Board of Directors
Penny Arons, Co-President
You can reach Penny by emailing penny.limmudny@gmail.com.
Penny Arons became a Limmudnyk in 2005 while attending the first-ever Limmud NY conference with her family. Her volunteer work for the organization spans more than 10 years and includes serving on the conference Steering Committee as well as collaborating on a wide range of other projects.
Penny enjoys being part of the Limmud NY community because she gets to meet, learn and volunteer alongside hundreds of Jews of all stripes who are committed to lifelong learning. She loves that conference participants have used the words “stimulating, exhilarating, inspiring, enlightening and enriching” to describe their Limmud NY experience and that one person said “Only at Limmud NY can so many Jews from so many diverse Jewish backgrounds come to learn and celebrate together without questioning who’s allowed at the table and why.”
Penny holds a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the NYU Wagner School of Public Service and works at Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey in Planning and Allocations. She lives with her husband and two teenage children in Montclair, New Jersey.
Rachel Kanter, Co-President
You can reach Rachel by emailing rachel.kanter@limmudny.org.
Rachel Kanter attended her first Limmud NY conference in 2010 with her husband and three children. In 2011 she presented a session about her work as an artist and she created a “Community Wimple” with the conference participants. In 2013, Rachel joined the Board. Rachel is a fiber artist who creates new Jewish ritual objects using traditional quilting, sewing and embroidery techniques. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Jewish Museum in New York City and the Jewish Museum in Frankfurt and has been featured in many publications including Lilith Magazine, Haddasah Magazine and Zeek. Rachel is on the executive board of the Jewish Art Salon.
Jeff Wallace, Treasurer
Jeff Wallace is the Controller at Hazon. Prior to joining Hazon Jeff was the controller for the New York City Ballet. His background also includes working at Deloitte and CBS Television Network. Jeff graduated with an accounting degree from SUNY Albany and an MBA in Finance from Fordham. He is a licensed certified public accountant in New York and is the Treasurer for Limmud NY. Jeff lives in Westchester with his wife Marla Alt and his two teenage sons.
Charles Skop, Secretary
Charles Skop was introduced to Limmud NY by his daughter Naomi in 2008, and has attended every conference since. Each of his three daughters has co-chaired the conference played significant leadership roles on the Steering Committee. He joined the Board in 2013, mentoring the Shabbat Team and providing legal advice. Charles is an attorney primarily practicing corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions, contracts, and corporate governance. Most of his clients are closely held businesses and not-for-profits for whom he serves as outside general counsel. Charles has served on the Board of his synagogue, The Merrick Jewish Centre on Long Island, for over 20 years. He has chaired and served on the synagogue’s Legal Committee and Ritual Committee for 15 years. He also serves on the Long Island Board of the Jewish National Fund and is active in the Fair Media Council, which advocates for quality local news on Long Island and teaches effective use of the media.
Marla Alt
Marla Alt first attended Limmud NY in 2006 and volunteered at check-in. She has since co-chaired the Participant Care Team, the Marketing Team, and the Social and Communal Programming Team. She has also presented sessions at many conferences. Marla has been a Board member since 2011, co-chairing fundraisers and mentoring the Steering Committee. She owns a personal organizing business (123organize.com), specializing in home organization and moving, and is an expert in logistics, coordinating details and events. Marla works at Park Avenue Synagogue as a congregational school teacher, Logistics Coordinator and High Holiday Programming Director for the K-2 Division. She also teaches at the Community Synagogue of Rye. She has been a Board member of Romemu Synagogue since 2012.
Sivya Twersky
Sivya Twersky attended the first Limmud NY conference in 2005 and has been involved as a volunteer ever since. She chaired the conference in 2008 and was Programming Team co-chair in 2009. She has been involved in multiple organizations, both as a member and a leader, including the Moriah School, Congregation Keter Torah, Amit, the Teaneck Mikva Association, the Frisch School, Nishmat and Congregation B’nai Yeshurun. She is a board-certified genetic counselor at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. She is the mother of four amazing children who all volunteer in their respective Jewish communities, and grandmother of eleven. She hopes the values of Limmud NY will be one of the foundations of their Jewish world.
Staff
Helena Bondar, Program Manager
You can reach Helena by emailing bondar@limmudny.org or calling 212-908-2539.
Helena Bondar is the Program Manager at Limmud NY. Helena is working to address Limmud NY needs pre, during and post conference. Her main priority is handling logistics, stewarding Limmud NY events throughout the year, and liaising with Limmud NY affiliates, Board and Steering Committee. Before Limmud NY, Helena spent the 2016-17 academic year at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, Israel. Previously, she worked for several years at a tech startup company in Washington, DC. She attended American University in DC, majoring in International Studies. She is also an alumna of the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship and several JDC Entwine trips. She’s a veteran of Limmud FSU and excited to be a part of the Limmud family. She was born in Moldova, grew up in Cleveland, OH and currently resides in a Moishe House in New York City.