About Gateways » Board of Trustees 2011-2012

Board of Trustees 2011-2012

The members of the Gateways Board are a diverse and experienced group of community leaders, professionals, funders, and parents representing a wide range of backgrounds, religious observance and generations.  Each trustee is committed to fulfilling the needs of our stakeholders through strategic, financial and governance best practices that align with the Gateways mission and vision.

Click on the plus sign to view each board member's bio.

OFFICERS

Alan Crane, President

Alan Crane has previously been involved with Gateways as a member of the Board and the Finance Committee. Alan sat on the boards of Momenta and Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, T2 Biosystems, Hydra Biosciences, Vaccinex, the Boston Autism Consortium, Medicine in Need, Adnexis Therapeutics, Controlled Delivery Systems, and several Children's Hospital of Boston boards. Alan's professional background is biotechnology and venture capital. He is employed at Polaris Venture Partners and is CEO of Cerulean Pharma.

Robert Fein, Vice President for Finance

Robert Fein was on the Gateways finance committee prior to becoming a board member and his family has been involved with Etgar L'Noar since its inception: his wife taught in the B'nei Mitzvah Program for its first two years and their daughter was a volunteer for three years. Robert has served on the boards of Gann Academy and Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston. Robert is Vice President of Business Development at Trex Enterprises Corporation.

Jerome Smith, Vice President for Strategic Planning

Jerome Smith has been an advisor to Gateways for over five years, prior to becoming a board member in 2009. He has sat on the boards of Temple Emunah in Lexington and the Jewish Vocational service and currently sits on the AIPAC National Council. He is Co-Director of MIT Venture Mentoring Service, a consultant, and a senior executive at Dupont.

Sharon Shapiro, Vice President of Development

Sharon Shapiro has been involved with Gateways since 2006 and serves on the Development Committee. She is active in The Ruderman Family Foundation, her family's charitable enterprise. Sharon has sat on the boards of Congregation Beth Israel of Malden, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and the CJP Day School Advocacy Forum. She is a trained dietician.

Louise Citron, Vice President of Governance

Louise Citron is has been a member for two years during which time she also served as the Nominating Committee Chair. Louise has served on the boards of CJP's Women's Division, Zamir Chorale and the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center. Louise is a clinical audiologist as well as an officer of South Shore Hearing Center.

Hershel Ellenbogen, Treasurer

Hershel Ellenbogen has been worked with Gateways since 2006. Hershel has served on various school and synagogue boards. Hershel is a dentist in private practice in Whitinsville.

Marni Smilow Levitt, Clerk

Marni has been involved in Jewish organizations in the Greater Boston area since she graduated from Tufts University (1988) and Northeastern University Law School (1992).

Marni spent many years involved in the Anti-Defamation League, serving as a facilitator for ADL's Confronting Anti-Semitism program and a member of their Speaker's Bureau. Marni has been on the Board at Temple Sinai in Sharon for the past 7 years, and has served as Chair of the Kol B'Seder Concert fundraiser, as Fundraising Chair, as 3rd Vice President, and currently as the Membership Chair. Marni also had the great honor of serving on the Rabbi Search committee that brought Rabbi Joseph Meszler to Temple Sinai.

In addition, Marni has been involved in numerous CJP initiatives and committees. Most recently she served on the Engagement Subcommittee for CJP's Strategic Planning Initiative, has participated for a number of years in Super Sunday fundraising efforts and served as a member of the Cynthia and Leon Schulman Acharai Leadership Training program in 2007-08.

Professionally, Marni is currently the Deputy General Counsel of Caritas Christi Health Care, a six hospital Catholic health care system in Massachusetts. Prior to her current position, Marni was the Director of Legal Services/General Counsel of Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, MA for 12 years.

Marni lives in Sharon, MA with her husband Jonathan, also an attorney, and her four children, Joshua, Alexa, Noah and Ari.

TRUSTEES

Michelle Alkon

Michelle Alkon has been active with Gateways for the past seven years, as the parent of a Gateways student, an Etgar L'Noar Board member, as well as a participant in the Etgar L'Noar/JSEC merger committee. Michelle is a member of the board of Temple Shalom, Newton. Michelle is the owner and principal of the RBC Group, a health care strategy consulting company.

Jenna Andelman

Jenna grew up in Newton and received her undergraduate degree in Biology and the History of Science from Harvard College. She worked as a project manager in medical device manufacturing for three years before attending the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, where she received her MBA. Moving to Chicago, she completed an administrative fellowship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and then spent several years in hospital and physician practice administration. Returning to Boston via a two-month volunteering trip to Tanzania, Jenna spent some time with Measuring Success, a consulting firm specializing in Jewish nonprofits. Jenna currently manages her household, which consists of her husband Gavin, sons Moshe and Raphael (13 and 10), and baby Noam (17 months).

Erik Bittner

In 1998, Erik attended a Keshet International conference in Chicago and was inspired to create an inclusive Jewish education program in Boston for children with special needs. Erik Bittner is a co-founder of Etgar L'Noar and served as the first president of the Board of Trustees of Gateways.

Joyce Bohnen

Joyce Bohnen was involved with Gateways previously as a member of the Governance Committee in 2008-2009. She has served on the boards of Zamir Chorale of Boston, Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston, and Temple Emanuel of Newton. She recently retired after six years as the founding admissions director for the MetroWest Day School.

Rachel Chafetz

Rachel Chafetzis has been a member for three years. In addition to her board and committee work at Gateways, Rachel is a tutor in the Gateways Jewish Education B'nei Mitzvah Program. Rachel is a former board member of the Bureau of Jewish Education. She is a certified special education teacher.

Christy DeRoche

Christy DeRoche serves on the boards of the AIPAC Young Leaders' Council and AJC ACCESS and is active with Combined Jewish Philanthropies' Young Leadership Division. Christy is an elementary special education teacher focusing on reading disabilities in the Boston Public Schools.

Mady Donoff

Mady Donoff holds a B.A. from Brooklyn College and an M.Ed. in special education from Boston University. In June, 2006, she retired from a career of more than 30 years in public education, both as a speech and language therapist and elementary school guidance counselor. For most of her career, she worked in the Brookline public schools, providing support to students in grades K-8. As a guidance counselor at the Driscoll School, she worked closely with neighboring Jewish Day Schools to facilitate special education services for their students. For more than a decade, Mady was the Brookline liaison to the Boston University School of Education Consortium, serving as chair for two years. In Brookline, she mentored new staff, was an Elementary Staff Development Leader, and a Horace Mann Teacher. Mady also chaired the Brookline Teacher Grants Committee for several years and has extensive experience in educational grant review.

Mady is a life member of Hadassah and has been active in the Boston Chapter for more than three decades, most recently serving as President from 2006-2009. She is a member of the Hadassah National Board, the Temple Emanuel Board of Trustees, the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Board, and was recently elected co-chair of the Boston Jewish Community Women's Fund. In May, 2009, Mady joined the Board of Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, and currently serves on its Special Education Advisory and Development Committees. She is also an active member of Mayyim Hayyim, and the Children's Tumor Foundation. Mady was the founding chair of the OMFS Foundation Alliance and was honored by the Foundation with its Torch Award.

Mady and her husband Bruce, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and dental school Dean, have two adult children: Elizabeth, an architect and magazine editor, and Daniel, an elementary school Instructional Technology Specialist.

Stephanie Gertz

Stephanie Gertz has sat on the boards of the Greater Boston Jewish Community Centers, United Jewish Communities National Young Leadership, Combined Jewish Philanthropies' Board of Governors, The Handel & Haydn Society, The Huntington Theater, The American Jewish Historical Society, Mount Auburn Hospital, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, American Jewish Congress, AIPAC Young Leaders, and Pro Arte Orchestra. She is an independent educational consultant specializing in policy and assessment in grades K-12.

Catharyn Gildesgame

Catharyn Gildesgame has served as a member of the Gateways' Governance, Finance and Strategic Planning Committees. She was the president of the Board of JCDS, Boston's Jewish Community Day School. She has also served on the boards of Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly and Boston's Bureau of Jewish Education. Her professional background is in health care administration and clinical research. She is currently the Director of Strategic Implementation at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Danya Handelsman

Danya Handelsman has been a part of Gateways for the past three years. She volunteers in the Gateways Toddler and Preschooler Program, and serves on the Education and Community Outreach Committees. She is a pediatric physical therapist, specializing in early intervention.

Arlene Bernstein

Arlene Bernstein has been involved with Gateways since the founding of Etgar L'Noar in 1998, including service on the Governance and Nominating committees. Arlene currently serves on the boards of Yad Chessed, Mothers' Milk Bank of New England, and formerly served on the Boston University Hillel Foundation board. Arlene is an attorney, now retired.

Miriam May

Miriam May was active for many years with Etgar L'Noar. She has acted as Marketing Committee chair and is a member of the Development Committee. Miriam has served on Newton's Congregation Shaarei Tefillah's Building Committee as campaign co-chair, and sat on the boards of Planned Parenthood and the Jewish Federation in Providence as well as various other boards. Miriam is Managing Director of the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University.

Dena Rashes

Dena Rashes is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Rashi School and is a co-chair of the Campaign for Rashi. She is the immediate past chair of Rashi's Development Committee. She is a Vice President of Congregation Mishkan Tefila, where she serves on the Board of Directors and the Endowment Committee. Dena is involved in CJP where she is a member of the current Acharai Class, serves on DSEC, the Jaffa Committee and helps with Young Lion of Judah efforts. Dena served on the Board of Directors of Historic Newton and is a member of their Capital Campaign Steering Committee. A graduate of Wellesley College, Dena serves on the Wellesley College Development and Outreach Council and is a member of Wellesley's Boston Leadership Gifts Committee. Dena lives in Newton with her husband Michael and their four children Emma, Lily, Daniel and Hailey.

Naomi R. Stonberg

Naomi R. Stonberg has a private practice in Wellesley, MA, where she specializes in labor relations and school law. She is a graduate of Simmons College, has a masters degree from Catholic University School of Social Work, and a law degree from New York University Law School. Ms. Stonberg has participated in many seminars and workshops on the Education Reform Act and has published articles in publications of the National School Board Association and the Journal on Law and Education. Ms. Stonberg is a founding member of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and the National School Board Association, and served a five-year term (1997-2001) as President of the organization. Ms. Stonberg served on the National School Board Association Council of School Attorneys' Board of Directors (2003-2007). Naomi was the consumer representative and consumer mentor of the Department of Defense Neurofibromatosis Peer Review Panels and she has served as Past President of the MA Neurofibromatosis Foundation Of New England, Inc. She has served as Vice President and Religious School Chair of Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley. Naomi is serving as the social services co-chair of the CJP Boston Haifa connection and she has served as a board member of MetroWest Jewish Day School as well as serving on the human resources committee for JF&CS.