Elana Frank, CEO & Founder of JFF

Elana (Bekerman) Frank, a native of Atlanta, GA, lived, studied, and worked in Maryland, Manhattan, Israel, and New Jersey.  She has 20 years of experience working with non-profits (in America and in Israel) in fundraising, marketing, community outreach, volunteer recruitment, Board development and program development.  

Elana "birthed" The Jewish Fertility Foundation. It took her ten years and countless rounds of IUI and IVF cycles and embryo donation to make three babies. Because she was a resident of Israel at that time of her first two children, their socialized medicine afforded her the opportunity to inexpensively reach a solution. When she returned to the US, she realized that others weren’t as lucky as her - in terms of treatment success, community support, and financial aid. She learned for others it takes years, miscarriages, unbearable debt, oceans of tears, and heartache before finally giving birth, if at all. And with the cost of IVF ranging on average from $14,000 - $25,000 in America many don’t even have a chance for a chance. Knowing that there was this grave need for funding, support and enhanced awareness of this sometimes “unspoken” issue in the Jewish community, she decided to create Jewish Fertility Foundation.

Elana can be reached at elana@jewishfertilityfoundation.org.

Emily joined JFF after serving a variety of roles within the nonprofit sector. Her experience includes finance, accounting, development, programming, and operations. Immediately before joining JFF, Emily worked as a CPA at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Asset Management sector. 

Emily first heard about JFF a few years ago and was immediately inspired by the incredible organization and the many families whose lives it has changed. Several of her siblings and close friends have struggled with fertility challenges and she has experienced through them the emotional and financial strain this can cause. 

Emily was thrilled to use her skills to transition back into the nonprofit space and contribute to JFF as the first Director of JFF-Atlanta and now, the National Program Director.  Emily currently lives in New Hampshire with her husband, Moshe, and daughters Aura & Yaelle. 

Emily can be reached at emily@jewishfertilityfoundation.org.

Anna Meyers Burke is a proud New Englander at heart, having been born and raised in Rhode Island and studied at Northeastern University in Boston, MA, where she continued to live post-graduation to serve Northeastern Hillel as the Director of Jewish Student Life. With her passion for Israel and Jewish education, Anna went on to teach English in Ashdod and remained in Israel to complete her first year of Rabbinical School at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem. She has since continued her rabbinic studies in Cincinnati, where she has enjoyed serving as an educator at Kulanu, the Madrichim Coordinator at Rockdale Temple, Rabbinic Educator at Hillel at Miami University, and TJF Fellow at RAC-OH. While completing her rabbinic studies, Anna is also finishing her M.A. in Jewish Education and is so thrilled to be a part of the team at the Jewish Fertility Foundation in Cincinnati to help support those struggling with infertility and provide educational resources for the community.

Anna can be reached at anna@jewishfertilityfoundation.org.

Kayla was born and raised in Atlanta and moved away to attend college at the University of Maryland. After earning her undergraduate degrees, Kayla lived in Washington, DC for six years where she received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from George Washington University and began her career as a physical therapist. Through her clinical experience and own pregnancy journey with her twins, Kayla gained an awareness of the many gaps in the healthcare and support systems for women from pre-pregnancy to post-partum. 

Kayla was thrilled to move back to Atlanta in the summer of 2020. She is passionate about helping men & women in all stages of their fertility journey, and is excited to do so for the Atlanta community as JFF’s Atlanta Manager. 

Kayla can be reached at kayla@jewishfertilityfoundation.org. 

Julie grew up outside of Chicago and fell in love with living in the South when she moved to Nashville to attend college at Vanderbilt University.  She studied Special Education and Speech-Language Pathology and has worked as a Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist in clinical and school settings since 2010.  Julie moved to Birmingham in 2014 and immediately became active in the vibrant Jewish community there.  After experiencing years of infertility to grow her family, helping others going through this unimaginably difficult journey became her passion.  She doesn't want anyone experiencing infertility to feel alone and loves providing guidance in any way she can.

Julie is very excited to help Jewish Fertility Foundation expand to Birmingham through a collaboration with Collat Jewish Family Services (CJFS)  She is looking forward to providing resources and support to those going through infertility in the Birmingham community.

Julie can be reached at julie@jewishfertilityfoundation.org. 

Emma graduated in May 2020 from Georgia State University’s master of Social Work program. She graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in Human Development & Family Studies in 2018, and has lived in Atlanta ever since. During her last year at Georgia State, she was a social work intern for JFF and then stayed on as a program support for a few months following graduation. 

Emma is passionate about working with families, and is very excited to be back at JFF as a Development Associate. Additionally, she works for a transitional housing program in Atlanta as a case manager. 

Emma can be reached at emma@jewishfertilityfoundation.org

Ashley Marx is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 15 years of experience. During her training, she worked in a halfway house for men struggling with alcohol and drug addiction and an outpatient clinic treating children, teens, and adults. After receiving her Masters in Social Work from Salem State College in Massachusetts in 2003, she continued to work in an outpatient clinic and a private school as a school counselor. She started a private practice specializing in working with teens and young adults.

After 10 years of private practice in Massachusetts, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she worked as a school counselor and now has a full time private practice. She treats a wide range of issues including: anxiety, depression, ADHD, self esteem, parenting problems, and addiction. In addition to seeing clients individually and working with parents, she also runs Middle School and High School Girls groups for teens that may be struggling with friendships, family, and/or the overall stress of being an adolescent in a fast paced, online world.

She has received training in various approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS) but strongly believes that the therapist/client relationship remains the most important aspect of treatment. 

Madison is a student at Kennesaw State University’s Master of Social Work program. She recently graduated from Kennesaw State with a Bachelors in Psychology and a minor in Applied Statistics and Data Analysis, and has been in the Atlanta area for 3 years. Madison has always wanted to serve others, and support them as they work through life’s challenges. She is excited to be working with this incredible organization and hopes to support everyone she comes in contact with!

Madison can be reached at support@jewishfertilityfoundation.org.

Sarah is an MSW student at Georgia State University. She has always had a passion for serving those with medical challenges. This passion led her to the University of Kentucky, where she graduated with an Interior Design degree and began a career designing rehabilitation hospitals. Last year she moved back to Atlanta to pursue a career in social work with the hopes of walking closely alongside those who are going through a difficult life event. She is excited to serve the families of JFF and be a part of this amazing organization. 

Sarah can be reached at support@jewishfertilityfoundation.org.