Paramus—Yeshiva Ben Porat Yosef in Paramus will hold its 12th annual dinner on Tuesday, March 11, at 7 p.m. at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck. The dinner, which will also celebrate the members of BPY’s first graduating class, will honor Gail and Ken Fried; Jodi and Shaul Cohen; Dina, David, and Beryl Niewood, and Judy Heicklen.
Residents of Teaneck, Gail and Ken Fried’s daughter, Odelia, an eighth grader, was one of the earliest students at the school, enrolling in its toddler class at age 2½. A certified public accountant, Gail Braverman-Fried is the chief financial officer for a Queens heating oil company. She volunteers with synagogues and organizations and is an active participant with the BPY contingent at the Celebrate Israel Parade. Ken Fried is a product specialist for Wolters Kluwer, an international publishing company. An avid supporter of BPY since its inception, he has purchased many books for its school library through its annual Reading Rocks! fundraiser at Barnes & Noble. The Frieds are members of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Teaneck.
Dina and David Niewood of Englewood have three daughters in the school, fourth-graders Ava and Michaela and second-grader Rebecca. Dina Niewood, who volunteers at school events, provides individual psychotherapy at Psychiatric Care Associates in Englewood. David Niewood, a former Israel Defense Forces soldier, works at Special Situations Funds, a New York-based hedge fund specializing in micro-cap publicly traded equities. The Niewoods are members of Kesher Synagogue in Englewood, where Dina cochaired the chesed committee for two years and David is a member of its CSS (Community Security Service) detail. David Niewood’s mother, Beryl, the former director of Multifamily Housing in HUD’s New York Area Office, retired in 2010. The grandmother of nine, she is involved in BPY’s Grandparents Association, which holds intergenerational social events and fund raisers.
Judy Heicklen of Teaneck is the mother of Ricki and DD, both students at SAR High School, and Shiri, a first-grader at BPY. She has also been involved with BPY since its beginning, serving on and providing critical support to the BPY Shorashim Capital Campaign Steering Committee and dedicating the school’s indoor gym equipment and Hebrew book lending library. A managing director at Credit Suisse, she serves as the president of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA), and is a board member of the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education and the Halachic Organ Donor Society (HODS). She is a member of both Netivot Shalom and Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck.
Jodi and Shaul Cohen of Englewood are the parents of Maya, a first-grader, and Lihi, a pre-K student. Their son Lior will enroll in BPY’s toddler program next fall. Shaul Cohen, who was raised in Jerusalem and is a graduate of Hebrew University, is a member of senior management at the Jordache Group. He is a member of the BPY Shorashim Capital Campaign Steering Committee. Jodi Cohen works as an internal auditor for New York Foundling, a nonprofit foster care agency, for the past 14 years. She volunteers for BPY’s Parent-Teacher Organization, has served as a class ambassador for the school’s annual scholarship walkathon, and has volunteered at various BPY events. She served on last year’s dinner committee and cochaired this year’s Barnes and Noble Reading Rocks! fundraiser. The Cohens are members of the Sephardic Minyan at Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood.
Members of BPY’s first eighth-grade graduating class are Elianna Benhamu, Ezra Brauner, Odelia Fried, Sandra Kaplan, Julia Kohen, Zachary Kohn, Ben Lasher, Shlomo Meisels, and Joseph Yudelson. For more information about the dinner or to make a gift toward BPY’s annual campaign, please visit www.benporatyosef.org/dinner or contact the school’s development office at 201-0845-5007 ext. 35, or [email protected]
By Lori Silberman Brauner
