Aviva Zeltzer-Zubida

Dr. Aviva Zeltzer-Zubida is a senior executive, strategic advisor, and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience leading nonprofit organizations, developing strategy, managing organizational change, and building systems for data-driven decision-making.

She currently serves as a senior executive in the Strategy Office of the Orthodox Union (OU), one of the largest and most influential Jewish organizations in North America. In this role, she leads organizational initiatives in strategy, grants management, and data-driven organizational transformation, helping translate organizational vision into effective processes that promote impact, learning, and accountability.

Throughout her career, Dr. Zeltzer-Zubida has held a range of senior leadership positions in Jewish organizations in Israel and the United States, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, American Friends of Beit Issie Shapiro, and the ERI Institute. She has also served as a consultant to leading organizations and foundations, including the UJA-Federation of New York and the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), supporting strategic planning, evaluation, organizational governance, and management capacity-building processes.

Her areas of expertise include strategic planning, organizational development, grants management, impact measurement and evaluation, corporate governance, partnership development, leadership development, and leading organizational change. She is known for her ability to connect broad strategic thinking with practical implementation and to help organizations navigate complex challenges while maintaining a clear focus on their goals and mission.

Dr. Zeltzer-Zubida holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), a Master’s degree in Sociology from Queens College (CUNY), and a Bachelor’s degree from Tel Aviv University. Her academic research focused on migration, identity, social integration, and inequality, and her academic background provides the foundation for her research-, data-, and continuous-learning-based approach.

Aviva was born in Moldova, raised in Israel, and currently resides in South Florida. Her international experience, combined with her deep familiarity with the nonprofit sector and Jewish communities in Israel and the Diaspora, gives her a broad perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing social-impact organizations. As a board member, she brings strategic thinking, extensive management experience, a systems-level perspective, the ability to foster collaboration, and experience guiding complex decision-making processes. She believes in leadership grounded in listening, partnership, accountability, and innovation, and is deeply committed to strengthening civil society and advancing organizations that create meaningful impact.