About the Foundation

Captain Jerome E. Levy, USNR (Ret.), was born in Denver, Colorado on April 15, 1915. He was the son of Anna Sobol Levy, who was a member of one of the pioneer families of Colorado, and of Albert Levy of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Levy family was originally from Alsace.

Capt. Levy graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and he received a graduate degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Business. He was a member of the Director's Club of the University of Colorado.

Capt. Levy enlisted in the Navy shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the V-7 officer candidate class and was sent to Notre Dame University for a month of physical conditioning. He then joined the midshipmen's school for three months at Abbott Hall of Northwestern University in Chicago. Upon receiving his commission, he was assigned to a destroyer, USS Duncan, but that ship was sunk in the South Pacific before he could report aboard. He was then reassigned to another destroyer, the USS King (DD242) (opens in a new tab), and he saw service in the campaigns in the Aleutians in the far north. While aboard the USS King, he participated in the battles for the recapture of Attu and Kiska islands. His ship was awarded a battle star for its role in those battles. The USS King was decommissioned in 1945 at the end of World War II, and Capt. Levy was reassigned as the liaison officer to the Chilean Navy. The Chilean Navy at that time had a number of ships in U.S. ports, and Capt. Levy was responsible for the contacts between the Chilean naval officers and the U.S. Navy. For his work with the Chilean Navy, Capt. Levy was awarded the medal "Al Merito en Grade Caballero" (medal of merit with the rank of knight or chevalier).

Capt. Levy was discharged from active duty with the Navy in 1946. He joined the firm of Pattison & Bowns in New York City. In 1951, he was recalled to active duty for the Korean War to serve as the Operations Officer aboard the destroyer USS Smalley (DD565) (opens in a new tab). By 1952, Capt. Levy attained the rank of Lt. Commander and received a posting as the Executive Officer aboard the destroyer USS Van Valkenburgh (DD656) (opens in a new tab). The USS Van Valkenburgh was assigned with the rest of its destroyer division to combat duty in Korean waters. However, when the ship arrived at Pearl Harbor on the way to its assignment, the ship's commanding officer became ill. Despite the fact that then Lt. Commander Levy was quite junior in rank and relatively inexperienced, the Division Commander recommended that he be appointed to command the ship for the voyage to Midway. At Midway, instead of being replaced, Capt. Levy received orders to assume command for the voyage to Sasebo Naval Base in Japan. From there he continued in command of the USS Van Valkenburgh through its combat assignments in the blockade of Wonsan in North Korea and in the calls for fire missions in the hostile harbor of Wonsan. For his gallantry in action, he was recommended for the Bronze Star and received the Commendation Medal (opens in a new tab) with Combat V (denoting valor). As a reward for gallantry in action, the entire destroyer division, including the USS Van Valkenburgh, was ordered to sail on a world-circling voyage to show the flag.

After completing his service in the Korean War in 1953, Capt. Levy left active duty to serve in the Naval Reserve. As a reserve officer, he became the commanding officer of a division and the commanding officer of a naval battalion.

In 1963, Capt. Levy left New York and moved to Chicago where he became the President and CEO of the Culver Chemical Company. The Culver Chemical Company was a subsidiary of Alberto Culver Company. When Masury Young Company became a part of Alberto Culver, Capt. Levy became the President and CEO of Masury Young as well. However, in 1967, the illness of his mother prompted Capt. Levy to resign from his positions in Chicago, so that he might be with her until her death.

Capt. Levy viewed himself as a Navy man and as a Jew. Through his naval service, he felt that he was continuing a long tradition of Jewish contribution to the U.S. Navy. In that spirit, Capt. Levy actively sought to highlight Jewish contributions to the Navy and to the country.

Capt. Levy was active in calling attention to the contributions of Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy (opens in a new tab) (no relation to Capt. Levy), who was the U.S. Navy's first Jewish flag officer. Commodore Levy was responsible for outlawing flogging in the U.S. Navy. Under the most adverse circumstances, he maintained the honor and dignity of the United States. Commodore Levy was the individual who purchased Monticello, the historic home of Thomas Jefferson, and donated it to the United States. At Capt. Levy's urging, the plaque commemorating that donation was moved to a prominent location from an obscure one. Today, many visitors to Monticello learn that Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy, an American Jew, donated the building to the government.

Capt. Levy was an active supporter of the Naval War College (NWC) (opens in a new tab). He attended several of the Annual Naval Strategy meetings there. He endowed the first civilian professorial chair at the NWC: the Capt. Jerome E. Levy Chair of Economic Geography and National Defense. His contributions also helped establish the Jerome E. Levy Collection at the NWC library. Capt. Levy's involvement with the NWC is a further enduring reminder of Jewish contributions to the U.S. Navy.

Capt. Levy established the Anna Sobol Levy Foundation in 1986. He envisioned that the ASL Fellowships could enhance and strengthen the unique relationship between the United States and Israel by establishing genuine understanding and communication between future leaders of the two countries.

From the Foundation's inception, Capt. Levy served as chairman and treasurer until his death on April 5, 2002. Capt. Levy's longtime friend, Prof. Howard L. Adelson, worked with him managing the Foundation. After Capt. Levy's death, Prof. Adelson succeeded him as chairman and treasurer of the Foundation.

Capt. Levy never married or had children. When he died, he left most of his estate to the Foundation so that it can continue to pursue his vision.

Prof. Howard L. Adelson was the Foundation's second chairman. Prof. Adelson became active with the Foundation around 1990 and worked closely with Capt. Levy in shaping the Foundation during its early years. Prof. Adelson was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 16, 1925. He received his BA from New York University before serving in the Army during the occupation of Japan after WWII. Afterwards, he continued his studies, receiving an MA from Columbia University and a second MA and his PhD from Princeton. However, military service interrupted his academic pursuits a second time. He served as a lieutenant in the USAF during the Korean War. At various stages of the Korean War, he was a forward air controller and a bombardier/navigator in B-25s, participating in the 5th Air Force's psychological warfare program. After the Korean War, he continued serving in the Air Force Reserve, where he attained the rank of Captain. He was a member of 9210th Air Reserve Squadron. He remained in Air Force Reserve until 1970.

Prof. Adelson was the senior Professor of Medieval History at the City University of New York (CUNY) and The City College of New York (CCNY). He was also an associate member and former chairman of the Columbia University seminar on the history of legal and political thought. In addition, he was a fellow of the American Numismatic Society and a fellow of the Explorers Club. At various times during his career Prof. Adelson was the director of studies of the American Numismatic Society, director of the graduate seminar in economic history of the graduate school of New York University, chairman of the history department of CCNY, and executive officer of the PhD program in history at the CUNY graduate school.

Prof. Adelson authored several books and many scholarly articles. His books include: "Roman Monetary Policy from Diocletian to Heraclitus" (1979), "Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History, Volume 9" (1972), "A Bronze Hoard of the Period of Zeno I" (with George L. Kustas, 1962), "Medieval Commerce" (1962), and "Light Weight Solidi and Byzantine Trade in the Sixth and Seventh Centuries" (1957). He received a Newell Fellowship in 1951 and notices of his work have appeared in many learned journals.

Prof. Adelson was an active Zionist. He was a vocal and visible supporter of Israel. In recognition of his support for the State of Israel, he was awarded the Jabotinsky Centennial Medal by Prime Minister Menachem Begin. For over thirty years, Prof. Adelson wrote a weekly column in The Jewish Press. His commentary on events concerning Jews and Zionism was widely read.

He was for many years the national president of the United Zionist Revisionists of America (Herut), the American arm of the Herut Party of Israel. He was also the president of the Tel Hai Fund that provided funds for social work among the Jews of Israel. In addition, he was a delegate to several World Zionist Congresses as well as to meetings of the Jewish Assembly. He was a delegate to the World Conferences on Soviet Jewry. He was for many years a member of the World Executive of Herut-Hatzohar and the Actions Committee of the World Zionist Organization.

Prof. Adelson was an honorary member of the publication committee of the Jewish Publication Society. He served as a director of the Jewish National Fund. He was the co-chairman of the American Academics for Israel's Future and chairman of the Conference of National Jewish Organizations. He was the secretary and a member of the executive committee of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. He was a vice president of the Jewish Survivors of Latvia and published a preface to the volume "Die Vernichtung des Judenthums Lettlands." He was a member of the associate board of directors of the Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. He received the Brookdale Medal for his services to the hospital.

Prof. Adelson was also an honorary fellow of the Hebrew University (HU), and a Rothberg laureate of the Hebrew University. He was a member of the HU international board of governors and a member of the board of overseers of the Rothberg International School at HU. He served as a vice president of the American Friends of the Hebrew University and as a trustee of that organization. After the death of Capt. Levy, Prof. Adelson served as chairman and treasurer of the Foundation until his own death on December 5, 2003.

A brief biography of Prof. Adelson appeared in the Encyclopedia Judaica. His biography was also given in Who's Who in America.

Mark Adelson is an independent consultant. He was previously the content director at Portfolio Management Research (f/k/a Institutional Investor Journals). He was chief strategy officer of The BondFactor Company LLC from November 2012 to April 2016. Adelson served as Standard & Poor's chief credit officer from May 2008 until December 2011 and then held a research position at the company through August 2012. As S&P's chief credit officer he supervised the overhaul of the company's rating criteria in the wake of the financial crisis. He has broad expertise in securitization, with particular emphasis on mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations. He has authored numerous articles and reports covering a wide range of fixed-income subjects. Adelson is also a lawyer, admitted to practice in New York. He received his JD from the University of Michigan Law School and his AB in economics from Princeton University. (www.markadelson.com (opens in a new tab))

Geoffrey Barker is a vice chairman at JPMorgan Private Bank in Denver. He was an ASL Fellow in the 1994-95 academic year. He served as an officer in the Marine Corps where he was a company commander and a battalion operations officer. He is now a major in the Marine Corps Reserve. He received a BA in history from the University of Colorado and an MBA in finance from Indiana University.

Robert Tomes is a consultant, an adjunct professor of security studies at Georgetown University, and an adjunct professor in the homeland security and criminal justice program at the University of Tennessee Southern. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and was an ASL Fellow in the 1994-95 academic year. He was a senior manager at the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a defense analyst at the RAND Corporation, and an executive at BAE Systems. He is the author of "US Defense Strategy from Vietnam to Operation Iraqi Freedom" (Routledge 2007) and numerous articles in national security journals, book chapters, and peer reviewed conference papers. He co-authored "Crossroads Africa" (2010) and "Hybrid Warfare and Transnational Threats" (2011), both published by CENSA. Dr. Tomes is also the president of Liminal Leadership, LLC and a co-founder of the MapStory Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to mapping the world's human terrain to improve regional security and stability. He received his PhD from the University of Maryland, his MA from Iowa State University, and his BA from the University of Iowa.

Taylor Dewey is a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State. He has served overseas, on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, Intelligence Community, White House Situation Room, and office of the Secretary. He is also a Captain in the Navy reserves and a Surface Warfare Officer. He has a BA from Cornell in Government, MAs from Stanford in International Policy Studies and the Naval War College in National Security and Strategic Studies, and he is a doctoral candidate at Missouri State University in Defense and Security Studies. He was a 2008-2009 Anna Sobol Levy Fellow and has studied in Italy and Australia. He has had affiliations with think tanks, including the Council on Foreign Relations, Center for New American Security, and International Institute for Security Studies. He speaks six foreign languages to varying degrees of proficiency and lives in Alexandria, VA.