12/23/2024
Former CFO Reflects on 40-Year Federation Career Upon Retirement
KIRSTEN BEARD | CJN
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
Barry Reis, senior adviser and former CFO of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood, will officially retire the first week of January after working with the Federation for over 40 years.
“It’s been a terrific career,” Reis told the Cleveland Jewish News. “It’s not something I would have imagined over 40 years ago, but it’s been extremely satisfying. ... I take a lot of pride in what we built here, and I’m really pleased to see it continue.”
During his time at the Federation, Reis said many things have changed and evolved over the years, but the commitment to the cause remained firm in his time with the organization. He stepped down as CFO in July 2022, to become senior adviser on a part-time basis.
“We’re much broader than we were, but the commitment has never wavered,” he said. “It was the first thing I noticed when I got into the business, and it’s never changed.”
He said throughout his time working, he has seen Jewish leadership within communities expand, which has created competition in terms of donations and volunteers.
“When I started, it was uncommon for a Jewish person to lead organizations,” Reis said, noting Jewish leadership at organizations like the Cleveland Foundation, The Cleveland Orchestra, Playhouse Square and the Great Lakes Science Center. “... It’s actually become a little more competitive to engage the leadership of Jewish causes because donors and volunteers have so many options.”
Reis also said the relationship between Israel and the Federation was another change he saw over his career. He said when he began working at the Federation in 1984, the state of Israel was less than 36 years old – it’s now a little over 76 years old.
“The difference in Israel is crazy,” he said. “The country’s blossomed and grown, but our overseas connection program has done a fabulous job of keeping Clevelanders connected with Israel. We have made terrific programmatic contributions to populations of Israelis like Ethiopians, women in the army and Arab-Israeli communities. That has shifted quite a bit because of the dynamic and the growth of Israel.”
His career began in public accounting. While engaged to his now-wife, Reis said he was planning on going to graduate school to obtain his MBA, but that plan changed.
“My wife’s father worked at the Federation for 13 years before I met her, and he died before I met her,” Reis said. “My mother-in-law came into the office one day to visit old friends who worked with her husband. She asked what was new, and someone said, ‘We’re looking for a young accountant.’ And she said, ‘My future son-in-law is a young accountant.’ The next thing I know, I’m sitting at my father-in-law’s desk and doing his work.”
Reis said he looks forward to seeing the Federation continue to evolve, noting specifically its initiatives in Jewish education to enhance the work the organization has done over the years, and other solutions to help older adults in the community.
“I think the population of the Jewish community is changing, so it’ll be interesting to see how we adjust to those changes and what initiatives we create to deal with the changing dynamic here,” he said. “But there’s always something new and innovative coming from our program and development people and from our agencies. I think there’s always something exciting coming down the road.”
Reis said the biggest lesson he’s learned throughout his career is “it takes a really patient, respectful relationship building to get things done for everyone’s benefit.”
“I had a great mentor, Steve Hoffman, who was our president for most of the time that I was CFO,” Reis said. “I learned through him that finding a way to say yes to almost any request is usually better than finding the reasons to say no. It forces you to be creative to solve problems rather than looking and seeing things in a black and white fashion. And, you can do creative problem solving without compromising your principles.”
As for Reis’ retirement plans, he said he has a long list of things to do that became a challenge getting done during his career. He said he will spend time traveling, and also noted his plans to become engaged in the community.
“I’ve always worked a ton of hours, so I’m going to spend some time with my wife, with traveling to see my kids, my family,” he said. “I’m going to take care of myself. I have exercise, reading and hobbies, but I’m expecting to do my share of volunteering after I take a little time off. I stepped down two years ago, but I’ve been working here part-time for the last two-and-a-half years, and I really haven’t been able to fully explore what I want to do.”
