Julie Platt

Julie Platt
Born	Julie Beren Template:Birth year and age Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Banker, philanthropist
Known for	Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Jewish Federations of North America; Interim chair, University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees

Julie Platt (née Beren; born 1957) is an American banker and philanthropist. In 2022, she assumed the role of chairperson for the Board of Trustees at the Jewish Federations of North America, marking her as the second female to lead the entity. This organization manages 146 Jewish federations throughout the United States and Canada, overseeing annual distributions exceeding $3 billion.

In response to controversies involving antisemitism at the University of Pennsylvania, Platt was named interim chair of the university’s board of trustees in December 2023.

Personal life

Platt was raised in Wichita, Kansas as the daughter of Joan Schiff Beren, a distinguished philanthropist dedicated to Jewish causes. During her public school years, she was the sole Jewish student in her class. She pursued higher education at the University of Pennsylvania, where she met her future spouse, Marc Platt, within her first week. After obtaining her bachelor's degree in 1979, she began her career as a commercial banker at the now-defunct Bankers Trust in New York City.

The family later relocated to Los Angeles, where they raised five children, including actor Ben Platt. Except for Ben—who attended Columbia University before leaving to focus on acting—all their children graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Julie Platt was also among the inaugural endorsers of the Jewish Future Pledge, a philanthropic initiative encouraging American Jews to dedicate at least half of their charitable contributions to Jewish or Israel-related causes.

Community leadership

In 2022, Julie Platt was elected chairperson of the Board of Trustees for the Jewish Federations of North America, becoming only the second woman to head this organization that coordinates 146 Jewish federations across the U.S. and Canada with annual distributions surpassing $3 billion. Her previous leadership roles include chairing the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and serving on the advisory board for the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at American Jewish University.

Since 2006, Platt has been a member of the University of Pennsylvania's Board of Trustees and has held the position of vice chair. Following the departures of board chair Scott Bok and university president Liz Magill amid antisemitism-related disputes, she was appointed interim chair on December 10, 2023.