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Their contributions to TanenbaumCHAT as lay leaders, staff, parents, volunteers, advocates, guest speakers and mentors, are vital. They also provide leadership, vision and professional skills to numerous communities, within the Jewish world and beyond, in Toronto, Tel Aviv and all points in between.
If you’d like to be included, or suggest someone who should be, please go to the page below and let us know, or contact alumni@tanenbaumchat.org.
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Itzik attended the one-year program at the Hebrew University through a scholarship awarded by the Canadian Friends of Hebrew University to a selected CHAT grad. He holds a doctorate in law from The Hebrew University and is Senior Assistant to the Legal Advisor of Israel’s State Comptroller helping, among other things, to oversee the auditing and compliance of Israel’s various political parties and candidates. He and his wife Chaya made aliyah to Beit Shemesh where they raised three children. Their growing family includes a son-in-law, two grandchildren and the recent arrival of Savta Mary Becker as a new olah.
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Lindsay played NCAA basketball at Tufts University in Boston, where she also explored her passion for technology and graduated with a degree in Computer Science. She is a software engineer and works at Sonos, an American developer and manufacturer of audio products in Boston.
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Lior Braunstein '02 is a physician-scientist currently living and practicing in New York City. Lior received his BA in molecular biology from Princeton University prior to completing his M.D and residency training in radiation oncology at Harvard Medical School. Today, Lior is the director of the radiation oncology residency program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where he focuses on the treatment and study of breast cancer, leading a number of national and international clinical trials and laboratory investigations.
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Daniel '18 is a shoe designer behind the brand Charkow Shoes, currently based out of Toronto and London. Daniel's philosophy when designing shoes is to combine high fashion bold artistry with sustainable materials. Daniel has worked with many brands including Burberry, Sophia Webster, Ron White, Aldo, and Steve Madden, and has had his work featured in London Fashion Week and London Craft Week. Today, Daniel is currently studying footwear design at the London College of Fashion.
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Russell holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where he focused on social entrepreneurship. He was the Founder and CEO of CrowdChange, a fundraising technology company. He also co-founded Feed the Deed, a social media initiative spreading kindness globally. He is now working on building new initiatives in the self-help and education spaces.
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Sabrina Craig '14 is one of the two founders of Vaccine Hunters Canada. Through the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vaccine Hunters Canada became the primary source for eligible Canadians to source a local vaccine. As Director of the grassroots organization, Sabrina was responsible not only for management and leadership, but also forging relationships with the pharmacy sector across Canada. Along with co-director and founder Andrew Young, Sabrina scaled the organization to a management team of 150+ people, and 400,000+ followers across Canada, in just 5 months. By day, Sabrina works as a Technical Analyst at BMO Capital Markets. But her main focus is helping to solve the COVID crisis by empowering people to help other people get vaccinated, everywhere around the world.
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Renee is a freelance journalist covering Israel and the Jewish world. Her work has been published in The Times of Israel, Haaretz, The Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Hadassah Magazine, The Jerusalem Report, and other media outlets. Prior to becoming a journalist, Renee worked for nearly two decades in Jewish education in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. Renee made aliyah seven years ago. She and husband Joel have three grown sons.
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Paula is the Associate Director of Global Student Experiences at Hillel International. Still taking an “extended vacation” from Toronto, Paula has resided in Israel and Ohio, and is currently based in Colorado where she lives with husband Seth, who she met in Israel, and daughter Bari. She has kept in touch with the great friends she made at the school, and she credits her education here with preparing her for university and graduate school, and in helping raise the bar and expectations that she sets for herself professionally.
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Joanna Gryfe '05 is the Chief Digital Officer at Rachael Ray where she oversees the strategy, operations and growth of Rachael Ray Branded Media and Projects and successfully designs and delivers revenue-generating initiatives. After receiving a degree in Radio & Television Arts from Ryerson University (Now Toronto Metropolitan University), she went on to work in the television industry, notably in Culinary Production. Other experience includes working at CBS, Shaw Communications, and Tastemade. In 2016, Joanna won a Streamy Award for her work as a producer on Tastemade’s Tiny Kitchen series. Joanna splits her time between New York, Los Angeles and Toronto.
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Larry received a degree in Physics from Harvard in 1987, and an MA in Film from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He was personally selected by Steven Spielberg to direct DreamWorks’ flagship interactive computer game Goosebumps straight out of school. He then went on to direct the box office hits Cats & Dogs and Antz! Larry is cofounder and Chief Customer Officer of SonicCloud, a revolutionary technology for personalizing sound on phones and computers for people with hearing loss. He was named one of Fast Company Magazine’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” in 2018.
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Dan fell in love with Jewish history at CHAT, leading him to pursue a career as a historian of Jewish life in Eastern Europe and Israel. After completing his Ph.D. in History at Stanford University, he was an assistant professor in McGill’s Department of Jewish Studies. In 2019, Dan moved with his Australian husband Alex and their daughter Miriam to Melbourne. He currently teaches in Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation.
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Martin has worked as a filmmaker, foreign correspondent and war correspondent for 25 years for CTV, Global TV, FOX, and as a producer for ABC News. His television series, documentaries and news coverage have exposed major issues throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and have appeared on PBS, Bloomberg TV, NBC, SKY, BBC, CNN, CBC Documentary Channel, CTV, and Global Television Canada, among others. His most recent documentaries include The Arrest, Undercover in ISIS, and Secrets of Survival.
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Zach is a Canadian professional ice hockey left-winger and author, currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Toronto Maple Leafs where, during the 2016–17 season, he set a new Maple Leafs record for most short-handed goals scored by a rookie in a season with four, and tied the team record for the most consecutive games with an assist by a rookie at six games. He was named the 2011 Canadian Junior Hockey League Player of the Year, and he won a gold medal representing Canada at the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel. During the 2014–15 season, he was named the University of Michigan's Athlete of the Year. Zach is also an award-winning, best-selling author of children's literature. His books include Hockey Hero, The Bambino and Me and The Magician’s Secret. He is married to fellow alum Alannah Hyman ’10.
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Miriam is Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Yale Law School, where her team focuses on admitting diverse, academically and professionally excellent students, and ensuring equitable financial support. Prior to this, she worked at NYU Law School as a legal research and writing professor and administrator. She has also been a litigator in private practice and at a non-profit organization focused on child welfare reform. Her first job out of law school was as a clerk for Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella of the Canadian Supreme Court.
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After completing dentistry at the University of Toronto, Simi followed her dreams and made aliyah to Israel. She is currently owner and principal dentist at Landau Dental, providing Canadian-standard dentistry to Israelis and foreigners alike. Simi lives in Jerusalem with her husband Chaim and four children.
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Brian runs a Tony Award-winning production company, AF Creative Media. After attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, he began producing theatre alongside his wife, Dayna Lee. Broadway productions include: Angels in America, Company and Moulin Rouge. Their twin girls, Ella and Emmy, are their proudest achievement.
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Jacqueline currently resides in the Bay Area, and works as a Tech Lead at TikTok. Jacqueline is a backend engineer with experience using various technologies across the tech stack. After graduating from Queen's University, Jacqueline moved to San Francisco to work as a Software Engineer at Amazon. She is passionate about embracing the ever-changing world of technology by seeking creative and analytical ways to innovate.
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Leon’s primary academic research area is the life and works of Charles Dickens. He has written and lectured widely, and is an expert analyst of Dickens’s letters, manuscripts, and handwriting. He is Reader at the School of Arts, English and Languages at Queen’s University Belfast, and has been appointed to the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives (ACNRA), an independent body in the UK that deals with freedom of Information requests. He has held a range of public appointments in the areas of peace and reconciliation, and arts and culture.
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Elise resides in Australia, where she has worked in sales and marketing roles in the coworking and fintech industries. She is an active member of the Orthodox Jewish community in Melbourne and co-founded WOTIV (The Women’s Orthodox Tefillah in Victoria), a group that provides opportunities for women to learn and practice skills such as leading tefillot and leining.
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Rachel is a Toronto-based writer, actress and comedian. Rachel's acting appearances include in commercials for the "No Name" brand, Interac and Molson, and in the television programs What We Do In The Shadows and WAYNE. Rachel performs as a comedian in festivals and competitions, and as a writer, she works for various production companies, television networks and publications. She is currently writing feature films for the streaming service TUBI and is developing projects with Incendo, Marvista and LoComotion Pictures. Rachel cites her connection with Judaism as an inspiration for her comedy and as a motivation to continue pursuing her dreams.
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Mitchell Marcus ’00 has come a long way since his childhood days spent performing one-man shows in his parent’s basement for his family, friends and neighbours. From his humble beginnings as an associate producer at Luminato to his being recognized as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Mitchell’s passion for theatre and the arts has left an undeniable mark on our city’s cultural landscape. After 18 years of creative leadership as the Founder and CEO of the Musical Stage Company, Mitchell recently announced his departure from what has become the largest and leading charitable musical theatre company in Canada. His next role will see him step into the shoes of Executive Director, Site Activation & Programming for Northcrest Developments at Downsview where he looks forward to continuing his legacy of championing outstanding artists in Toronto, the GTA and beyond. Mitchell lives in Toronto with his husband and two children.
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After Lior learned about weighted therapy as a volunteer at a special-needs camp, he and his business partner founded the company Hush to bring weighted therapy to the masses with the goal of helping to reduce insomnia, anxiety, and ADD. They even made an appearance on the “Dragons' Den” TV show. Lior is also the Founder of ScopeLeads, lead-generation software. Lior was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 for his extensive work in the retail and e-commerce industries.
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Jeremy is a prolific and award-winning feature film and television director with too many credits to mention. He has been nominated for the Best Director Emmy Award for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, and for the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg-produced The Pacific. He has directed for many of the most ground-breaking cable television series, including The Handmaid’s Tale, True Detective, Six Feet Under, Homeland, The Borgias, The Tudors, Dexter, Weeds, and Queer as Folk. He has also written and directed three award-winning feature films: Fugitive Pieces, The Five Senses, and Eclipse.
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Talia is a European and Dutch migration law specialist, currently working as a legal advisor with undocumented migrants in the city of Utrecht, Netherlands. One of her fondest high school memories is a Jewish History trip to Kensington Market, which made a particularly strong impression. Learning about the overlapping migrant groups that lived in that neighbourhood was formative in her choice of career path.
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After articling and working in Toronto, Jeffrey relocated to London and was a partner in UK-based law firm, Freshfields, for 17 years. In 2016, he became Partner in the London office of New York-based international law firm, White & Case. He resides in north London. He and his wife have four children all of whom attend Jewish schools.
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Adam Sharon '95 is an external consultant to the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC, focusing on the Abraham Accords and peace normalization efforts between the UAE and Israel. This comes following more than a decade working on Capitol Hill, where he served in such roles as the Communications Director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committees. His time on Capitol Hill saw Adam work for two US Senators, and four US Representatives. Kol HaKavod, Adam! We are so proud of all of our alumni, and the positive influence they have in various sectors around the world.
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Karen is a senior teaching fellow and the director of Liberal Arts at the University of Bristol in the UK. She is a scholar of multiethnic, American, and women’s literature. Her most recent book, Women of Valor: Orthodox Jewish Troll Fighters, Crime Writers, and Rock Stars in Contemporary Literature and Culture (Rutgers University Press, 2018) examines media portrayals of Orthodox Jewish women and delves beyond stereotypes to identify a powerful tradition of feminist literary portrayals of Orthodox women – often created by Orthodox women themselves.
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Karl has served in various positions at Rambam Medical Center and at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. He is currently Dean of the growing Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University in the Galilee. He is a nephrologist, and enjoys teaching and conducting research in population genetics. Karl and his wife Linda moved to Israel in 1995. His five married children and eighteen Israeli-born grandchildren live, study, and work in Haifa.
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Kyle graduated with an MBA from Tel Aviv University in 2019. He was drawn to the tech ecosystem in Israel, joining high-growth start-up, Oribi.io where he is scaling up their Business Development and Sales Team.
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While pursuing her BSc at the University of Toronto, Esther built and scaled a national clothing line, and then went on to join the Canada Goose design team. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, she co-founded Canada Emergency Medical Manufacturers (CEMM) to tackle Canada’s PPE shortages and logistical needs. Esther connected with the Deputy Ministers Office and Department of Economic Trade and Development to plan and execute a nation-wide emergency manufacturing response unit. CEMM activated and retooled two-dozen domestic factories, created hundreds of domestic jobs and supplied more than one million units of PPE to various levels of Canadian government. For these accomplishments, she was named to the Bay Street Bull’s 30x30 list in 2021.
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Mike Wilner ‘88 is a baseball writer and broadcaster. He began his sports broadcasting career at the University of Toronto where he was quickly named sports director at CIUT-FM and provided play-by-play commentary for various sports. He began his baseball broadcasting career at the age of 19 with the Class-A Welland Pirates. His broadcasting experience includes working on Sportsnet the Fan 590, and he spent six years covering sports at 680News and hosted Blue Jays Talk for 17 years. From 2013 to 2020, he called the play-by-play for the Toronto Blue Jays' radio broadcast. He is currently a baseball columnist for the Toronto Star and hosts a podcast called "Deep Left Field".
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After graduating from TanenbaumCHAT, Robbie went on to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He co-founded the seven-piece jazz-funk band “Ripe” with fellow students. The band has since grown into a North American touring act.
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