Leon Levy served as Chairman of the Conference of Presidents from June 1994 through May 1997.

A graduate of Queens College, Mr. Levy co-founded Urban Foundation Engineering LLC, an engineering firm.

He dedicated his life to the Jewish Community, Israel, and elevating the Sephardic voice within a primarily Ashkenazic leadership group. He was founder of the American Sephardi Federation and served as its national President. He was also the first Sephardic chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Mr. Levy was a co-founder of the Center of Jewish History and a founder of Queens College’s Center for Jewish Studies. He also actively supported the mission of Bar-Ilan University and was a member of the University’s Global Board of Trustees and American Board of Trustees. He was a Presidential Founder of the University as well as a benefactor of the Doctoral Fellowships of Excellence program.

Mr. Levy was active with various organizations, serving as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee; a board member of New York Hospital Queens; a member of the Board of Directors of UJA-Federation of New York; and a long-term officer of the World Jewish Congress. He also supported the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

When Mr. Levy passed away in 2006, Malcolm Hoenlein hailed him as “the leading Sephardic Jew in the country.”