Mrs. Ilana Bendel

 

Mrs. Ilana Bendel, a proud native Floridian, was born and raised in the vibrant Jewish community of Miami Beach and is part of the esteemed Weberman family. During her high school years, Ilana was privileged to be a student of Rabbi and Mrs. Schochet, both of whom were dedicated teachers and mentors.

After graduating from Touro College, Ilana continued her academic journey at Barry University in Miami where she earned her graduate degree in Mental Health Counseling. Her professional career is deeply rooted in helping others.  Mrs. Bendel worked in the counseling departments at Scheck Hillel Community School, and in various mental health clinics across Florida and New York. It was there that she honed her skills and expertise in guiding individuals through challenging times.

 

Continued - Mrs. Ilana Bendel 

 

For the past six years, Mrs. Bendel has served as both a teacher and guidance counselor

at Hadar High School for Girls, where she has made a profound impact on her students

and the broader school community. Her compassionate approach and commitment to

nurturing her students' well-being have earned her deep respect and admiration.

Mrs. Bendel's dedication to the students of Hadar is unparalleled. She is constantly

opening her home and her heart to her students, ensuring that she is always available

whenever a student needs.  Her commitment and devotion to the students of Hadar has

enabled her to develop deep and long lasting relationships with all of them. She is a true

role model to both the students and faculty of Hadar.

Mrs. Bendel currently resides in Boca Raton with her three beautiful children, where she

continues to devote herself to her family, her career, and her community.
    
 

Dr. Larry and Debra Halperin

 

Debra and Larry Halperin truly love all things Hadar. They share a profound admiration for Rabbi Moshe and Mrs. Michal Schochet and are so proud of all that Hadar High School has brought to the greater South Florida Jewish community. Debra believes that Hadar is a beautiful expression of Torah values at its finest. With Larry by her side, Debra has immersed herself in countless philanthropic and volunteer opportunities that help preserve, protect and foster these values throughout the Boca Raton Jewish community and beyond. 

 Jewish Federation has been the focus of Debra's philanthropic efforts for over three decades. Debra has served in nearly every position within the Federation, including the Federation's Campaign Chair, President of Women's Philanthropy, Jewish Education task force and its program funding council. Debra has chaired nearly every event the organization hosts, including the Lion of Judah luncheon, and has endowed her gift to Federation. Debra served on the JFNA National Young Leadership Cabinet and was its membership chair. She received the James and Marjorie Baer Young Leadership Award in 1993 and completed the prestigious Wexner Heritage Fellowship 2-year program in 2010.

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Debra and Larry also helped develop and launch "The Event," an annual gathering that brings together day schools, yeshivas, shuls, Chabad houses, JFS, JARC, and many more institutions, to celebrate and support our diverse and vibrant Jewish community.
 
Debra's leadership knows no bounds and extends across so many areas of Jewish life. From Boca Raton Synagogue, to FAU Hillel, to The Great Big Challah Bake and so much more, Debra does it all. And while each of these efforts have a unique purpose and significance, Debra's proudest memories, and one of her most meaningful experiences will always be serving on the board of Hadar High School.
 
Debra and Larry have been married for over 40 years. Larry has been a senior partner at Retina Group of Florida for 30 years. In addition to helping run and grow his practice of fifteen retina surgeons, he has been committed to clinical research and teaching medical students and ophthalmology residents, and is a full clinical professor at FAU College of Medicine. He has held many positions of leadership both locally and nationally in the world of ophthalmology and retina surgery, and has given over 100 lectures and published 45 papers in all of the major ophthalmology journals. Since moving to "the circle" in 2018, Larry has been on the board of BRS, serving on its executive committee, as well as co-chairing the Pillar Society and the BRS Capital Campaign.
   

continued - Dr. Larry and Debra Halperin

 

Debra and Larry place Israel at the center of their lives and dedicate a tremendous amount of time and resources into launching fundraising campaigns, leading mission trips, and advocating on behalf of our homeland. Since October 7th, Larry served as a volunteer retina surgeon at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba where he spent a month training young retina surgeons as well as operating on injured IDF soldiers. Currently, Larry is developing an International Retina Fellowship at Soroka. Debra and Larry are the embodiment of chesed, leadership, ahavas yisrael and ahavas eretz yisrael, a reflection of the values that define Hadar High School.
 
Debra and Larry's greatest pride and joy is their family. Larry's mother, Natalie, will Be'ezras Hashem attend this year's gala dinner, and will be representing all of Debra and Larry's parents z'l, who taught them that a life dedicated to family, Israel, and the Jewish community is a life well spent. They are most proud of the dedication, compassion, and commitment of their children Douglas, Chavi, Katie, Jeremy, Scott and Ilana, who all demonstrate their own intense devotion to Yiddishkeit and a Torah life. The example they set for the couples B"H seven grandchildren, Daniel, Eli, Skip, Isaac, Ahuva, Valentina, and Ashira, brings tremendous nachas to their whole family. Debra and Larry eagerly anticipate the day when their granddaughters become Hadar graduates!