Board of Directors
Officers
Carol Lazerick
Since 2017, Carol Lazerick has served as the Executive Director of ILIR and has guided the Board and organization through changes in venue and format. She believes that curiosity and openness to new experiences are qualities of interesting people and keep people vibrant and young. A Cleveland native, Carol relocated to Florida in 2016. With her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan, a Master’s in Social Work and post-graduate work at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, she describes her professional background as a crazy quilt. Her professional background includes stints as a social worker specializing in Soviet resettlement, as a counselor of the chronic and terminally ill, as an advertising salesperson, and as Regional Director of Jewish Women International. In addition to working for ILIR, Carol is a writer and editor and a yoga teacher. When she has spare time, you can find Carol in the swimming pool, on the yoga mat, or by the ocean.
Chairman & CEO
David Lipson
David Lipson serves as the ILIR Board Vice Chair and has been instrumental in organizing Zoom Happy Hours for our members during the pandemic. He is a native of New York and a graduate of the University of Rhode Island. He and his wife Toni Dee relocated to Boca Raton in 1991 after he had several careers, ranging from carpenter to stockbroker to dog groomer. David and Toni both discovered ILIR shortly before the pandemic, have been regular participants ever since, and consider ILIR an oasis in what could have been a desert of despair. With seeming improvements in the current COVID situation, hopefully more of us will join the caravan.
Vice-Chair
Lou Baskin
Lou Baskin currently serves as Board Treasurer, after a term as Vice Chair. Lou’s special contributions to ILIR include great organizational and tech skills; encouraging his son Jeff, chief meteorologist for KLRT TV in Little Rock, to share his expertise with us; and, before the pandemic, bringing in Trader Joe’s sandwiches and salads for those of us who stayed for lunch between morning and afternoon sessions. Lou is from Rochester NY and completed both undergraduate and professional studies at The Ohio State University. He had a 50-year career as an optometrist and served as President of the Rochester Optometric Society, as well as President of the local Rotary Club. He was also Chairman of the district Rotary Foundation, an organization that raised over $100,000 annually and awarded scholarships to students and teachers. He and his wife Marilyn were honored with the Paul Harris awards, named in honor of the founder of Rotary International. After retiring to Boca Raton, Lou and Marilyn joined ILIR at the urging of their neighbor Geri Lutzker and have continued their long-standing tradition of service to others at ILIR.
Treasurer
Board of Directors
Bari Attis
The Joy of Poetry, Short Stories, Book Club—Bari Attis has enjoyed leading these ILIR classes, as well as attending classes on all things literary and many other subjects. Before retiring, Bari had a 35-year career at Saint Andrew’s School in Boca Raton. She served as an English teacher, English department chair, and for 5 years as Assistant Head and Interim Head of the Upper School. Her first career was as a science writer at the National Institutes of Health. ILIR has brought Bari new opportunities to share her love of learning and to spend time with new friends and colleagues, and she is delighted to serve as a member of the Board. Bari earned a BA from George Washington University and an MA from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English.
Joel Ivers
Joel Ivers, ILIR’s Board Chair, is best known to our members as the leader of the Current Events Class every Monday morning. Joel’s life-long love of politics and world affairs started with working for candidates during the 1968 presidential campaign. Joel is a retired business executive who has been CEO/COO of five different start-ups and large biomedical and IT companies after beginning his career at Johnson and Johnson. He also managed a seed-stage Venture Capital fund. Since retiring in 2014, Joel has been a volunteer mentor for start-up companies in South Florida and a member of the Investment Committee for Florida Funders. Additionally, he was formerly the Board Treasurer and is President of his condo association in Boca Raton. Joel holds a B.S. in Chemistry from The University of Redlands (CA) and an M.A. in Genetics and Molecular Biology from Indiana University.
Paula Kessler
Paula Kessler came to ILIR after a 28-year career as a teacher in the NJ public school system. She and her husband Lenny moved to Florida 15 years ago; when they later discovered ILIR, they immediately enjoyed the stimulating, interactive classes and personal connections they made here. Paula has also served as a Board member for the past two years, helping us develop new classes and, especially, devising ways to keep ILIR programs going throughout the pandemic. Before retirement, Paula and Lenny, also a former teacher, spent over 10 years working at summer camps, seeing countless Broadway and regional theater productions, and many, many movies. Paula has a BA in Special Education and an MA in Learning Disabilities. Her mild manner and ability to get along with people served her well in her teaching and camp leadership experiences and in her work with adolescents with learning and emotional disabilities. She is open to new ideas and progressive thinking and has brought all these qualities to her decade-long commitment to ILIR.
Andrea Malow
Originally from Chicago, Andrea Malow moved to Florida on a whim 30 years ago to avoid winter. She discovered that being in, on or near the water makes her happy. Two and a half years ago when Andrea found ILIR, she discovered companionship, intellectual stimulation, and interesting people. After lockdown, upon starting Zoom classes, these wonderful and gifted folks became her lifeline and were tremendously helpful to her in navigating this pandemic. She is immensely grateful and looks forward to contributing her talents to advance the organization. Andrea enjoys sailing, snorkeling, Yoga, playing Canasta and Mah Jongg, and movies that make you think, particularly foreign ones that allow armchair traveling. Having visited over 60 countries and lived in a few, travel is her passion, including recently completing 13 cruises in 9 years with her husband. She has been retired for six years from her career as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker working with adults and seniors, most recently with the Veterans Administration. Andrea holds a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture from Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX, and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Florida International University.