Community Celebration - Mittleman Jewish Community Center

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. V isit our Sponsorship page here.

Featured Biographies

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.

2023 Community Celebration Sponsors

PRESENTING SPONSORS

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