School Board

List of 20 members.

• 

  Robert Galperson 

  Bio

  Rob Galperson is the Chair of the SAA School Board and was previously the VP of Education for Sinai Temple. He is a member of the Temple Board’s Executive Committee and has previously served as both VP of Development and VP of Membership. Rob is also a member of the Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks Cemetery Management Committee.

   

  Prior to joining the School Board, Rob was a member of the SAA Recruitment and Retention Committee, the SAA Development Committee, and led the 100-Person Challenge initiative, which introduced and highlighted Sinai Akiba Academy to the broader Sinai Temple and Los Angeles communities.

   

  Rob was born and raised in Los Angeles and is a second-generation member of the Sinai Temple community. He attended Sinai Temple Religious School, had his Bar Mitzvah at Sinai, and continues his family’s long-standing dedication to the Sinai Akiba and Sinai Temple community.

   

  Rob is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Communications. He is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Merchandising for a consumer product company. He and his wife, Jennifer, have twin boys, Jonah and Brandon, who started in the Douglas Family ECC and are currently in 7th grade at Sinai Akiba Academy.
• 

  Samantha Auerbach 

  Bio

  Samantha Auerbach is a proud SAA alum. She grew up in Los Angeles, and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a B.A. in Psychology and History. Samantha's roots in education run deep. She holds an M.A. in Inclusive Elementary Education from Columbia University Teachers College, and is passionate about shaping young minds at SAA and beyond.
  
  

  Samantha taught at public schools in New York City in East Harlem and Brooklyn, as well as at Rodeph Sholom School in New York, and Brawerman Elementary School in Los Angeles. She has served on the Board of Directors for Camp Ramah in California, currently serves on the PK-12 Board of Jewish Federation, and is a former Douglas Family ECC Board Chair. Samantha has also held many other SAA volunteer titles over the years, including Alumni Committee Chair and Recruitment Chair. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of four SAA students, Ryan, Noah, Jordan, and Sawyer.
• 

  Mayrav Gaslin 

  Bio

  Mayrav Gaslin is a communications strategist and content consultant, working primarily in the health care industry. She hold a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from Northwestern University.

   

  Mayrav is also a tireless volunteer, particularly for Sinai Temple and SAA. She is a former 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). She currently serves as School Board Vice Chair and Chair of the Board Development Committee.
• 

  Liraz Harari 

  Bio

  Liraz Harari currently serves as the Parent Association (PA) Chair of SAA. Over the years, she has held many volunteer roles at the school, such as Room Parent Coordinator, School Ambassador, and Education Committee member. Liraz and her husband, Ron, have 3 kids who attend SAA: Eyal, Noa, and Danielle.

   

  Liraz holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Applied Learning and Development from the University of Austin at Texas. She taught for over 10 years in public and charter schools in Houston, Boston and Los Angeles, as both a general education and special education teacher.

   
• 

  Sheiva Hendifar 

  Bio

  Sheiva Hendifar graduated Summa Cum Laude from UCLA with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication Studies, and was honored as a UCLA Regents Scholar. She earned her JD from USC Gould School of Law.

   

  While at USC, she served as the President of the Middle Eastern South Asian Law Association, worked in the LAC-USC Domestic Violence Clinic, and was an Articles Editor for the Southern California Law Review. Upon graduating, Sheiva worked as a real estate transactional attorney at the law firm of Pircher, Nichols & Meeks, before becoming In-House Counsel at the real estate company JADE Enterprises.   

   

  Sheiva and her husband, Andrew, joined Sinai Akiba Academy in 2014 and currently have 4 children at the school: Hannah, Gabriel, Abby, and Elle.

   

  During her time at SAA, Sheiva has served as a Room Parent, on the Development Committee, and as a Community Ambassador. In 2016, in her role as a Community Ambassador, she began a book club for the parents in her daughter's grade. Seeing the positive benefits and community desire for a group like this, she expanded the club to include all SAA parents. The group now has over 50 members, and helped create the SAA Faculty/Staff Book Club. In addition to administering the SAA Parent Book Club, which includes selecting books and leading discussions, Sheiva currently serves on the Education Committee and the Speakers Committee. 
• 

  Rona Heifetz 

  Bio

  Rona Heifetz is Chair of SAA's Development Committee. Over the years, she has become extremally involved across the Sinai community, and served in leadership roles at SAA, the Sinai Dor Chadash Program, and on other SAA committees.
• 

  Sarah Kamrava 

  Bio

  Sinai Akiba holds a special place in Sarah's heart. When her family moved to the US in 1987, she was able to attend the school for 2nd and 3rd grade. She attributes her love of English to her ESL teacher at the time. From there, Sarah attended public school, UCLA for her Bachelor's degree, and graduated from USC Dental School. She has been practicing dentistry for over 15 years, including in the D.C. area while her husband Mitch completed his residency at the NIH.  

   

  Choosing Sinai as their family's religious and educational home was an easy decision, and Sarah and Mitch have enjoyed being a part of the community since their oldest, Sophia, was 2. They are so proud of the education and values she has, and feel so lucky to have this school as a partner. Their son, Asher, has grown up in these halls too. He  started in The Elaine & Gerald Wolpe Parenting Center and has grown to love his teachers and friends. Both Sarah and Mitch have been involved with the school, Sarah as a member of the ECC Board when Sophia was in preschool, and again as a room mom, and as a member of both the Retention & Recruitment and Development committees. She is excited to chair the ECC Committee for the second year in a row, and to be the Vice Chair of the Board Development Committee. She looks forward to continuing her involvement, and to working alongside the faculty, administration, and families in making SAA an even stronger school and community.
• 

  Rebecca Kekst 

  Bio

  Rebecca Kekst is SAA's Immediate Past Board Chair, and concluded her role as Chair in June 2022. She has been an incredibly active member of Sinai Temple since she and her husband, David, joined the synagogue in 1999. 

  Rebecca 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 Sinai Temple Gala Co-Chair, co-chaired the Shabbaton for three years, and chaired the Catering Committee.

  While a parent in the ECC, Rebecca served as PA President and then chaired the ECC Board. During her time at Sinai Akiba Academy, she has chaired the PA, Development Committee and 50th Anniversary Campaign and Celebration. Rebecca also serves on the PK-12 committee for the Jewish Federation and has served on the Camp Ramah board for many years. Rebecca and David have three children, all of whom attended Sinai Akiba Academy.
• 

  Aaron Leibovic 

  Bio

  Aaron Leibovic is the Managing Attorney of Leibovic Law Group, LLC, as well as the founder and president of Health Advocates LLC, a California based Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management company. He has served on numerous boards and committees of Jewish organizations over the past 35 years.

   

  Aaron and his wife, Sheila, have been members of Sinai Temple since 1987. He was a member of the Temple Board of Directors, serving on the Executive Committee as well as Temple Treasurer and VP of Education.  Aaron has always taken a special interest in Jewish education and served on the Sinai Akiba Academy Committee as well as the Milken Community School Board for many years. He served as Chair of both SAA and Milken.

   

  Aaron and his wife, Sheila, live in Brentwood and have three daughters who are proud Sinai Akiba Academy alumnae. They continued their Jewish education and are graduates of Milken Community School.
• 

  Mayer Nazarian 

• 

  Eszter Neuman 

  Bio

  Eszter Neuman was born in Budapest, Hungary and moved to the United States when she was five years old. Her family was fortunate enough to join a wonderful Conservative Jewish community in Pasadena, California, and Eszter has fond memories of attending Hebrew School, completing Confirmation, and getting involved in the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization.

   

  Eszter graduated from Brandeis University with a Bachelor's Degree in Politics, and from Indiana University with a JD. After returning to Los Angeles, she began a career in healthcare regulatory law and now serves as Chief Compliance Officer for some of the largest, long-term care facilities in Southern California. Eszter is passionate about the Sinai Akiba Academy community and has held various volunteer roles including Room Parent, Parent Ambassador, Community Builder and Co-Chair of the Wellness Committee. Eszter and her husband, Ariel, who is active in the Sinai Dads group, have three children at SAA.
• 

  Elian Ohebshalom 

  Bio

  Elian Ohebshalom is Chair of the Community Engagement Committee. She is an attorney and currently works with a team of financial advisors at Morgan Stanley, where she leads the team's trust and estate planning, legacy planning, and charitable gifting strategies.
  
  

  Prior to Morgan Stanley, Elian pursued her passion of non-profit work as the Director of Engagements at United Way of Greater Los Angeles. While there, she focused on issues of homelessness and education for children in underserved communities. She also worked closely with community leaders and board members on policy initiatives to bring about change.
   
  Elian is also the Co-Chair of the Vantage Group's Women's Initiative - an educational and networking series with an emphasis on breaking down gender barriers and helping advance women economic empowerment. At SAA, she has been a member of the Speaker Series and Pier Night committees, Co-Chair of the Community Engagement Committee for the past several years, and is currently a member of the Education Committee. She and her husband, Dan, have three children at SAA, Madison, Grant, and Taylor, all of whom will hopefully become change-makers one day! 
• 

  Ayelet Rosen 

  Bio

  Ayelet Rosen is the Treasurer of the Parent Association and serves on SAA's Education and Budget Committees. She is the founder of JEM Advisory LLC, where she advises specialty finance companies on capital markets, corporate strategy and operational efficiency.

  
  Ayelet began her career in New York in the Investment Bank at J.P. Morgan, originating asset-backed securities and warehouse facilities for companies in various industries. She subsequently worked on principal transactions in a real estate special opportunities team. After J.P. Morgan, Ayelet served as VP of Capital Markets for a financial technology company in Los Angeles specializing in small-ticket equipment.
  While in New York, Ayelet held leadership roles at UJA-Federation NY, including as a Vice Chair of the Young Wall Street Division and a member of the Synagogue Outreach and Engagement Committee, as well as some of the organizations supported by the federation. She has transferred that experience to the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

  
  Ayelet holds a BA in Economics with Distinction from the University of Pennsylvania. She has three children who attend Sinai Akiba Academy.
• 

  Tamara Schweitzer 

  Bio

  Tamara Schweitzer Raben has joined the SAA School Board in her 6th year as an SAA parent. She is the Vice Chair of the Development Committee for the 2022-23 school year, after having volunteered on the Committee for the past four years. She has been a Room Parent and Community Builder for both of her children’s classes, and helped lead tours of the Douglas Family ECC with the Recruitment Committee in 2019-20. She is excited to be taking on this new leadership role at the school, and is focused on supporting the community in whatever capacity needed. 

   

  Tamara brings to her volunteer roles a background in writing and communications. She received a Master's Degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism in 2006, and worked as a business reporter for both Inc. and Fast Company magazines. She also spent time doing communications and knowledge management work for a New York-based nonprofit that helped high-net-worth individuals make impactful charitable donations. After a decade in the professional world, she is currently focused on her most important role as mom to (and advocate for her children) Emmy and Jonah. 

   

  She continues to do freelance writing and is working on earning her certification as a book coach in order to help writers achieve their dreams of becoming published authors. She is grateful for the opportunity to be part of the school board and help SAA to embody its mission and values in the years ahead. 
• 

  Brad Smiedt 

  Bio

  Brad Smiedt currently Chairs the SAA Budget Committee. He has been highly involved at SAA for many years, and is passionate about Jewish education. He and his wife have two students in the school.

   

  Brad is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Rivonia Road Capital, a Los Angeles-based alternative investment firm focused on the financial services industry. He is also the Co-Founder and Chairman of The Fundworks, LLC a software-enabled alternative lender. Before co-founding The Fundworks, Brad sourced, structured and oversaw private equity investments with Lightyear Capital and Fenway Partners. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and an AB from Stanford University.
• 

  Jessica Smiedt 

  Bio

  Jessica Smiedt is the current Chair of SAA's Education Committee. Jessica is a former elementary and middle school teacher who now directs the parent-and-me program at Temple Isaiah Preschool. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from the esteemed University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education and a Master's Degree from Middlebury College in Vermont. Her teaching experience spans across several grades (elementary, middle and now preschool) and states in both public and private settings. After taking a break to be home with her kids, Jessica shifted her focus to the world of early childhood, and for the past six years, has been working with one to two year olds and their parents/caregivers, as they navigate the joys and challenges of toddlerhood.

   

  Jessica is a proud graduate of the First 36 Project, a fellowship powered by the Simms/Mann Institute, in collaboration with the Builders of Jewish Education and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles. This fellowship provided her with exclusive, research-focused curriculum, enabling her to better support parents during the critical years of zero to three. In addition to being passionate about education, teaching, and child development, Jessica is married to Brad Smiedt and is mom to two children, Jonah and Arielle.
• 

  Anna Tenenblatt 

  Bio

  Anna Tenenblatt is the current Sinai Temple President, and has been a member of Sinai Temple since 1984. She has been actively involved in Sinai Akiba Academy and Sinai Temple since 1987, serving variously as Sinai Akiba Committee Chair and Temple Vice President of Education, Administration and Finance. She is an active member of the Board, participating in the Contract and Budget Committees, as well as a past member of the Cemetery Management Committee.

   

  Anna and her husband Bill are the parents of Daniel (Doreen), an attorney, and Karen (Yoni), a pediatrician, both of whom attended Sinai Akiba Academy.
• 

  Leslie Wachtel 

  Bio

  Leslie and Andrew have been married since 1981. They have three adult children, all of whom attended Sinai Temple Religious School and celebrated their B’nai Mitzvah at Sinai Temple. Leslie received a BS in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and her work experience includes design and project management in computer-controlled systems.

   

  At the synagogue, Leslie currently serves on the Sisterhood Board and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Sisterhood Scoop newsletter. She’s also on the Temple board and serves as Chair of the Communications Committee.

   

  Leslie currently chairs the Temple’s Oversight Committee (the legal liaison between SAA and the Temple) and is proud to be an SAA Board member. 
• 

  Richard Weston 

  Bio

  Richard Weston has been actively involved with Sinai Temple since he and his wife, Helen, joined in 1995. Two of their daughters are graduates of SAA, and their third daughter attended Sinai Temple Religious School. They have three grandchildren who are currently enrolled in the Douglas Family ECC.

   

  Richard has served on various Temple committees and its Executive Committee, and is currently the Temple’s Vice President of Education. Richard is a founding partner of dreamGEAR, LLC, a manufacturer of retro arcade gaming devices and accessories for the video gaming industry.
  
  

  Richard holds a BBA from Baruch College of the City University of New York, and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.
• 

  Tamara Weston 

  Bio

  Tamara Weston is SAA's Recruitment Chair. She is a digital producer and journalist. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tamara graduated from Sinai Akiba Academy and then Harvard-Westlake School. She earned her B.A. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University. Tamara is a second generation Sinai Temple member, and current SAA parent. She and her husband Arturo have two children, Jack and Mila, who are both SAA students. Tamara has served as Room Parent and ECC Co-Chair of Community Builders, and looks forward to serving her SAA community in her new leadership role.