Celebrating our extraordinary alumni
Previous Outstanding Alumni Award Recipients:
2024: Sharon Bohnen Goldstein ’86
2023: Jessica Fein ’82
2022: Jessica Gray ’96
2021: Rachel Chiel Katz ’97
2020: Miriam Tuchman ’80
2019: Noah Phillips ’92
2017: Rahel Berkovits ’83 & Jackie Schon ’99
2016: Yosef Abramowitz ’78 & Heidi Birnbaum Aaronson ’96
2015: Jeremy Blumenthal z”l ’83 & Teddy Fischer ’00
2014: Rabbi Ilana Garber ’91 and Dr. Mitchell Schwaber ’78
The 2025 Arnold Zar-Kessler Outstanding Alumni Award Winner
Each year, we honor one exceptional alumnus or alumna who lives out Schechter’s values through leadership, service or impact in their field. Established in 2014 to honor former Head of School Arnold Zar-Kessler, the award recognizes professional, academic, or volunteer excellence, and a commitment to creating a better world.
The award recipient is invited to speak with current students each spring connecting past, present, and future Schechter voices.
Mazal tov to this year’s winner, Ben Kasdan ‘06 ,who is recognized for his work in public health. He is currently serving in Kyiv, Ukraine as an HIV advisor for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) .