2025 GALA HONOREES!

Michael Kellman joined the Hebrew Institute of White Plains in 2005 when he and his wife Idana moved from the Upper West Side. They raised their three children with the help of their HIWP neighbors and friends and love how much the community has grown over the last 20 years. Now that one daughter (Noam) is married and attending university in Jerusalem, their son (Shai) is studying at Brandeis, and their youngest (Mali) is finishing her Junior year at SAR, they are readying themselves with trepidation for the post-child raising phase of their lives. Michael has served the shul as gabbai, board member, vice president and now president and is looking forward to taking a step back from shul leadership once his term is over. He can’t wait to get back to reading during shul and introducing himself to people at kiddush, instead of from the bima. When not attending to shul matters, Michael is the Chief Product Officer for Sefaria, a nonprofit dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way.
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Becky Cooper Nadis and her family (Joe, Harvey 10, Julia 8, and Lucy 4) moved to White Plains in October of 2021, knowing only a handful of people, and having never visited the community owing to the pandemic. It was less than a week later—when a parade of fourteen HIWP families dropped off food for shabbat, introduced themselves, and brought their kids to arrange playdates—that she knew this community would be home. Raised in Springfield, Virginia, Becky’s family moved to Hong Kong when she was 11 years old. Ohel Leah Synagogue’s weekly community-wide kiddush lunch created a space for people across age groups and other divides to mingle and connect. The lasting impression it left led Becky to embrace the opportunity to help with the Kiddush Committee. She has used the operational skills from her day job as an analytics team leader at LinkedIn to trial an MVK (minimum viable kiddush), do a/b testing on fish options, streamline systems and processes, and help create a post-tefilla atmosphere that encourages friends, families, and strangers to spend a little more time together—to the constant frustration of her husband who wishes to send the security team home early.