The Honorable Dr. Billy Joel, L.H.D. (h.c.) '25, is a lifelong philanthropist whose generosity spans Florida, New York, and Israel, inspiring his family and community to “pay it forward.” In New York, he served as president of his temple and founded the Jack Joel School for Special Children, which now serves nearly 500 students with physical and intellectual
disabilities. After moving to South Florida, he assumed leadership roles at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center and HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, while supporting numerous causes, including the Anti-Defamation League and Mount Sinai Medical Center. Internationally, Joel and his wife, Sandra, have funded projects such as new dressing rooms for the 2,500 children at the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled, an ambulance for Magen David Adom, and initiatives at Ben Gurion University. Seeing the needs
of disabled children closer to home, he created the Anchors Away Foundation in collaboration with the Aventura Marketing Council/Chamber of Commerce. This initiative provides specially equipped sailboats that give Miami-Dade students with disabilities the freedom to navigate the water independently, a commitment that earned him the council’s inaugural “Paying It Forward” award.