Julie Platt | |
|---|---|
| Born | Julie Beren 1957 (age 66–67) |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | Marc Platt |
| Children | 5; including Ben Platt |
| Parent |
|
Julie Beren Platt (born 1957) is an American banker and philanthropist. Since 2022, she has served as the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America, the second woman to serve as the chair for the organization, which oversees 146 Jewish federations across the United States that distribute over $3 billion each year.
Amid antisemitism controversies at the University of Pennsylvania, she was appointed interim chair of the school's board of trustees in December 2023.
Platt was born to Joan Schiff Beren, a noted philanthropist to Jewish causes,[1] and grew up in Wichita, Kansas, the only Jew in her public school class of about 700 students. She matriculated at the University of Pennsylvania, where in her first week on campus she met her future husband Marc Platt. After earning her bachelor's degree in 1979, she worked as a commercial banker at the now-defunct Bankers Trust in New York City.[2][3]
She and her husband moved to Los Angeles, California. Platt and her husband have five children, including actor Ben Platt.[4] Four of the couple's children graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.[3]
Platt was one of the first signees of the Jewish Future Pledge, a charitable campaign modeled after The Giving Pledge to encourage American Jews to designate at least 50% of their charitable giving to Jewish- or Israel-related causes.[5]
Platt was elected chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America since 2022. She is the second woman to serve as the chair for the organization, which oversees 146 Jewish federations across the United States that distribute over $3 billion each year.[4][6]
She previously served as the chair of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and was on the advisory board of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University.[7]
Platt has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania since 2006 and has served as vice chair.[8] After the resignation of board chair Scott Bok and university president Liz Magill amid antisemitism controversies, Platt became interim chair on December 10, 2023.[3]