Ric Benjamin has been actively involved in his Jewish community since his days as a leader of the youth movement Hashomer Hatzair and the national leader of the Australian youth movement youth council. Ric has spent the last 30 years balancing private sector management and NGO leadership and governance. Ric is an experienced board chair and director having served on a number of organisations including Jewish Aid Australia (Chair); Fareshare (Chair) and Victoria Relief FoodBank. In 2010, Ric transitioned fulltime into the NGO sector as CEO of Foodbank Victoria and he now works for a technology NGO, Infoxchange, in a Government Engagement role. Ric has also mentored various NGO boards and executive officers to improve business models and/or develop mission driven outcomes.
Ric was a founding director of New Israel Fund Australia in 2011 and became Chair in May 2022. Ric holds an MBA from RMIT University, a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education from Monash University.