JHV Spotlights Deborah Bergeron’s Remarkable A4BGU Legacy
JHV Spotlights Deborah Bergeron’s Remarkable A4BGU Legacy
December 22, 2023
2024 Kosher Extravaganza Honoree, Deborah Bergeron
Jewish Herald Voice — After 23 years of service to American for Ben-Gurion University and Israel, Deborah Bergeron has made a tremendous impact. “Each and every year held its own stories, held its own successes, held its own opportunities to meet new and incredible people,” Bergeron said. “Had I not had this position, I would’ve never met the people who I know today, here or across the ocean.”
A4BGU will be honoring Deborah Bergeron at the 2024 Kosher Extravaganza in Houston, Texas on Monday, March 4.
As a result of her efforts, donors in Houston’s Jewish community have played a leading role in funding a number of major programs and capital projects at BGU. These have included:
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- A new MRI machine for Soroka University Medical Center, BGU’s teaching hospital, that serves the residents of Israel’s south.
- The Jim and Liz Breslauer Bridge, a pedestrian walkway connecting BGU’s Marcus Family Campus in Beer-Sheva to the Faculty of Health Sciences, adjacent to Soroka University Medical Center.
- The Stephen and David Breslauer Archaeological Laboratory Building.
- The Rosen Family Career Development Chair in Judaic Studies, in honor of Congregation Beth Yeshurun’s Rabbi David Rosen.
- Support for multiple dormitory buildings on BGU’s Sde Boker campus and new North Campus in Beer-Sheva.
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“We’ve always taken on projects that have been a high priority for the university,” Bergeron said as she reflected on the relationships she developed and the community she built, making her time with A4BGU particularly meaningful. “Each and every year held its own stories, held its own successes, held its own opportunities to meet new and incredible people,” she said. “Had I not had this position, I would’ve never met the people who I know today, here or across the ocean.”
Amid Bergeron’s retirement, Leslie Lerner has joined A4BGU as its Houston-based associate director of Development. A native Houstonian, she spent the previous five years at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, including as Member Services coordinator and as the director, and also Finance and Scholarship director at the Bertha Alyce School. Prior to that, she worked in luxury retail management for 15 years.
“I have big shoes to fill,” Lerner said. “It’s really about maintaining the relationships that Deborah spent years creating and nurturing and letting those individuals know they’re in good hands. Additionally, it’s important for us to cultivate new, different, multigenerational relationships with people who are not so familiar with Ben-Gurion University. It’s important to get the next generation involved.”
Bergeron echoed that sentiment, “There’s a generation that I’ve nurtured and engaged,” she said, “and the children of these individuals who I know, I think that’s where Leslie is going to be able to engage and carry our mission further.”
The mission of A4BGU is now more relevant than ever following the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, which disproportionately impacted Israel’s South, compared to other regions of the country, and the BGU community, compared to other Israeli universities.
Negev Prevails is A4BGU’s emergency response to the current crisis, providing funding to support the well-being of BGU’s students, faculty, staff and the broader Negev region.
“More so today than ever before, it is imperative that we honor Ben-Gurion’s legacy and keep his dream alive,” said Doug Seserman, CEO of A4BGU. “He turned his dream of a Jewish homeland into reality. Together, we will prevail to keep this vision for the future of Israel alive.”
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