Dr Stephen Wolnek - President MERCAZ Olami
Dr. Stephen S. Wolnek became President of MERCAZ Olami in June 2010, taking over from Rabbi Vernon Kurtz.
Dr. Wolnek has long been active in the Conservative Movement, and is a former President of MERCAZ USA and a former International President of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
A committed Zionist and community leader since his youth, Dr. Wolnek spent time in Israel in his youth, attended the Zionist Congress in 1997, 2002, 2006 and 2010 as a delegate representing MERCAZ USA and has participated in many Zionist General Council (Va’ad HaPoel) and Jewish Agency Assembly meetings.
In 2005, he was elected as a Vice President of MERCAZ Olami and also as a member of the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors. Other positions he holds include co-chair of the World Zionist Organization's Budget & Finance committee, Vice President of the Jewish National Fund, member of the Board of the Jewich Community Relations Council, and member of the President's cabinet of the Amerizan Zionist Movement.
Dr. Wolnek received his BS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. In 1999, the university honored him with a doctorate of humane letters. He is the President and C.E.O. of P & S Industries LTD and a member of the Construction Specifications Institute and the Presidents’ Council of the American Institute of Management.
He and his wife Elysia have two children and five grandchildren.
