RZA Leadership

Pace Cooper is a longtime community leader, philanthropist, and dedicated supporter of Jewish life, Jewish education, and the State of Israel. He has served as president and chairman of numerous educational, civic, and communal organizations at the local, national, and international levels, reflecting a longstanding commitment to leadership, service, and strengthening the Jewish community.

A graduate of Columbia College, Pace also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. A business executive for more than four decades, he has combined his professional career with extensive civic and philanthropic leadership. He has served as Chairman of the Memphis & Shelby County Airport Authority and the Jewish Foundation of Memphis and serves on the University of Memphis Board of Visitors.

Pace has been deeply involved in Jewish communal and educational life for many years, with a particular commitment to Jewish education, Religious Zionism, and strengthening the connection between American Jewry and Israel. His leadership has been guided by a belief in the importance of building strong Jewish institutions, developing the next generation of Jewish leadership, and deepening the relationship between the American Jewry and the State of Israel.

Pace and his wife, Aileen, are the proud parents of six children, including two sets of twins. Family, community, Jewish values, and a deep love of Israel have been central to their lives and communal involvement.

Stephen M. Flatow is a father of five whose then 20-year-old daughter, Alisa, died in April 1995 following an Iranian terrorist attack while she was a student in Israel. Alisa’s organs were donated for transplant.

Since Alisa’s death, Steve has traveled across the United States and Canada to share his experience. Steve is the author of A Father’s Story: My Fight for Justice Against Iranian Terror. His message is of the unity and tradition of the Jewish people and how we are all part of one world. It is also the story of how a family’s life changed as the result of the influence of a four year old child.

Active in community activities for many years, Steve was a founder and past president of Congregation Ohr Torah, West Orange, New Jersey, and is presently a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Friends of the Rabin Medical Center and the American Friends of Nishmat.

He and his wife have been the recipient of several honors in recognition of their decision to donate Alisa’s organs for transplantation, their support of Jewish education and their groundbreaking efforts in fighting terrorism.

Steve has been a witness before U.S. Congressional committees on topics dealing with terrorism and victim’s rights. He writes a weekly column for the Jewish News Syndicate and has published opinion articles dealing with Israel, terrorism, and Jewish education in The New York Times, The Jerusalem Post, The Washington Post, and many other publications.

A graduate of Brooklyn Law School and member of the New Jersey bar, Stephen owns Vested Land Services LLC, a title insurance agency in Fairfield and Ocean Township, N.J.

He and his wife are now citizens of the State of Israel and divide their time between Jerusalem and Long Branch, New Jersey. They are the proud grandparents of 16.