Who We Are

Dr. Beth Oppenheim is HIAS’ CEO and has 23 years of experience working in refugee resettlement and international development. She is an expert on issues of displacement and sustainable systems change with a focus on work in Africa, having lived in and supported organizations in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and Mozambique, amongst other countries around the world. She has held leadership positions at two of the U.S.’ ten resettlement agencies, helping rethink the ways in which we continue to preserve welcome for newcomers across the country.

Oppenheim began working at HIAS in October 2023 and has held several senior leadership roles, serving as Chief Advancement Officer, Chief External Relations Officer, and Interim CEO. Under her leadership, HIAS has risen to the challenges facing the humanitarian sector with integrity and courage, centering the Jewish and humanitarian values at the core of the organization’s identity. Oppenheim has led the organization in reenvisioning its programmatic work and assistance for refugees and displaced people in the U.S. and around the world and ensuring the organization’s leading role in advocating against policies that demonize and harm immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

She holds a doctorate from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she focused on the ways in which local communities play an important role in solving critical resource gaps in the Global South. She also holds a Master of Science in Global Affairs from NYU, and a Bachelor of Arts in Metropolitan Studies and Hebrew and Judaic Studies from NYU. A recognized thought leader in her field, Oppenheim has written and published extensively on development and the NGO sector.

Tamar Newberger is a computer scientist who has held executive positions at AT&T Bell Labs, Novell, and SCO, as well as several Silicon Valley start-ups. Her areas of expertise are computer security, operating systems, and technology in service of better democracy. She is active in promoting technology and science to young women considering careers in these fields.

Her civic engagement focuses on refugee rights, education, women’s advocacy, and technology for the common good. She served as the Midwest Finance Co-Chair of Harris for President. She is also a trustee of the Francis W. Parker school in Chicago and the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Chicago. She is on several boards, including that of The In(heir)itance Project arts organization, which brings disparate communities together to create theater, and on the nominating committee of the Vaclav Havel Center’s Disturbing the Peace Award, given annually to a courageous writer currently being punished by an oppressive regime. Ms. Newberger served as a Diplomatic Spouse when her husband was the U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic.