(Courtesy of Yavneh Academy) The Yavneh Academy 81st Annual Dinner will take place on Motzei Shabbat, January 13 at 8 p.m.. In addition to an evening of celebration for the dedicated honorees, the Yavneh dinner is also a call to come together as a community in support of a vibrant future for this beloved institution. This year, the dinner theme is “Hatikva,” the hope, rooted in the anthem of Medinat Yisrael and extending to the Jewish futures built together at Yavneh.

This year’s guests of honor, Gali and Tzvi Goodman, have proudly called Teaneck home for the past eight years, along with their four children, Tiferet and Noam (class of ‘23), Uriel (fifth grade) and Ayelet (second grade). They are enthusiastic and dedicated supporters of the Yavneh Academy community.

Gali Goodmanis a psychotherapist in private practice and also serves as an adjunct professor at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. Her extensive background in human behavior and education has enabled her to make significant contributions to various committees at Yavneh, including as chairperson of the board of education at Yavneh, a position she has held since 2020. Gali has chaired the raffle and auction for the golf and fitness outing since 2021, volunteered as a Yavneh ambassador, serves as a member of the technology committee, and frequently volunteers for a variety of Yavneh events.

Tzvi Goodman has pursued a career in education technology, currently working at Brainpop as senior vice president of growth & marketing. An active angel investor, Tzvi is passionate about entrepreneurship and is a frequent lecturer and writer, having authored several white papers, and contributed articles in Forbes, Techcrunch and MarketScale. Like Gali, Tzvi contributes his skills to Yavneh, serving on the board of directors and volunteering for various Yavneh committees, including the Middle States Association accreditation team and the Yavneh building committee.

Outside of Yavneh, Tzvi and Gali’s commitment to education and community involvement remains strong. Gali serves on the board of Yeshivat Emunah in Mexico, and Tzvi is on the board of Yeshivat Shalshelet in New Jersey. Together, they are involved in Camp HASC and other non-profit organizations that serve the Jewish community.

This year’s Service Award recipients, Arlene and Jay Shiner, have lived in Bergenfield for the past 18 years. They are the proud parents of three Yavneh graduates, Julie and Daniel (class of ‘20), and Benji (class of ‘23).

Jay is a director in the Chief Finance Strategy Office at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. He manages strategic programs across the international bank. Arlene is a Recruitment Team Manager with Planet Pharma. She leads a team of recruiters and provides staffing to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries.

Both Jay and Arlene have dedicated their time and expertise to the Yavneh community. Jay has been the Yavneh treasurer for the past five years, and a member of the board of directors for seven years. Jay was a founding member of Gan Yavneh and has also served on multiple committees, including Yavneh dinner committees and nominations committees.

Arlene previously served as a vice president of the YPAA. Among other projects, she led the preparation of the school directories and calendars for the past seven years. Over the years, she also assisted with YPAA membership efforts and led many YPAA events.

The Shiners have enjoyed being a part of the Yavneh family, and the many ways that they have been able to contribute to the school. They appreciate the growth it has brought their whole family from an educational, social and religious perspective.

Yavneh Academy’s Faculty Award recipients this year are Lenny Snow and Wilson Medina, who lead the school’s maintenance team. Lenny has been an essential part of the team at the school ever since moving from Florida 24 years ago, and considers Yavneh a second home. He really enjoys coming in to work every day and helping all the teachers, staff and students. As Lenny says, he has been blessed to work with an incredible group of people for all these years, especially his team.

Wilson Medina has been at Yavneh since 2001 and quickly became an essential part of the school family. He even had his own family members join the Yavneh kitchen staff a few years ago. Both Lenny and Wilson tirelessly work each day in ways both seen and unseen to keep the school running efficiently.

Yavneh is thrilled to recognize this incredible group of dedicated honorees and their collective efforts to ensure Yavneh is able to carry out its mission and foster a premier environment for the academic, spiritual and emotional development of each child.

This year, Yavneh also symbolically honors the Yavneh graduates (and faculty) who are on Israel’s front lines. They offer the school community’s profound gratitude to them for their bravery, and ongoing prayers to Hashem for their safety and protection.

Please join together on January 13 to honor these wonderful individuals. To RSVP or to donate, please visit www.yavnehdinner.com. For more information about the dinner, please contact Ariella Shaffren, director of development, at [email protected].