Robert Grey has been elected as the new chair of World ORT, along with a new board of trustees and lay leaders to head the global education network in the coming years.
A long-standing supporter of World ORT and ORT America, Grey will lead a new, larger board consisting of 20 supporters from countries throughout ORT’s network. The United States, Israel, Britain, Switzerland, Canada, South Africa, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, France, Russia and Brazil are all represented.
“I have always been passionate about education, and specifically, the power of education to change lives. When I was chair of the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley, in Pennsylvania, I became familiar with ORT’s work and went on my first mission,” said Grey. “I traveled to South America and saw ORT schools in Argentina and Mexico—both have absolutely first-rate educational programs—and the remarkable ORT university in Uruguay.
He added that “the General Assembly in Israel in 2016 allowed me to become familiar with the history of ORT and form a more in-depth understanding. It was an incredible trip and really showed me firsthand the impact of our work in that country and around the world.”
During a trip to London to visit World ORT’s global headquarters in his first full week as chair, Grey met the newly elected World ORT Officers, professional staff, including director general and CEO Dan Green, and senior managers, as well as senior professionals from across the network. They held a series of meetings to discuss the organization’s current needs and future priorities.
Grey is a partner at the international law firm K&L Gates. He previously served as executive vice president and chief legal officer of PPL Corporation, an American utility holding company.
He teaches a seminar on energy law at Columbia Law School and sits on the advisory boards of Columbia College and Emory University School of Law. A serious art collector, he is on the photography council at the Guggenheim and the advisory board of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College.
Grey and his wife, Susan, have two children and four grandchildren.
Immediate past president Dr. Conrad Giles, an ophthalmologist, will serve as honorary president.
