For David Leon, the decision to make a transformational gift to Alexander Jewish Family Service’s Career and Employment Center is the culmination of a journey that began more than six decades ago, when two young Jewish boys were forced to leave Cuba and build a new life in America.
In recognition of his generosity, Alexander JFS has named its employment services division the David Leon Career and Employment Center.
The gift provides permanent support for programs that help individuals gain skills, secure employment and achieve financial independence. It is a legacy rooted in gratitude, resilience and the dignity that meaningful work provides.
For Leon, those values were forged early.
David Leon as a child (front) with parents Victor and Maria Leon and brother, Jacob.
Leon and his older brother, Jacob Leon, grew up in Guanabacoa, outside Havana, Cuba. Their parents, Victor and Maria Leon, owned and operated a successful clothing store, and the family enjoyed a close-knit Jewish home.
Then, everything changed.
When Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, Cuba’s political landscape shifted rapidly. Schools became instruments of political indoctrination, private businesses were threatened and families faced growing uncertainty. The director of Leon’s private school warned his father, “You have to get your sons out of this country.”
In August 1961, months after Leon became a Bar Mitzvah, the brothers boarded a plane without their parents. Their departure marked the beginning of a painful separation that would last more than a year.
HIAS helped them travel to Jamaica, where they stayed with other refugee children awaiting approval to enter the United States. They eventually arrived in Denver, speaking no English and knowing no one.
What they did find was a community ready to help.
Denver Jewish Family Service arranged foster care and provided stability while the boys attended school and learned a new language. It was 14 long months before the family was reunited.
The Cuban government had confiscated the family’s business and possessions. Leon’s parents arrived in America with virtually nothing, and his father humbly accepted whatever work he could find to support the family.
“My father taught us the work ethic,” Leon recalled. “His role in life was to provide for his family, and that’s what he did.” Watching his father try to rebuild left an indelible impression.
The family settled in Beaumont, Texas, where a high school counselor recognized his aptitude for mathematics and suggested engineering.
Leon earned a degree in industrial engineering from Lamar University. He began his career with Union Carbide and later worked for companies including Conoco, building decades of experience in engineering, manufacturing, logistics and management before coming to Houston.
Like his father before him, Leon believed deeply in the value of work.
For him, employment has always represented more than a paycheck. It offers self-respect, independence and the ability to contribute to society, beliefs that continue to guide his philanthropy.
His connection to Alexander JFS grew through his brother Jacob, who served as president of the organization and also led its supporting foundation, the Houston Jewish Family Foundation.
Leon’s understanding deepened during a visit to the agency arranged by his brother.
During a tour of Celebration Company, Alexander JFS’ employment program for adults with disabilities, he recognized the purpose work gave the employees.
“I felt the love in the room,” he recalled. “I was very impressed.”
The visit inspired the brothers to help meet a challenge endowment gift for Celebration Company from Joan and Stanford Alexander. As he subsequently attended events, met staff and heard client stories, Leon became increasingly moved by the agency’s impact.
“I am continuously impressed by the high caliber of the qualified and dedicated people who work in this organization,” Leon said. “Their goal is helping people get back to a productive level and back to a normal life.”
Leon understood what it meant to start over and how life-changing a helping hand can be. He remembered the Jewish agencies that helped two frightened boys from Cuba find safety and opportunity.
As he became more involved in Alexander JFS, Leon learned the employment department, which started in the 1980s to help immigrants from the former Soviet Union, had closed for lack of funding in 2005. It reopened three years later in response to the 2008 financial crisis, under the professional leadership of Elyse Kalmans, and continued its growth led by Laura Alter.
Leon attended the 2022 JFS LiVE! Gala, when supporters, responding to the new complexities in the job markets, raised their paddles to establish a more ambitious and comprehensive Career and Employment Center.
Since then, a cadre of young professionals have volunteered to create Career Catalyst, a new mentoring program for job-seekers, and the Center has added assessment tools, certifications and education for advancing careers.
A three-year grant from the Jerold B. Katz Foundation helped sustain that initial growth. Alexander JFS launched E3, an endowment initiative for Economic Empowerment through Employment, to ensure the department will never close again. Kalmans, in her capacity as an accomplished community leader with specific passion for the employment services, is chair of the initiative.
Leon’s personal experiences and increasing engagement with the agency inspired his support for the E3 initiative.
In 2024, he established an endowed scholarship fund to help individuals obtain professional certifications and workforce credentials to improve their ability to increase wages. His vision expanded from individual scholarships to the entire scope of services for job-seekers, adding a challenge match to his investment in the Career and Employment Center. With only another $200,000 needed, that match is nearly fulfilled through foundation gifts.
With Leon’s naming gift and the resulting matching commitments, the E3 campaign has reached 66% of its goal.
For him, the purpose is straightforward: Help others achieve self-sufficiency.
Meaningful employment, Leon believes, brings not only financial stability but also confidence, dignity and hope.
That philosophy reflects the lessons of his father and the support his family received during its most difficult chapter.
Today, the David Leon Career and Employment Center honors a family’s journey from displacement to opportunity, from receiving help to providing it and from uncertainty to lasting impact.
Now, his gift will help ensure others have the same chance.
The Center will support people facing layoffs, career transitions, financial hardships and barriers to employment. Its coaches will help new graduates build careers, seasoned employees retool for emerging technologies, older adults remain in the workforce and families increase their earning power on the journey to self-sufficiency. It will ensure the doors stay open for those seeking help with their employment journey.
For generations to come, those who turn to Alexander JFS will be greeted by the name of a man whose life demonstrates the transformative power of opportunity, perseverance, community and giving back.
Carl Josehart, Alexander JFS CEO, spoke to the agency’s board and members of the Houston Jewish Family Foundation, where the gift will reside.
He recalled Leon’s words: “Nobody knows why we live and why we die, but while we are here on earth, we want to make a difference, and I hope I do.”
He concluded, “For the thousands of people seeking employment who will be helped in the future through this support, David Leon has, indeed, made a profound difference.”
For those seeking assistance with job searches, visit alexanderjfs.org/services/careers-employment, email fsemployment@alexanderjfs.org or call 713-986-7865.
Alexander JFS is a partner agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston and a United Way-funded partner.