Executive Committee

Rochelle Sobel is the founder and President of the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT), a nonprofit organization that promotes road travel safety throughout the world via education and advocacy. Ms. Sobel founded ASIRT in response to her son Aron’s death in a 1995 bus crash in Turkey. Aron, a 25-year-old medical student, and 22 other passengers were killed in that crash.

Ms. Sobel is an experienced educator in the Washington, DC, area, and has traveled to many countries to hold forums and raise awareness on road safety issues. Ms. Sobel served on the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Global Road Safety Steering Committee and represents ASIRT as a member of the UN Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC). She is the past chair of and served on the steering committee for the establishment of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety and is a member of the founding Board of Directors. Ms. Sobel delivered the keynote speech at the multi-stakeholder panel of the High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Improving Global Road Safety at the United Nations in New York on July 1, 2022.

Judi Kranz serves as ASIRT Vice President; Montgomery Village Architecture Review Committee Chair and Garden of Remembrance Memorial Park Vice President.

Judi is a graduate of City College of New York. She began her career as a teacher of new immigrants in Israel. She then worked as an elementary school teacher in the NYC public schools. Following that career she was a stay at home Mom to her three sons during which time she returned to school and completed a major in Accounting. Her combined skills led her to become the Executive Director of Kehilat Shalom Congregation from which she retired after thirty-two years of service. She also served on the board the North American Association of Synagogue Executives in several capacities including international Vice President.

Judi is one of the original founders of ASIRT and has served in several capacities on the board leading to her present position as VP. She is committed to the mission of road safety and especially to the memory of Aron Sobel. She is the 2009 recipient of the Aron Sobel Guardian Award and is committed to making international travel safer for all. She has travelled to many parts of the world and has seen the need for improved safety first hand.

Vice President

Andrew D. Koblenz is the Executive Vice President of Strategic Affairs at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) where he has worked since 1999. In this role, he helps guide the association as it confronts strategic challenges associated with the evolution of the auto industry, including the electrification of the fleet, new and developing distribution channels, and the increasing role of data and AI.  Before joining NADA, Andy served for five years as a senior attorney with the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA). 

A significant part of Andy’s time at both NADA and AAMA has been dedicated to advancing vehicle and road safety. Included among the safety-related projects on which he has worked have been the passage of state primary enforcement safety belt laws, the National Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign, the promotion of child safety seat installation and inspection events, and “Check To Protect,” a campaign designed by the National Safety Council to encourage vehicle owners to have outstanding recalls completed.

Andy holds degrees from Union College and Harvard Law School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the American Law Institute.

H. Randall Morgan’s international career began with Russian trade and translation in the late 1980s, for which he maintained an office in Moscow from 1989 to 1995. Now, as CEO of Morgan Language Services Corp. (www.morganlanguages.com), he operates a company providing comprehensive language solutions in over 120 languages, including translation, interpretation and “role playing.” Along with his 300 Afghan-American employees, he has spent up to 4 weeks at a time living “in character” in mock Afghan villages in the southwestern U.S. to support U.S. military pre-deployment training.

An executive coach and public speaker, Randy presents seminars internationally on topics ranging from Entrepreneurship to International Road Safety. He is the producer of the Maryland-Israel Water Conference, has served as the Chair of the Maryland-Israel Sister State Committee since 2018, and is the former VP of The Association of Language Companies (www.alcus.org), for which he founded the acclaimed “ALC Industry Survey,” now in its 19th edition. Randy is also past president of the Dartmouth College Alumni Officers Association, for which he was twice awarded for excellence.
Randy is fluent in Russian, French, and Spanish, converses in Hebrew, Dari and Pashto, and knows enough in 35 languages to make almost any waiter crack a smile.

Randy is the 2005 recipient of ASIRT’s Community Leadership award. In 2006 and again in 2015, Randy spearheaded the strategic planning campaigns that formalized the evolution of ASIRT’s Vision, Mission and Core Values. He has served as a member of ASIRT’s Board since 2000, and in recent years as a Vice President.

Paul Blank has served on the ASIRT Board of Directors since 2003. He was a past honoree and recipient of the ASIRT Marom Professional and Community Leadership for Global Road Safety Award. Among his contributions, Paul assisted with the Faces Behind the Figures publication and has written editorials on behalf of ASIRT. He also has represented ASIRT at international conferences and meetings in Russia, Switzerland, Turkey and Kenya.

Paul is an educator at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, where he has taught for the past 30 years. He holds degrees from Brandeis University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is an accomplished musician and an avid hiker, including Mount Kalipatar (Everest), Kilimanjaro, Mount Olympus and Mount Toubkal.

Linda Katzper has been actively involved in fostering the mission of ASIRT. A board member since the founding of the organization, she is committed to honoring Aaron Sobel’s memory by helping to prevent road traffic tragedies. With help from her husband, Meyer, Linda designed, developed, and maintained ASIRT’s first web site. She drafted ASIRT’s first form for collecting road travel information; produced ASIRT’s first newsletter; edited many ASIRT articles, documents, and road travel reports; collaborated on several event invitations; and expedited several business needs. For her devotion to ASIRT, she was recognized as an honoree at one of the ASIRT galas.

Linda worked for many years as an information technology specialist managing the development of computer systems for the federal government. She was an English teacher and is a calligrapher and artist. Now retired, she still is dedicated to promoting road safety throughout the world.

Linda is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she earned a BA in English, a BS in Education and an MA in English.