Our Team
The people guiding JLA fellows through their nine-month leadership journey — our president, staff, and board of directors.
President & Staff
Laura Lauder is a social entrepreneur and venture philanthropist dedicated to designing and launching strategic, high-impact initiatives. She has founded several innovative programs in the Jewish community — including Embark, a cohort-based, 3-month-long Jewish engagement program for interfaith couples that has spread to over 15 cities in the US, and the Center for Media and Democracy in Israel, a nonprofit and non-partisan independent news organization that promotes democratic discourse through investigative journalism. Laura also launched the Duke Gap Year Program in 2018, which funds incoming Duke freshmen to take an experiential growth year before enrolling at Duke, and with her husband, Gary, started the Socrates Program at the Aspen Institute for young leaders to engage in rich conversation about the most pressing issues of our age. To date, the program has engaged over 12,000 young leaders representing 60+ countries.
She currently serves as the Board Chair of the Jewish Federation Bay Area, and she previously chaired the Endowment Committee overseeing more than $2.5 billion in assets. Laura also sits on the boards of Social Finance — a leader in the impact investing space — the Aspen Institute, and the Service Year Alliance, focused on promoting National Service opportunities in the US. She serves on the boards of the Ronald Lauder Foundation in NYC and the Osher Foundation in San Francisco, and served for 9 years on the Jim Joseph Foundation, also in San Francisco.
A Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, Laura was named one of “10 Women to Watch” by Jewish Woman magazine and has received numerous leadership honors. An avid cyclist and 2009 Maccabi Games bronze medalist in cycling, she lives in Silicon Valley with her husband, Gary, and has two adult children and two grandchildren.
Read more about Laura’s work at lauderfamilyfund.org.
As Program Officer, Zoe oversees macro-level philanthropic strategy and hands-on initiative design, guiding programs seamlessly from launch to scale. She leads due diligence and pipeline sourcing for the family's impact investing portfolio and created a new framework to strengthen impact measurement across their investments. Previously, Zoe served as an Impact Fellow at (RED), leading reporting for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and authoring thought leadership on international public health. She graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University with a BA in Political Science and Legal Studies. Her honors thesis on post-Katrina citizen mobilization was awarded Best Undergraduate Political Science Thesis, and she chaired the External Relations Committee for the Global Engagement Summit. Based in New York City, Zoe is an avid skier, indoor cyclist, and jigsaw puzzle enthusiast.
Board Members
Alison Pincus is a seasoned business leader and the Founder, Executive Director, and Board Member of Allies for Allies, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization set to launch in early 2024. The mission of Allies for Allies is to advocate for and build a community for parents, guardians, and caregivers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and genetic conditions. The organization aims to empower families through safety and community tools, leveraging technology to enhance daily living.
Pincus has over 20 years of experience in various sectors, including eCommerce, lifestyle, wellness, and nonprofit spaces. She is well-known for co-founding One Kings Lane, a direct-to-consumer eCommerce brand that was acquired by Bed, Bath and Beyond in 2016. Her previous roles include leadership positions at notable companies such as The Walt Disney Internet Group, NBC Digital Productions, and Virgin Mobile. In addition to her work with Allies for Allies, she is involved in angel investing through Short List Capital, focusing on companies that prioritize sustainability and user-friendly products.
Pincus holds a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and is passionate about building diverse teams to deliver innovative solutions while making a positive social impact.
David Agger has over thirty years of experience in investment and finance. Since 1998 he has managed an investment partnership, Metropolis Partners, Inc. offering direct investment and financial structuring in the real assets industry. Direct investment and advisory activities focus on the acquisition of value added opportunities in solar energy, industrial and R&D office real estate in Southern California and the New England area. Mr. Agger is the Member of DGEP Management, LLC an early stage developer of distributed solar projects throughout the United States.
He has a longstanding record of community service in the Bay Area where he currently serves as a Director of the Jim Joseph Foundation and is a Member of its Executive Committee, and is Chair of the Investment and Finance Committee. He is also Director, Member of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Bernard Osher Foundation, Chairman of the Investment Committee for the Foundation for California Community Colleges, is a Board Member of the Sandler Foundation, and is a past Member of the Board and a current member of the Investment and Endowment Executive Committees of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco.
Previously Mr. Agger was a Trustee, Member of the Executive Committee, and Chair of both the Investment and Development Committees of the University of San Francisco, was past President of the Mt. Zion Health Fund, and past Board Member of the Institute On Aging.
Danielle is a seasoned philanthropy executive, with decades of experience supporting nonprofit leaders, organizations, networks, and movements. She is passionate about how philanthropy can help communities thrive. Danielle is the Chief Strategy & Impact Officer at the Jewish Federation Bay Area. As a member of the executive leadership team, she guides the Federation’s community-facing work, deepening its impact in the Bay Area, Israel, and globally. She also manages the Federation’s strategic partnerships with Jewish organizations while building bridges with Bay Area policymakers and philanthropic leaders to advance Jewish community priorities. Since 2014, she has also independently advised high-net-worth individuals and family foundations on mission development, strategic planning, and impact philanthropy.
Prior to joining the Federation in 2025, Danielle worked at the Koret Foundation for 15 years, most recently as Chief Program Officer, guiding grantmaking, communications, and foundation operations. Earlier in her career, she worked in education policy and as a political media and strategy consultant.
Danielle serves on the boards of the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, the Brandeis School of San Francisco, and on the advisory board of IsraAID. She is a past board member of Slingshot, a national organization that fosters innovation in Jewish life.
She holds an MPA from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and a BA from the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California.