Thank you to everyone who joined or supported this amazing and meaningful evening celebrating Nancy & Scott Beiser and Alison & Michael Feinberg.
We were overjoyed to finally be back in person with our beloved Kehillah (community) and had over 300 guests join us.
The incredible evening raised over $550k to support the future of Camp Ramah in California. While first strengthening Camp Ramah’s financial position, additional proceeds from the evening will support endeavors such as the exciting establishment of a Ramah Day Camp in Los Angeles and increased outreach to important Ramah communities beyond Los Angeles
Please support Nancy & Scott and Alison & Michael’s passions by making a gift. To those who have already contributed, Todah Rabbah!
B’Shalom,
Lesley Wolman, Celebration Chair
Karmi Monsher, Development Chair
Ellen Brown, Chair, Board of Directors
Our Honorees
Nancy’s mother and Scott’s father knew each other growing up in the small Jewish community of Des Moines, Iowa. However, Nancy and Scott did not discover this coincidence until a mutual friend arranged for them to meet.
Both Nancy and Scott were born and raised in Los Angeles by parents who instilled in their children the importance of Jewish education and values, including tzedakah and giving back to the community.
This influence has greatly shaped the people they are today and their dedication to supporting many organizations. They are actively involved in the Jewish community, serving on the AIPAC Valley Executive Committee and as members of the Pro-Israel Political Network and the Birthright Leadership Council. In addition, they are involved in their synagogue, Valley Beth Shalom, and they have traveled on many missions to Israel with Jewish Federation, AIPAC, and the Birthright Foundation.
Nancy recently served as co-chair of Jewish Federation Sylvia Weisz Women’s Philanthropy. She currently is a member of the Jewish Federation Board of Directors, JFNA’s National Women’s Philanthropy Board, Federation’s Jewish Campus Life Committee, and as a Lion of Judah Endowment Chair. She also serves on the Camp Ramah Executive Board. Nancy is a UCLA graduate and has her own business, By Nancy, personalizing gifts and party favors.
Scott is currently the chair of the Platinum Society for Israel Bonds of Los Angeles. He is also a board advisory member of itrek (previously Israel & Co) and a Los Angeles ambassador of the American Cancer Society, and a former trustee of the Valley Beth Shalom Foundation. He is CEO of Houlihan Lokey, a publicly-traded international investment banking firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings, and business valuations, where he has worked for almost 40 years – since graduating from California State University, Northridge.
Camp Ramah entered Nancy’s life in 1970, when her parents learned about a fantastic Jewish summer camp in Ojai, CA, from their mentor, Dr. Emil Jacoby z’l, who at the time was the educational director at their synagogue (Adat Ari El, then known as VJCC) and the director of education at Ramah. Nancy was fortunate to attend every summer for two four-week sessions and every winter week session through 1979, starting as a camper and then spending the last few years as a counselor. When it was time for sleepaway camp for Nancy and Scott’s children, Kyle and Tara, there was no question they would attend Camp Ramah, which they enjoyed for many years as campers and counselors. Scott and Nancy cannot wait until they have grandchildren in their lives to share in the Jewish joy of Camp Ramah!
Alison and Michael Feinberg would never have met if not for Camp Ramah in California. Their paths first crossed the summer of 1993, while they were both on tzevet (staff), and they have been together ever since. Married in 1999, today they have three children: Nora (17), Sadie (15), and Josh (12).
Alison is a dedicated full-time volunteer and a retired Jewish communal professional. She currently serves on the Camp Ramah Executive Board and on the board of Congregation Or Tzion in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is also the co-president of the Horizon High School Choir ACCENTS Parent group. An alumnus of the Wexner Heritage Program, Alison was the recipient of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix Lee Amada Young Leadership Award, the Women’s Philanthropy Continuing Service Award, and the Paradise Valley Unified School District United Parent Council Geri L. Morgan Award. When she isn’t recruiting more Arizona kids to go Camp Ramah or chaperoning a Southwest flight of 85 kids from Phoenix to Burbank, Alison loves to read, garden, and play mahjong.
Michael is a Ramah lifer and a board-certified orthodontist. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Martin Pear Jewish Community Center and the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontics, where he was recently honored as the 2020 Rising Star. He is also on the national board of the American Association of Orthodontists Political Action Committee representing the western United States. For his service to the Greater Phoenix Jewish community, he was awarded the Sy Clark Young Leadership Award. Michael celebrated his 40th birthday at Ramah during a family camp weekend and is convinced he holds the record for most aliyot during a morning Torah service.
A Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
ACHRAYUT (Responsibility)
Nancy & Scott Beiser
HAKARAT HATOV (Gratitude)
Roz & Abner Goldstine
TIKKUN OLAM (Healing the World)
Lela & Dr. Norman Jacoby
Lisa Kohn & Victor Kohn
Julie & Marc Platt
TZEDAKAH (Justice)
Janet Farber
Sheila Baran Spiwak & Alan Spiwak
DERECH ERETZ (Doing Good)
Ashely & Scott Adelson
Rhoda & Dr. Bob Barnhard
Donna & Ron Bender
Ellen & Jeff Brown
Marlynn & Rabbi Elliot Dorff
Helgard & Irwin Field
Alison & Michael Feinberg
Jodie & Steven Fishman
Lori & Neil Gordon, Natalie Gordon and Victoria Gordon
Karen & Jeffrey Goss
Marcie & Scott Howard
Debra & Moshe Meppen
Heidi & Jon Monkarsh
Karmi & Harold Monsher
Jill & Steven Namm
Judy & Alan Nussenblatt
Nurit & Rich Robin
Cassie & Eitan Weinstock
Orna & Keenan Wolens Family Foundation
Lesley & Jeff Wolman