Our Team
Shiri Sandler, Executive Director
In September 2025, Shiri Sandler joined Five Together as the first Executive Director. Previously, she was the Chief Advancement and Strategy Officer of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, a long-time Five Together grantee. At ASYV, Shiri built donor pipelines leading to six and seven figure gifts, spearheaded a five-year $20M comprehensive campaign, created strategic plans, built out complex fiscal systems, and developed governance best practices for a 100+ member committee and Board structure. Among her proudest achievements at ASYV were doubling the organizational budget, undertaking the Village’s first national-reach programs, and developing a partnership with Tulane University that produced a summative evaluation that proved ASYV’s impact. Shiri has a special interest in complex multi-entity fiscal relationships and organizations dealing with trauma.
Earlier in her career, Shiri spent a decade as the U.S. Director of the Auschwitz Jewish Center at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, where she led immersive programs on dehumanization and genocide for military students, developed new ethics programs for professional school students, and managed the fiscal relationship with an overseas entity.
Shiri’s academic background is in Holocaust and genocide history. She earned an MA in Modern European History from Brown University and a BA in History from Cornell University. She lives in the Hartford, CT area with her husband, two children, two cats, and various fish.
Amy Holdsman, Senior Philanthropic Advisor
Amy Holdsman is the founder and president of Essential Leadership, a leadership coaching and philanthropic advising firm based in Philadelphia. She coaches individuals and families in establishing, expanding, or refining philanthropic vehicles, such as family foundations, and in engaging the next generation in philanthropy.
Holdsman is a chartered advisor in philanthropy, a 21/64 certified advisor for multigenerational philanthropy and a professional certified coach. With 30 years of nonprofit leadership experience, she served as the inaugural executive director for the Green Family Foundation and the Maguire Foundation, and spent 11 years as executive director of White-Williams Scholars. She previously worked at Leadership Philadelphia, where she introduced board service concepts to hundreds of executives.
Holdsman earned her Master of Arts degree in Urban Studies from Temple University and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from George Washington University.