as chair of their National Civil Rights Committee, he was a principal author of ADL’s 2017 amicus brief opposing the travel ban on entry into the United States and served on the New York State Bar’s 2023 Task Force Combating Antisemitism and Anti-Asian Hate. 

Suellen Kadis, of Cleveland, Ohio, has dedicated many years to leadership roles in Cleveland and nationally, currently serving on the International World ORT Board of Directors, as a vice president of its Midwest region, and on the board of 70 Faces Media. In Cleveland, she is a life director of the Jewish Family Service Association and an active leader in the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, where she has chaired the Development Committee and Women’s Philanthropy. 

Rabbi Lewis H. Kamrass, of Cincinnati, Ohio is rabbi emeritus of Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, where he served for his entire 40-year rabbinate, and is a past president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He has held leadership positions across the national Reform movement, including on the boards of the CCAR, Hebrew Union College, and the Union for Reform Judaism. 

Hank Kaplan, of Portland, Oregon, was born in Brooklyn to Holocaust survivor parents, and spent most of his legal career representing labor unions in Oregon and served as managing partner of his firm for 18 years before retiring in 2022. A past chair of the Portland JCRC, he has served on countless local Jewish boards and previously introduced a wage-theft policy that was adopted by JCPA. 

Brandon Rattiner, of Denver, Colorado, is senior director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Colorado, the public affairs arm of the state’s Jewish community, with deep expertise in advocacy and community outreach developed across careers in law and public service. He is a past international president of BBYO and previously served as regional director for U.S. Sen. Mark Udall.