CLEVELAND, OH—Civic leader Ira C. Kaplan has been elected Chair of the 27-member Board of Directors of the Mt. Sinai Health Foundation at the organization’s June 8, 2022, Annual Meeting held at Severance Music Center. He succeeds Judge Dan A. Polster, who served as board chair for three years and who was elected Life Director of the Foundation.

Mr. Kaplan previously served as vice chair and treasurer of the Board of Directors and has been an active member of the Grants Committee and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Task Force. He currently serves as Executive Chairman and Executive Committee Member of the law firm Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP, where he focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions as well as public and private debt and equity financings. He has served as Board Chair of the Menorah Park Center for Senior Living and is former Board Chair of Bellefaire JCB and the Wingspan Care Group. For the United Way of Greater Cleveland, Mr. Kaplan currently serves as Vice Chair and previously served as Campaign Co-Chair. He also formerly served as the Board Chair of the Cleveland Leadership Center and Engage! Cleveland. After serving as Chair of the Community Planning Committee and longstanding member of the Board, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland recognized Mr. Kaplan in 2018 with the prestigious Gries Family Award for his lasting impact on Cleveland’s Jewish and general communities. He and his wife Amy reside in Lyndhurst and are the proud parents of three children and a granddaughter.

“Philanthropy is the heart and soul of Cleveland, and Mt. Sinai has been the driving force behind so many high-impact efforts over its 25 year history. Stewarding the Mt. Sinai legacy to care for those who have been historically marginalized is a privilege and responsibility I take very seriously,” Kaplan said. “I am humbled to serve as Board Chair and honored to use this platform to continue to strengthen the Jewish and general communities.”

Other officers elected at the Annual Meeting were James A. Ratner, and Beth D. Rosenberg, vice-chairs; Michael Goldberg, treasurer; and Jeremy A. Paris, secretary. Newly elected Directors include Peter Golden, Jr., MD, J. David Heller, Mariely Luengo, and Alan Rosskamm.

Mitchell Balk, President of the Mt. Sinai Health Foundation, expressed a sense of promise for the organization’s future. “From the darkest moments of the pandemic to the hope of finally achieving a lead-safe Cleveland, the past three years have been truly remarkable under the leadership of immediate past-chair Judge Dan Polster.” He continued, “I know I speak for the entire Mt. Sinai family when I share how excited we are for the leadership of Ira Kaplan and for the new and returning members of our Board.”

Mt. Sinai Board Directors can serve up to three, three-year terms. Officers of the Board of Directors, including the chair, may serve up to three, one-year terms.