The Mittleman Jewish Community Center is a proud beneficiary of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and is proud of our partnership with them in strengthening our local Jewish community and greater Portland community.
Register now for the MJCC Community Celebration:
Tuesday, May 9, 2023 | 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Stern Family Ballroom, MJCC 6651 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219
The Mittleman Jewish Community Center is excited to announce our 4th annual Community Celebration on Tuesday, May 9. The MJCC’s Community Celebration is an opportunity to recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution to the MJCC and/or the Jewish community. We will honor Gayle Romain with the MJCC Pillar of Excellence award, induct Geoff Schwartz from the NFL into the Oregon Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and present our Harry Glickman Scholar Athlete Award to two high-achieving high school athletes. Our keynote speaker for the evening will be Erez Kaganovitz. Photographer, native Tel Avivi, and TEDx speaker, Erez Kaganovitz is the human behind the Humans of Tel Aviv, Humans of Israel, and Humans of the Holocaust projects. Read their bios below.
All “Friends of the Center Society” members are sponsors of the Mittleman Jewish Community Center’s Community Celebration, and additional sponsorships are available. Visit our Sponsorship page here.
Erez Kaganovitz Keynote Speaker
Photographer, native Tel Avivi, and TEDx speaker, Erez Kaganovitz is the human behind the Humans of Tel Aviv, Humans of Israel, and Humans of the Holocaust projects. His compelling work brings understanding, emotional connection, and unity to many around the world. “Humans of Israel “combines photojournalism with digital storytelling to give a sense of what makes Israel, and the diverse humans in it, tick.
Gayle Romain Pillar of Excellence Awardee
Gayle grew up at the Jewish Community Center as a preschooler and teacher, camper and counselor, member and board member. She has served on the MJCC board as an officer and member of the Executive Committee, and she co-chaired the campaign to renovate the Schnitzer Family Campus. She has served as President and member on the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland as well as campaign chair, allocations chair, and Women’s Division campaign chair. She also served on the National Women’s Philanthropy Board.
Geoff Schwartz Oregon Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Inductee
Geoffrey Isaiah Schwartz is a former American football offensive guard in the NFL and author. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft, and played for them from 2008-11. He has also played for the Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and Detroit Lions. Schwartz played college football at the University of Oregon, for the Ducks. He started for three years at right tackle, and in his senior year was a second-team All-Pac-10 selection. By Flickr user wackyland
Ben Rosenfeld Harry Glickman Scholar Athlete Award Recipient
Ben is a four-sport varsity athlete and member of the soccer, basketball, tennis, and cross-country teams at Catlin Gabel School. He serves as captain of the tennis team and was a 2022 State Team Tennis Champion, 2021 District Tennis Finalist, 2021 All-District Tennis Team member, a 2021 State Soccer Champion. He also competed in the 2019 JCC Maccabi USA Games as a member of Oregon’s MJCC Soccer team. Ben’s community service includes serving as the current president of the CommuniCare Club, a member of the Leadership Council at the Oregon Jewish Community Youth Foundation, a high school intern with StandWithUs, a leader of Catlin’s Jewish Student Union, and a Community Engineering Manager for Catlin’s robotics team. He is student body President, a member of Catlin’s Student Ambassador Program, and works as a math, computer science and science tutor. Ben will attend Stanford University in the fall, intending to study data science and education.
Lily Wand Harry Glickman Scholar Athlete Award Recipient
Lily has been a member of Catlin Gabel’s varsity tennis team since her sophomore year in high school and was named team captain in her junior and senior years on the team. Lily was a 2022 4A Team State Champion, 2022 4A All-District Champion, and she placed 3rd in the 2021 4A All District. Lily was also a three-year member of Catlin Gabel’s varsity volleyball team, which was ranked 3rd in the 2021 Oregon 3A division, and she was a starting forward on the varsity basketball team. Lily volunteered time working with Socks + Sandwiches and Breaking the Barrier, two organizations working to provide support and supplies for the local houseless population within the Portland community. At Catlin, she is involved in a number of clubs and programs including: a leader of the Jewish Student Union, Model United Nations leader, Science Kinesiology Teaching Assistant, a leader of the Jewish Affinity Group, member of the Catlin Gabel Ambassador Program and the Feminism Club, and editorial contributor for the student newspaper, CatlinSpeak.
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland
Ralph Miller
Friendly Rosenthal Fund of OJCF
Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Family Fund of OJCF / Jordan Schnitzer
Richard Weil OCF
Joseph E. Weston Public Foundation
PATRON SPONSORS
Anonymous A Fund of OJCF
Alice Graham and Joel Newman
Gayle Schnitzer Romain Fund of OJCF
DIAMOND SPONSORS
Anonymous
Ellie and Dan Albert
Anonymous A Senior Program Fund of OJCF
Detwiler Family Foundation
Robert & Rita Philip
Sarah (Richter) Ritchie Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
Steve "Rosy" Rosenberg & Ellen Lippman
Diane and David Rosencrantz
Leonard and Lois Schnitzer Charitable Supporting Foundation of OJCF
Leonard and Lois Schnitzer Family Fund of OJCF
Sandra Schnitzer
Deborah Yaeger and John Emshwiller
Juan Young Trust
Jason E. Zidell Foundation
Jay and Diane Zidell Charitable Foundation
PLATINUM SPONSORS
Anonymous
John and Carol Arnsberg Family Endowment Fund of OJCF
Bob Gordon
Income Property Management / Jeff Reingold
The Ellen M. and Peter M. Klein Foundation Inc.
Leonard and Lois Schnitzer Family Fund of OJCF
Mardi Schnitzer Spitzer and Brad Lyle
ShedRain Corporation
Harriet Silverman
Mardi Schnitzer Spitzer and Brad Lyle
Jerry & Helen Stern Grandchildren's Fund of OJCF
Robert P. Weil Fund of OJCF / Dana Hunt / Marlene Weil-Perez / Sharon Weil
GOLD SPONSORS
Henry and Gerel Blauer Family Fund of OJCF
Stanley and Judith Blauer Family Fund of OJCF
Christopher Dotson
Michael and Chris Feves Family Fund of OJCF
Beth and John Germain
Janie Goldenberg and Steve Albert
Jay Holzman
Liz Menashe
Jeff, Anne, Josh and Sol Nudelman
Regional Arts & Culture Council
Rosenberg/Lippman Family Fund of OJCF
Jerry and Bunny Sadis
Helen Stern
SILVER SPONSORS
The Michael Adler and Molly Newcomer Family Fund
Baron/Gilbert Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation
Karla and Barry Benson
Birk-Coblens Family Fund of OJCF
Sarah and Marc Blattner
BB Camp / Linda Singer
Cameron and Dick Davis
Jill and Richard Edelson
First Republic Bank
Geffen Mesher & Co.
Gevurtz Menashe
Lesley and Bob Glasgow
The Goodman Family
Sue Hickey and Sheldon Klapper
Jan Jewett and Rick Nitti
Lora and Jim Meyer Family Fund of OJCF
Nike, Inc.
Eric and Tiffany Rosenfeld Fund of OJCF / Tiffany and Eric Rosenfeld
Dina Schnitzer
Jerry and Helen Stern Grandchildren's Fund of OJCF / Anna Kodesch / Jonathan Singer
Turner Construction Company
University of Oregon
BRONZE SPONSORS
Jerome Barde
William M. Bennett, MD and Sandra S. Bennett
Rosalie and Keith Berne
Keith Berne/ReMax
Amy and Doug Blauer
The Brody Family
Cohen Family Fund
The Drucker Family
Marilyn Q. Forse Endowment I of OJCF
Renée Holzman
Sheryl Horwitz
Janis Jaffe
Laurie Kilbourn and Ron Cobb
Lucy Kivel and Scott Howard
Priscilla and Tony Kostiner
Joanne and Jerry Kryszek
Gail Mandel and Steven Klein
Shari Levinson and Marshal Spector
Judy Margles and Steve Wasserstrom
Melanie and Jay Rathe
Danelle Romain and RD Symms
Rosemarie Rosenfeld
Stan and Madelle Rosenfeld Family Foundation
Meredith Rudof and Dan Weiss
Jonathan Singer
Linda and Gary Singer
Linda and Larry Veltman