About

Our Board

2020-2021 School Board

The Board meets monthly to discuss significant issues relating to the operations of Sinai Akiba Academy. In addition, the School Board has several sub-committees that are responsible for strategic planning, tuition assistance policies, development, recruitment, endowment, and other areas of importance, as they arise. The Board is composed of parents, grandparents, Sinai Temple members, and community representatives.

List of 26 members.

Rebecca Kekst
Bio
Board Chair

Education:
- Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Barnard College; Columbia University
Additional Information:

Rebecca Kekst has been an active member of Sinai Temple since she and her husband, David Kekst, joined the synagogue in 1999. She was a founding member of Dor Chadash and has held many roles in the synagogue, the Douglas Family Early Childhood Center, and Sinai Akiba Academy. She has served as gala co-chair for the Sinai Temple dinner, co-chaired the Shabbaton for 3 years and most recently chaired the Catering Committee. While a parent in the preschool, Rebecca served as both PTA president and then chaired the board of the preschool. During her time at Sinai Akiba Academy, she has chaired the PTA, Development Committee and 50th Anniversary Campaign and Celebration. Rebecca is currently the chair of the Sinai Akiba Board. Rebecca also serves on the PK-12 committee for the Jewish Federation and has served on the Camp Ramah board for many years. Rebecca is married to David Kekst and has three children who have all attended Sinai Akiba Academy.

email
Sari Arnall
Bio
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Psychology, University of Florida
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, University of Florida
- Certified Public Accountant
Current Role
Director of Accounting and Finance - BAMKO

Bio
I started my career as an Auditor at Deloitte. After leaving Deloitte, I spent over 4 years at The Siegfried Group as an Associate Director. At TSG, I consulted for Fortune 500 companies such as DHL, Assurant and PwC and helped grow the company as part of the Business Development team. In 2009, I became the Controller at Cherokee Inc. I spent 2.5 years here and then took 4 years off focusing on being a mom for my 3 children. I went back to work 2 years ago and am currently the Director of Accounting and Finance for BAMKO. I have been heavily involved as a lay leader and volunteer at both Sinai Temple and SAA I served on the Dor Chadash Board for 5+ years and was a co-chair for 3 of them. I served on the ECC Board for 6 years and was a co-chair of the ECC tours for several years. Additionally, I became a Parent Ambassador for K-8 and previously chaired the Parent Ambassador tour group and served as Recruitment Chair for SAA.
Samantha Auerbach
Bio
Education:
- B.A. in psychology and history from the University of Pennsylvania
- M.A. in Inclusive Elementary Education from Columbia University Teachers College
Additional Information:
Career as Elementary School Educator - taught in public schools in NYC in East Harlem and Brooklyn, then Rodeph Sholom School in NYC, then Brawerman Elementary School in Los Angeles; also served on Board of Directors for Camp Ramah in California, currently serving on PK-12 Board of Jewish Federation; former ECC Board Chair at SAA as well as other SAA volunteer titles (Alumni Committee Chair, ECC Recruitment Chair, etc)
Jamie Berman
Desiree Bleet
Bio
Education:
- Bachelor of Commerce, University of British Columbia (Canada)
- Chartered Accountant (Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants)
Current Employment:
Business & Marketing Director at OKB Architecture

Additional Information:
Past employment positions include:
Senior Tax Accountant, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Senior Accountant (Green Hasson & Janks LLP)
Director of Home Entertainment Accounting, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc
Co-creator of online business publishing self-help ebooks for pregnancy, Without Pounds Publications Inc.
Finance Director, Ark Seafood, Inc.
Sheila Bolour
Tarryn Breskal
Bio
Education
Bachelor of Business Science, Postgrad Diploma in Accounting (University of Cape Town)
Chartered Accountant South Africa, CPA

Current Employment:
Financial Analyst, Milken Community Schools

Additional Information:
Previous Sinai Akiba PA Chair, budget committee member, BDC member.
Linda Camras
Rachel Farahnik
Linda Friedman
Bio
Education
- Graphic Designer, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City
Current Position:
Organizer, The Pleasure of Organizing
Mayrav Gaslin
Bio
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree, Journalism, Northwestern University
Current Position:
President, Kavanah Communications
Additional Information:

Mayrav is a communications strategist and content consultant working primarily in the health care industry. She is also a tireless volunteer, particularly for Sinai Temple and SAA. She is a past executive board member of Sinai Temple and has served many volunteer roles at SAA, including being a room mom since the Stone Ages (give or take a few years).
Abigail Goldman
Lori Goldstein
Liraz Harari
Marc Lindner
Bio
Head of School, ex-officio
Lisa Mamos
Bio
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, University of Southern California
- Master’s Degree in Special Education, Loyola Marymount University
- Master's Degree in Child & Adolescent Literacy, Loyola Marymount University
- Credentialed in California in both Mild/Moderate Learning Education and in Elementary Education
Current Employment:
Differentiation Program Coordinator/Student Support Admin - Wise School

Additional Information:
With a solid focus on the individual needs of each student, Lisa’s goal is to ensure that all children thrive and develop in an appropriate and accommodating educational setting to become attentive and life-long learners. She has a special place in her heart for working with children who have learning differences and helping to create many of their “ah-ha” moments! In her current role as Differentiation Program Coordinator & Student Support Administrator, Lisa is responsible for creating and building a supportive learning environment for students with learning differences. She also recommends effective strategies and provides ongoing support and collaboration with teachers, parents, administrators and outside professionals. As a former Special Education Teacher/Resource Specialist/Inclusion Support Provider, Lisa worked with students who had various learning differences, including autism, specific learning disabilities, speech and language disorders and ADD/ADHD. Lisa developed and implemented a Learning Center Model program providing academic, behavioral, and social/emotional support to all students. Lisa has created and implemented behavior management and support strategies that define clear and explicit expectations to teach and maintain positive and socially appropriate and acceptable behavior. She uses her interpersonal and communication skills to develop a positive rapport among faculty, administration, parents and students. While her children attend Sinai Akiba Academy, she has served on the PA Board, the Education Committee, and has been a room parent for many years. Lisa has previously served as a PTA co-president of the Preschool, a member of the Preschool Board, a member of Dor Chadash, and a room parent for many years. Currently, she is the Chair of the Education Committee. Her husband, Eric, is currently the Chair of the IT Committee for Sinai Temple. They have been active members since 2007 and their three children attend Sinai Akiba Academy (Caleb ’20, Ethan ’23, Benjamin ’23).
Sharon Meron
Bio
Education
- BA, Economics, Amherst College
- MBA, Finance, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
Bio
Sharon Meron completed a stint as a consultant for the Long Beach Health Department completing work she started as a FUSE Fellow creating a new approach to combating homelessness in the city. Prior to that, Sharon spent 10 years on the Education Team at the Broad Foundation overseeing the foundation's extensive grants and evaluation process. Sharon began her career as a consultant at Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett in London specializing in the telecom and energy sectors before moving on to work in development and acquisitions for RSL Communications, spearheading that company’s expansion into Latin America and collaborating on its successful IPO. After that she worked closely with the CEO of Advanced Monitored Caregiving, a New York-based healthcare services provider, to refine and implement the company’s business plan
Mayer Nazarian
Hezy Shalev
Bita Shalom
Bio
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree, Economics, UCLA
Additional Information:

Bita was previously employed as a Senior Account Manager in charge of Deferred Compensation Plans for CEOs and Executives of Fortune 500 Companies. She has also served as ECC Parent Association President and ECC Board Chair. Currently, she is serving on the Retention and Recruitment Committee (for the past 9 years) and on the Parent Association Board (for the past 8 years).
Brad Smiedt
Andres Terech
Bio
Education
- PhD in Marketing from UCLA Anderson School of Management, Los Angeles
- MBA from Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- BA in Business Administration from Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Current Role
Adjunct Associate Professor of Marketing, The UCLA Anderson School of Management

Bio
Andres Terech has been teaching graduate-level and executive courses at UCLA Anderson for more than 10 years. He has been voted teacher of the year by both Anderson’s Full-Time and Executive MBA students. Before joining UCLA, Andres was a member of the faculty at IAE Business School, Universidad Austral in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has also been invited to teach at numerous programs around the world. Much of his work has been published in scholarly journals and specialized business publications, such as Case Research Journal, Marketing Letters and Harvard Business Review. In addition to teaching, Terech works as an independent consultant and participates in companies’ Advisory Boards. As a community leader, Terech serves on the Executive Board of B'nai David Judea and has been recognized by the City of Los Angeles for his contribution to the community.
Mark Urman
Bio
Education:
- Bachelor's degree Northwestern University - Evanston, Illinois
- MD from Northwestern University Medical School - Chicago, Illinois
- Fellow of the American College of Cardiology
- Fellow of the American Heart Association
- Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography
- Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine in Cardiovascular Diseases
Current Position:
Attending Cardiologist, on staff at Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute, in private practice

Additional Information:

Sinai Temple director since 2014; former co-chair Temple Membership Committee; SAA Oversight Committee of Temple board; Clinical Professor of Medicine at both Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Geffen Medical School at UCLA; former Clinical Chief, Division of Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai; past Inaugural Medical Director of the Heart Center at the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute;
Pamela Weisberg
Richard Weston
Bio
Education:
Bachelor's degree in business administration, Baruch College of the City University of New York
Juris Doctor degree, Brooklyn Law School
Current Employment:
Principal, dreamGEAR, LLC
Parham Zar

10400 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90024 | 310 475 6401

Sinai Akiba Academy is a private Jewish day school in Los Angeles, serving students in Early Childhood through Grade 8. We also offer a variety of parenting classes and programs for children through our Parenting Center. A Sinai Temple school.

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS
Sinai Akiba Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

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