Fred Leder

FAIRFIELD – Dr. Frederic Leder was recognized as Most Honored Manyan Person of the Year at a special breakfast hosted by Congregation Beth El of Fairfield on Sunday, Oct. 26.

From New York City, Leder and his wife, Barbara, came to Fairfield in 1995, by way of Newport Beach, Calif. and Tulsa, Okla. Shortly after joining Beth El, the Leders participated in a congregational trip to Israel and Fred became a devoted morning minyan participant, where he remains active. Leder also immersed himself in many other aspects of congregational life, and was elected president of the congregation in 2000. He also frequently serves as congregational gabbai, often reads Torah and Haftorah at services, organizes the monthly Rosh Chodesh D’var Torah at morning minyan, and pitches in to prepare minyan breakfast on Monday mornings.

An ardent Zionist, Leder has been a frequent contributor to the Jewish Ledger’s Opinion page and is well respected for his blog on Israeli politics, which he often spices with explanations of energy technology, an area in which he has professional expertise.

A graduate of Columbia University, where he received a degree in chemical engineering, he also holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in chemical engineering from Yale University.  While living in Tulsa, he served as vice president and director of research at Cities Service Oil and Gas Corp. and, prior to that, he worked in similar research capacities for Occidental Petroleum and Exxon before that. He has published and spoken widely about energy technology.