(Courtesy of Yeshivat Noam) Yeshivat Noam invites the community to attend the annual dinner on Wednesday evening, March 30. The event is a celebration of the school’s accomplishments, an opportunity to recognize deserving honorees, and a fundraiser for essential funds. The money raised will be directed to support scholarship students and fund educational excellence. The dinner theme is Am Echad, Lev Echad, as we appreciate our ability to unite together as a community. The Annual Campaign co-chairs are Josh Chaitovsky, Dina Gielchinsky and Dovid Katz. The dinner co-chairs are Estee Hirsch, Lisa Mandelbaum, Elissa Seltzer and Becky Schmutter.
One of the goals of the evening is to pay tribute to amazing honorees who give of themselves to ensure the future of Yeshivat Noam and the success of each student. Yeshivat Noam is thrilled to recognize Annie and Yale Baron as the Guests of Honor; Chana and Dan Shields with the Community Service Award; and Morah Adina Mermelstein and Morah Yael Shedlo with the Faculty Recognition Award. Yeshivat Noam is truly honored to highlight the many outstanding contributions of these distinguished honorees.
Yale and Annie Baron are truly deserving to be recognized as the Guests of Honor in appreciation of their impressive dedication as volunteers and impactful generosity as donors.
Yale served on Yeshivat Noam’s Board of Trustees and Executive Board for over 10 years, and recently completed a three-year term as president of the Board of Trustees. As president during a global pandemic, Yale brought his leadership to Yeshivat Noam through all of the uncertainty and complexity. Whether making a financial decision, discussing a concern with a parent or running a meeting, Yale is known for his kindness, sound judgment and strong financial acumen. In addition to his volunteer work at Yeshivat Noam, he served as the president of Bais Medrash of Bergenfield (BMOB), and is a current board member of Torah Academy of Bergen County.
Annie has served on and led several Yeshivat Noam committees, including the Student Development Committee and the Parent Education Committee. She has organized weekly shiurim for years in the Beit Knesset for parents, grandparents and community members. Additionally, Annie took the initiative to create a Resource Guide to help Yeshivat Noam professionals refer families to necessary service providers. Annie is a psychiatrist in private practice in New Jersey. Her commitment to helping others shines through everything she does in her personal life, professional endeavors and volunteerism.
Together, the Barons are known for their impeccable character, dedication of time, and generosity of spirit. Annie and Yale share the philanthropic priority to help families who cannot afford a yeshiva education, and make it their priority to enable Yeshivat Noam students to receive scholarships and financial assistance. Annie and Yale are the proud parents of Joe (class of 2015), Ezra (class of 2017), Aliza (class of 2020), Eitan (6), and Moshe (4).
Chana and Daniel Shields have been deeply involved in Yeshivat Noam since their daughter Sarina started kindergarten in 2007. Their volunteerism in several capacities has tremendously impacted Yeshivat Noam since our early years.
Dan, a one-time lawyer, banker, and now an entrepreneur, served on the Yeshivat Noam Board of Trustees for three years, providing guidance and a steady hand when it was needed most. Among the many things he does outside of Yeshivat Noam, Dan served for multiple years on AMIT’s “Guys Night Out” Committee, bringing in valuable funds and raising critical awareness for disadvantaged populations in Israel. With Chana’s support and involvement, Dan stepped up at the onset of the pandemic to lend a hand—and his home—when the local community needed it most. He opened his backyard as an auxiliary minyan for one of the Teaneck synagogues when the shul could not meet at full capacity due to public health restrictions. Day in, day out, week after week, month after month, under Dan’s leadership, the Shields’ home was open for anyone to come and daven—as a true bayit ne’eman b’Yisrael.
Chana served on the YNPA board for over 10 years. Among Chana’s many contributions, was taking a lead role in planning community-building events such as the opening Carnival, Panoply, and, a crowd favorite, the “Dueling” Pianos. To each of these events, Chana brought her energy, determination and attention to detail, which ensured that each was a standout success. Using her strong marketing background, Chana developed Yeshivat Noam’s first website and brochure, ensuring that the design and content reflected Yeshivat Noam’s mission and values. She also played an instrumental role in the original branding team that selected our orange and blue colors and logo that have become synonymous with Yeshivat Noam. In addition, she chaired the Yearbook Fundraising Committee in 2018.
Currently, Chana serves on the board of directors of AMIT, Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael, AZM (American Zionist Movement) and the World Zionist Organization as well as the FPA board. She co-founded and co-chairs the annual Teaneck Children’s Clothing Drive and is a volunteer EMT for BVAC. Professionally, Chana serves as chief operating officer at AscendAmerica, the company she and Dan founded together.
Together, the Shields are being honored with the Community Service Award for their dedication and meaningful contributions to Yeshivat Noam’s students and families and our community at large. Chana and Dan live in Teaneck and are the proud parents of Sarina (2016), Ayelet (2018), and Tani (2022).
The one and only Morah Adina Mermelstein joined Yeshivat Noam in September 2008, where she immediately demonstrated excellence through her outstanding dedication, creativity and love for YN students. Adina uses her love of music, infinite energy and ruach to find new opportunities to help each child excel and shine both on and off the stage.
She is known for going above and beyond. Starting with the first day of school, Adina pumps the music, decked out in orange and blue, as she personally welcomes the students with hugs and excitement. She consistently raises the bar for special milestone events, such as the Chaggigat HaSiddur, Kindergarten graduation, Tekes Kabbalat HaChumash, Chanukah Play, and the State Fair. She then finds opportunities to continue to celebrate and connect with students all the way through their middle school graduation.
Adina knows every student and goes out of her way to show her genuine care for each of them. The enthusiasm she generates continues into the fourth- and fifth-grade choir, which is why over 70 students joined choir this school year. She incorporates the National Standards of Music into her daily lessons and weaves them into both the Hebrew and English songs. Whether she uses bucket drumming or boomwhackers, Adina finds innovative ways to bring her passion for music to students. Both of Adina’s parents were educators, and she credits them for the special style of teaching that she has cultivated over the last 25 years.
In 2013, Adina was awarded the Marcia Hirt Faculty Initiative Award in recognition of her dedication and commitment to Yeshivat Noam. In 2015, she won the Atid Day School Innovation Challenge for her groundbreaking approach to music curriculum.
Adina lives in Passaic with her husband, Shloime, affectionately named Mr. Morah Adina by YN students. Shloime and their children, Nomi, Josh, Shoshana and Moshe (’12), have been a tremendous support and help behind the scenes at major events and are special members of the YN family.
Morah Yael Shedlo has been an outstanding member of the Yeshivat Noam faculty, teaching Lemudei Kodesh and instilling in her students middot tovot and a love of Torah in the first and second grades for 20 years. Yael taught Yeshivat Noam’s first graduating class using her loving ivrit b’ivrit approach and has continued to have a special, lasting impact on Yeshivat Noam students. While Yael prefers to avoid the limelight, her exceptional contributions to Yeshivat Noam shine.
Her warm and sensitive teaching style fosters positivity, self-confidence and excitement for learning. Yael finds creative and fun ways not only to help students understand and speak Hebrew, but also to instill a sense of joy in their own accomplishments. Her easygoing, sweet nature and focus on individual growth are just some of the reasons her students love her and achieve so much in her classes.
Yael has demonstrated her strong commitment to inspiring derech eretz and hakarat hatov in each of her students. During her daily lessons, she illustrates the importance of these values with engaging activities and opportunities for application as she integrates middot as a focal point in her classes. Morah Yael truly models middot tovot in her interactions with students, parents, and staff.
While Yael’s students leave her class with strong ivrit skills and many endearing accompanying hand motions, they remember her most for her limitless kindness and loving approach.
Yael lives in Teaneck with her husband, Danny and is the proud mother of three Yeshivat Noam graduates—Netanel (2012) and his wife, Miriam; Tehila (2015); and Odelia (2018).
To make a reservation or donation in support of Jewish education and to provide scholarship funds, please contact Amy Vogel, director of development and communications, at [email protected] or call 201-261-1919 x126. Every dollar makes an impact on the yeshiva’s ability to deliver academic excellence and financial scholarships.
