Oren Baratz

Oren Baratz, senior vice president of external affairs at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, is responsible for overseeing the federation’s department of international operations, as well as the departments of government relations and community relations. He also oversees all security issues for the Jewish Federation and its community agencies. Additionally, he is on the board of Global Cleveland, a community initiative for welcoming immigrants to Cleveland, Ohio, and a member of the 2018 Leadership Cleveland Class.

Baratz leads the strategic planning process of the federation and the focus of its work in Israel, spearheading the development and implementation of the federation’s STEM education initiative. Prior to joining the federation, he was project director for an organization called Atidim, which focuses on closing the socioeconomic gap among youth in Israel. He retired after 28 years of service from the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in which he held a variety of positions, and also served as the vice consul of the Israeli Consulate in Toronto for three years.

Baratz has an undergraduate degree in Middle Eastern studies from Tel Aviv University. He has an executive master’s in business from Kellogg Business School.