Marina Furman
JNF Executive Director, National Major Donor Advancement
Marina Furman is a refusenik, activist, distinguished speaker, and has served as Jewish National Fund’s Eastern PA and Southern NJ Executive Director for the past seventeen years. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Marina spent ten years fighting the Soviet government for the right to immigrate to Israel. Finally, in 1988, Marina, her husband Lev, one of the most prominent underground Hebrew teachers in the former Soviet Union, and their daughter Aliyah made aliyah to Israel. Their second daughter, Michal, was born in Ra'anana in 1994 and became the first sabra in the family.
While in Israel, Marina worked for Ze’ev Bielski, the Mayor of Ra'anana, as Director of Resettlement, and conducted more than fifty speaking tours around the world.
In 1998, Marina was appointed the Executive Community schlicha (emissary) in Philadelphia, and she and her family moved to the U.S. In 2002, Marina joined Jewish National Fund, combining her professional life and passion for supporting Israel. Marina and her family have been featured in documentaries and articles, including a CNN headline article, “Defying the KGB: How a forgotten movement freed a people.”
We honor Marina as she takes her professional career with Jewish National Fund to a new level as Executive Director of National Major Donor Advancement.