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Your source for the latest TanenbaumCHAT news and events.
Craig is the CEO of Cidel Bank Canada. Prior to joining Cidel as a co-founder in 1999, he was a managing director in CIBC World Markets’ Financial Products Division. He is a member of the Pension and Endowment Investment Advisory Committee to the President of the University of Toronto, a member of the investment committee at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care’s Foundation, and a Foundation Trustee for the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto.
Craig was previously a director of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, director and treasurer of Baycrest, co-chair of the Baycrest investment committee and President of Robbins Hebrew Academy. Craig graduated with a BSc in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton Business School. He and his wife Elyse Zelunka are proud parents of Sarah ’18, Evan ’20, Daniel ’23 and Sophie, a future TanenbaumCHAT student.
A partner at the accounting firm Crowe Soberman LLP, Mayeer is a board member and the treasurer at Neshama Hospice, a hospice residence based on Jewish values. He sits on UJA’s Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Education and the Board of Governors for The Abraham Global Peace Initiative. He is also former director at the Jewish National Fund. Mayeer is a Governor and was a director at Associated Hebrew Schools for 15 years, chairing numerous committees as well as serving as the school’s president. He and his wife Stacey Shein are proud parents of Reese ’25 as well as two future TanenbaumCHAT students, Harley ’28 and Nathaniel ’28.
Shelley is an advertising and marketing lawyer with over 20 years of experience in private practice and is currently in the role of Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Advertising Standards Canada, the national self-regulatory body for the advertising industry. Shelley’s past volunteer experiences includes serving on the board of directors of the Leo Baeck Day School for six years, leading several committees and ultimately becoming co-President. She also participated as a member of the UJA Joshua Institute leadership accelerator program and has served on committees of UJA Federation. Shelley and her husband Brian Weiner are the proud parents of Jamie ’22 and Talia ’25.
Eli Mogil is Partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP with a business litigation practice, with particular emphasis on shareholder, contractual and real estate disputes. Eli served as a member of the board of directors of The Leo Baeck Day School for six years, chairing several committees as well as a term as president. Eli obtained is B.A. from Cornell University, worked in New York City, and then returned to Toronto to attend Osgoode Hall Law School. Eli and his wife Robyn are the proud parents of Sam ’25 as well as a future TanenbaumCHAT student Reese ’28.
Shai is a senior executive and board member with over 25 years of consumer goods industry expertise along with extensive strategic, operational and leadership experience. He currently serves as the North America President for Remilk, a leader in the global alternative protein industry. Previously, Shai served as President and CEO of several companies in the Food and Consumer goods space including Zenabis Global, McCain Foods Canada, Wrigley Canada, Wrigley India and Wrigley Israel. Shai served as board member for several public companies, and not-for-profit organizations as well as a mentor for start-ups in the food-tech space with Ontario Genomics.
A native of Israel, Shai and his wife Naama call Toronto their home since moving here in 2009 and have three children including one alum ('22) and one current student ('25). In his spare time, Shai enjoys playing tennis, skiing, kite surfing and spending time with family.
Bram is the Chairman & CEO of KEV Group Inc. KEV provides payment and funds management software to over 26,000 schools across the United States and Canada. Prior to KEV, Bram worked at Amaranth Advisors in Toronto and at Goldman Sachs & Co as an investment banker in New York. Bram graduated from McGill University with a BA (Great Distinction) and from Harvard Business School with an MBA.
Bram and his wife Ilana have two sons, Brody ('28) and Reid who is in grade 7. They have been involved in Jewish philanthropy for many years including chairing the UJA Launch, founding the Annex Shul, founding and chairing the CJPAC Action Party, Chairing the Ben Gurion Society at UJA and much more.
Adam is a partner and head of underwriting and portfolio management at Penfund, which is one of Canada’s leading private debt investment firms. Prior to joining Penfund in 2004 he had diverse experience in private equity, equity research and management consulting and was the co-founder and co-CEO of a venture-capital backed e-learning and corporate training company.
Adam has a BA from McGill University and an MBA from the Wharton School. He is a Director of Hillel Ontario, serves on the Budget and Finance Committee of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and is a past chair of the Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Education. He has also volunteered in numerous capacities at the Leo Baeck Day School. Adam is married to Erika Rubin '90 and has three children, Lauren '20, Ethan and Hope '28.
Rael Diamond is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Choice Properties and has held that position since May 2019, prior to which he was the Chief Operating Officer. From 2012 to 2018 Rael served in the roles of President & Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer of Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (CREIT). Before joining CREIT, Rael served as Chief Financial Officer for several of Brookfield subsidiary public entities, including Rouse Properties, Brookfield Office Properties Canada and Howard Hughes Corporation.
Rael earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from York University and is both a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Accountant (CA). He and his wife, Taryn, are proud parents of three children, one TanenbaumCHAT student and two younger children attending Associated Hebrew School.
Rahn is President of Dodick Landau Inc. He is a Licensed Insolvency Trustee and CPA advising insolvent businesses on matters of financial and operational restructuring for over 24 years. Rahn is a former board member and treasurer of Fighting Blindness Canada, the Chair of the budget and finance committee of Adath Israel Congregation and is a member of the budget and finance committee of Camp Ramah in Canada. Rahn attended Hebrew day schools in Montreal where he developed a passion for Jewish education and continuity.
Rahn has visited Israel 13 times throughout his life and has a deep connection with Israel. Rahn and Tania are proud parents of three sons. They have one TanenbaumCHAT alum (Class of ’22), one current student (Class of ’25) and their youngest at Associated Hebrew Day Schools.
Dr. Jasmine Eliav is a registered Child Clinical Psychologist and a staff psychologist at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Program and Lotus Health, which supports youth under 18 affected by human trafficking. In these roles, she serves as a clinician, educator, and researcher.
Jasmine earned her graduate degrees at the University of Toronto and has been affiliated with SickKids for over 24 years, having conducted her master’s and doctoral research, as well as her Postdoctoral Clinical Fellowship, within the SCAN Program. She is also an active member of the hospital’s Jewish Inclusivity Network. In addition to her hospital work, she runs a private practice supporting children, families, and parents.
Jasmine served on the Board of Directors at The Toronto Heschel School for six years, including two years as co-chair. For over 14 years, she has volunteered and consulted with Jewish Family and Child Services. Jasmine and her husband, Aaron, are proud parents of four children: one CHAT graduate, two current CHAT students, and one future CHAT student.
Dana Ezer is an educator at The Toronto Heschel School. For nearly two decades, she has developed and taught curriculum to Grade 6 to 8 students in a meaningful way, in addition to acting as the school’s Junior High Division Head from 2011 to 2013. Within the classroom and beyond, Dana has a reputation for teaching Jewish text and history in a way that is engaging and relevant to students. For example, she was instrumental in developing TOMGIRL, the first-of-its-kind Bat Mitzvah program for teens and their moms focusing on powerful modern women. Dana is also involved in Peace of Mind Canada, an organization dedicated to facilitating the emotional and psychological support of IDF elite combat soldiers.
Dana received her BA from Dalhousie University, BEd from York University and MA in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. She and her husband are the proud parents of three children, the eldest Class of ’26 and the others at The Toronto Heschel School.
Jonathan Freeman is a partner at Cassels, serving as national chair of the firm’s Real Estate and Development Group and as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Jonathan is also a former member of the firm’s audit and risk management committee. His practice focuses on all aspects of commercial real estate law, including real estate lending transactions and acquisitions and dispositions of commercial properties. Jonathan routinely represents traditional bank and non-bank lenders in complex real estate financing transactions. He also advises issuers and underwriters in capital market offerings, as well as some of Canada’s largest REITs, private equity funds, developers and real estate investment companies on mergers and acquisitions, cross border real estate transactions, joint venture structuring, asset management and insolvency related matters. Jonathan was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia and has a daughter in Grade 11 at TanenbaumCHAT.
Meny is a Managing Director at Scotiabank - Global Banking and Markets. Prior to that he was a partner at Cormark Securities, and also spent many years at CIBC Capital Markets in both the economics and equity research groups. He knows a lot about the stock market, and a little less about various other topics. He is President of the Albert and Temmy Latner Forest Hill Jewish Centre and is a former board member of Camp Moshava. Meny graduated with an MA in Financial Economics from the University of Toronto. He and his wife Mariam White are proud parents of two current TanenbaumCHAT students Sarah ’26 and Dov ’28.
Hart and his wife Gila are the parents of a current student (Class of ’25), two pre-TanenbaumCHAT children, and uncle and aunt to many TanenbaumCHAT students and alumni. Hart has been involved as a volunteer and board member in various Jewish and community organizations and is the current treasurer of TanenbaumCHAT. With a background in finance and consulting, he is an Executive Vice President at LynCar, a plumbing and fire sprinkler products distribution company.
If you’re not a lumberjack or a fur trader, you pronounce it “about” not “a boot”, and you believe that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal… then you are familiar with Cheryl’s award-winning work on Molson Canadian. Cheryl has over 20 years of experience creating and developing internationally acclaimed, award-winning campaigns for a vast range of products and services, including automotive, food, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, packaged goods, financial institutions and charitable organizations. Currently, she leads a double-life as both an art director and as a visual artist, working from her studio at home and from Open Studio in downtown Toronto as an artist member.
Cheryl has volunteered in numerous capacities. Most recently, she served as Chair of the Board of Open Studio, Canada’s only artist-run printmaking centre in Toronto, providing affordable, comprehensive access to printmaking facilities and related programs to local, national and international artists. Prior to that, she served as Open Studio’s Chair of the Marketing Committee. She has also served as House League Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Forest Hill Hockey Association, Marketing Co-Chair at Robbins Hebrew Academy, and she spent four years as manager of her son’s basketball team.
Cheryl obtained her BFA in Visual Arts from York University. She and her husband, Barry Schwartz, are the proud parents of Abe ’22 and Lee ’25.
Howard is a partner at the global law firm DLA Piper, where he leads the firm’s Canadian construction law practice. He advises his clients on all facets of construction and infrastructure projects and the litigation and arbitration of construction disputes. Howard is an active volunteer in the construction industry. He is a board and executive member of the Toronto Construction Association and the Chair of their Allied Professions Committee. Howard is a former Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Construction and Infrastructure Section and is a Fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers.
Howard has served on the board and several committees of his synagogue and has volunteered with other non-profit, professional, community and Jewish organizations. Howard and his wife Karen are the proud parents of a current student (Class of ’25) and an alum (Class of ’21).
Jordan has more than twenty years of experience in merchant banking, investment banking and law. Jordan is the Managing Partner of Windsor Private Capital, a Toronto-based merchant bank managing private debt and equity investments on behalf of high-net-worth, family office and pension fund investors. He has served on several public and private company boards including Concordia International, Atlas Financial Holdings, Xceed Mortgage Corporation and Perk Inc.
Jordan received his B.A. from York University and his JD/MBA from the Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School. Jordan is the proud father of Hayley ’22, Justin ’23, and hopefully a third TanenbaumCHAT student, Ryan (currently in Grade 7).
David is a private equity investor, advisor, and board member, and spent 18 years as a Managing Director at Onex Corporation, a Toronto-based private equity firm. David spent most of 2020 / 2021 advising the Canadian Federal Government on COVID-related business relief programs, including serving as the inaugural CEO of Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corp. David currently serves as the school's Development Chair. Previous community roles include those of board member of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and a member of UJA's strategic planning committee on fund raising, and co-chair of Shaarei Shomayim’s capital campaign. David and his wife, Naomi, have four children, including one alum (Class of ’21) and a current student (Class of ’25). David has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Comm. from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
Micki grew up in Ottawa in a family committed to the Jewish community and continuity. There, she attended the elementary Jewish Day School and a performing arts high school. Micki participated on the MOL in 1990, was Head of Jewish Programming at CBB Ottawa and served on the Holocaust Ed. Committee and BBYO. She graduated from McGill University with a B.Ed.Jewish Education and an M.A. Culture and Values in Education. In Montreal, Micki wrote curricula with the BJE and Day and Supplementary schools. She participated in the CJA Young Leadership, ICRF Next Generation and Jewish General Hospital fundraising. After graduating, she was the instructor of "History of Judaism and the Jewish People" at Carlton University.
Upon moving to Toronto, Micki worked at USDS, The Toronto Heschel School and The Leo Baeck Day School as a teacher. She was the Director of Education at Temple Emanuel and Shaarei Beth El. She completed her Principal's Certification and was the Vice Principal at the Paul Penna DJDS. Currently, Micki manages Marketing, Design and Strategy for Mizrahi Developments.
Micki has worked with various committees with Friends of Simon Weisenthal Center (Co-Chair of Spirit of Hope 2014), Canadian Friends of the Israel Museum and UJA. Within UJA, Micki was Co-Chair of the Lion of Judah and Atarah divisions, Co-Chair of the 2012 and 2013 Walk with Israel, Israel Engagement Committee (helping lead an initiative with CHAT) and Major and Top Gifts campaign. She has served on the Board of Directors of the JCCs, The Leo Baeck Day School and Koffler. She was Vice Chair 2014 to 2016 and then Chair of the Board of Hillel Ontario 2016 to 2018. Currently, she is the JFCS Board Chair of Resource Development and is on the Board of KCJE.
Micki and her husband participated on the Fisher Flight program through JFNA. She is the recipient of the 2014 UJA Leadership Development Award. Micki is married to Sam and they have two children, Eden ’25 and Ethan ’26.
Kevin’s background is as an assurance and business advisory partner with a focus on the financial services and investment management industries. A CPA, Kevin is the Regional Managing Partner of Grant Thornton for Central Canada, where he leads some 750 colleagues across 17 offices in the delivery of advisory, tax and assurance services. Kevin is also responsible for coaching partners and, as part of Grant Thornton’s growth strategy, onboarding senior talent, and other investment opportunities.
He has experience working with owners, presidents, CEOs, CFOs and presenting at boards of directors’ meetings as well as working with stakeholder groups to achieve their objectives. Kevin moved from South Africa to Toronto in 2001. He has two daughters (Classes of ’22 and ’24), and a son at Bialik Hebrew Day School.
Cara Orzech is a CPA with over 20 years of experience in tax practice and education. Following years of public practice in tax, Cara transitioned to a full-time academic role at CPA Canada leading the strategic direction and development of their tax education courses. Cara currently works as a consultant specializing in curating and delivering education experiences for Canadian tax specialists. Cara is an accomplished lecturer, facilitator, and educator at the University of Toronto, York University, the University of Waterloo, and CPA Canada’s In-Depth Tax Program, and is a regular contributor to various Canadian tax textbooks and tax education conferences. She earned her Bachelors degree in Economics from Huron University, and Masters of Management and Professional Accounting degree from the Rotman School of Management.
While her children attended Robbins Hebrew Academy, Cara served as treasurer of the parents’ association, vice president of the board of directors, member of the budget and finance committee, and established and led an admissions committee that oversaw the implementation of a pre-school program.
Cara and her husband Jamie have two sons, Classes of ’24 and ’28.
Adina Bloom Somer is a Vice President, Director & Portfolio Manager at Bloom Investment Counsel, Inc.
Adina draws upon her over 25 years of experience in the Canadian financial industry, where she has garnered a deep understanding of the investment markets and countless clients’ personal wealth journeys. She engages in daily active stock and market research to support her portfolio management decisions to help clients protect and grow their wealth.
Before joining Bloom in 2010, Adina worked at TD Securities for 9 years. She was a Vice President, Equity Research Analyst at TD Securities, responsible for providing in-depth fundamental equities analysis. Adina started her full-time career on Bay Street as a Sales & Marketing Coordinator in the Private Client Marketing department of one of the big Canadian banks.
Adina currently serves as Vice Chair Community Campaign for UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. She has held many leadership roles within the Federation including Women’s Philanthropy and the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto. Adina is a proud Jewish Federations of North America National Young Leadership Cabinet Alumnus.
Adina received her Honors BA in Political Science from University of Toronto and her MBA from Schulich School of Business with a specialization in Finance and Marketing and has completed Level 1 of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and attained the Canadian Investment Manager (CIM)
Adina loves to travel and explore new places with her husband Jeff and their two sons, Evan ’24 and Seth ’26.