JANUARY 2018 | SARASOTA SCENE 45
philanthropy
The Knegos have been married
for nearly 25 years and have
six children. Simone hails from
Buffalo, N.Y. and Robert grew
up in Indiana and Tampa. They
have lived in Sarasota for 17
years. He is a neurosurgeon with
the Neurosurgery and Spine
Specialists in Sarasota. Simone, a
CPA, has worked in medical sales
Although Robert has aged out of
actively participating in Cabinet,
he voiced his full support
for his wife’s activities in the
organization.
“Anytime Simone has to travel,
my contribution is to say, ‘You go
and I’ll keep everything covered
on the home front,’” he said.
Simone quickly added he will
accompany her to Cuba in
January on a study mission
to examine the results of
contributions the Jewish
Federation has made to the Jewish
population there.
“Yes, there is a community of Jews
in Cuba,” she said. “We visited
there before, about ten years ago.
It’s a very interesting population.”
“A very close-knit community,”
Robert added. “And the Cuban
government very much supports
them, in my opinion. I remember
thinking it would be more
oppressive and problematic for
them, but it wasn’t.”
“I don’t know exactly how things
are there now,” Simone said. “But
when we were there before, it
was one of the few groups I’ve
seen that actually lives without
anti-Semitism. And if they want
to make pilgrimages to Israel,
the government allows it. I think
it’s the only group that’s actually
allowed to leave Cuba.”
According to the Jewish
Federation’s website, 4,000
people are Cabinet alumni and
many of them are today’s top
Jewish leaders. In addition,
current Cabinet members raise
$2,400,000 each year to support
its programs.
Simone plans to use her newly
appointed position to make
Cabinet a stronger leadership
program with an even more
robust curriculum.
“I think it’s important to include
more alumni in the leadership
training we do,” she said. “Some
of these people have amazing
jobs and great stories to tell. That
makes them perfect mentors to
new Cabinet members.”
Simone added that she would like
to see Cabinet reach its potential
in growth and foster a greater
awareness of its mission.
“Even speaking on behalf of a
relatively small federation like
Sarasota, we want to make sure
that all the other federations
— especially the smaller ones
— know what Cabinet is,” she
said. “And know that as young
leadership, we’re here to support
their young leadership in their
communities. I want them to
know we’re here for them.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
about the Jewish Federations of North America’s
Young Leadership Cabinet,
visit jewishfederations.org/young-leadership-cabinet.
“Each year, (North
America’s Young
Leadership) Cabinet
goes on a study mission
somewhere in the
world. The year I led it,
we went to Berlin and
Israel. It’s a way to see
the Jewish community
in a country where
dollars from the Jewish
Federation of North
America are going.”
Simone Knego