E. Harris Baum

(39)

1996-1998

E. Harris Baum was Keneseth Israel’s 39th President, serving from 1996 to 1998. He was born on June 20, 1933, and grew up in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia. He attended Olney High School and studied psychology and political science at Temple University. He then went on to earn a law degree from Temple University. Early in his career, he became deputy attorney general under Governor David Lawrence where he worked in the antitrust division of the film industry. He subsequently was a co-founding partner of Zarwin Baum DeVito Kaplan Schaer Toddy, P.C. Through his clients, Baum became connected to the Korean community in the United States, representing many Korean-American businesses. This work led him to apply to become Honorary Consul General for the Republic of Korea, and in 2006 he was sworn into the diplomatic post. Baum is a founding member of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society Foundation, Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Lawyer’s Club of Philadelphia, and a member of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers and Philadelphia Trial Lawyers.

Baum has also been active in civic life. He has served on the executive board of Headhouse Conservancy in Philadelphia, the advisory board of the Philadelphia Blind Association, as a member of the Fairmont Task Commission, as chairman of the board of governors of the Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum, and on the board of the Pegasis Riding Livery for Disabled Children. He is a member of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, the Bala Country Club, and the Million Dollar Advisory Forum.

Baum’s first wife, Joyce Blumberg, passed away at age 46. They had three children together. He later married Myrna Field, who became a judge in the Family Court system.