Julie and Nathan Thomas
CROWN LEADERSHIP AWARD
For Julie and Nathan, Ida Crown Jewish Academy was “love at first sight.” Living in Palo Alto, CA, with no Orthodox High School for their graduating 8th grade twin boys, they checked out ICJA while visiting Julie’s family in Lincolnwood. So impressed with ICJA, Rabbi Matanky, and all the educational and extra-curricular activities offered at ICJA, Julie and Nathan decided to move out of the “sunny confines” of Northern California to the “frozen tundra” of Chicago, settling in Skokie.
Julie and Nathan held various communal leadership positions in their prior communities of Riverdale, New Rochelle, and Palo Alto. Most notably, they were one of five couples that co-founded Westchester Torah Academy (WTA) in New Rochelle, a school created to provide excellent education at a significantly more affordable tuition than neighboring schools. It was only natural for Julie and Nathan to get involved in their new community. Inspired by all the communal building her parents have done in Chicago over the prior 40+ years, Julie jumped right in. She joined the Hillel Torah Day School Board, Libenu Board, YU Kollel’s Nili Women’s Council, the JUF’s Community Building & Jewish Continuity Commission, and the ICJA Board, including serving as the most recent Executive Board President. A believer in continuous learning, Julie received lay leadership training at the OU Women’s Initiative Seminar and through Evolve Giving Group, and was in the JUF’S fourth cohort of their Jewish Leaders Institute. Nathan, admittedly burnt out from starting WTA and commuting for work when they first moved here, took time to “get back on the saddle.” But, inspired by Julie’s leadership - and coaxed by her to get out of the house more often after COVID - he joined the Board of Congregation Or Torah and now serves as its current President, where he has learned he can no longer go to shul just to daven.
Julie is a visual design graduate of Pratt Institute of New York and a graduate of the arts and psychology at SUNY Purchase. She is a brand identity developer and graphic designer, and is currently the chair of the art department at ICJA. Nathan is a computer science and pre-engineering graduate of Yeshiva University. He is an executive at Shopify, where he focuses on financial regulatory compliance, and previously held similar roles at Google, Citi, and PwC.
Julie and Nathan have 4 children - Jonathan (ICJA Class of ‘22), Hershel (ICJA Class of ‘22), Jacob (ICJA Class of ‘27, and Layla (future ICJA Class of ‘31) - and a dog, Coco (Class of TBD depending on if ICJA opens a dog division). Jonathan lives with his wife, Shana, in NY, and is finishing up his degree in Business Analytics and Marketing at YU in May. Hershel lives in Herzliya, is finishing up his degree in Computer Science at Reichman University this summer, and will, iy’h, be joining the IDF in December.
Julie and Nathan held various communal leadership positions in their prior communities of Riverdale, New Rochelle, and Palo Alto. Most notably, they were one of five couples that co-founded Westchester Torah Academy (WTA) in New Rochelle, a school created to provide excellent education at a significantly more affordable tuition than neighboring schools. It was only natural for Julie and Nathan to get involved in their new community. Inspired by all the communal building her parents have done in Chicago over the prior 40+ years, Julie jumped right in. She joined the Hillel Torah Day School Board, Libenu Board, YU Kollel’s Nili Women’s Council, the JUF’s Community Building & Jewish Continuity Commission, and the ICJA Board, including serving as the most recent Executive Board President. A believer in continuous learning, Julie received lay leadership training at the OU Women’s Initiative Seminar and through Evolve Giving Group, and was in the JUF’S fourth cohort of their Jewish Leaders Institute. Nathan, admittedly burnt out from starting WTA and commuting for work when they first moved here, took time to “get back on the saddle.” But, inspired by Julie’s leadership - and coaxed by her to get out of the house more often after COVID - he joined the Board of Congregation Or Torah and now serves as its current President, where he has learned he can no longer go to shul just to daven.
Julie is a visual design graduate of Pratt Institute of New York and a graduate of the arts and psychology at SUNY Purchase. She is a brand identity developer and graphic designer, and is currently the chair of the art department at ICJA. Nathan is a computer science and pre-engineering graduate of Yeshiva University. He is an executive at Shopify, where he focuses on financial regulatory compliance, and previously held similar roles at Google, Citi, and PwC.
Julie and Nathan have 4 children - Jonathan (ICJA Class of ‘22), Hershel (ICJA Class of ‘22), Jacob (ICJA Class of ‘27, and Layla (future ICJA Class of ‘31) - and a dog, Coco (Class of TBD depending on if ICJA opens a dog division). Jonathan lives with his wife, Shana, in NY, and is finishing up his degree in Business Analytics and Marketing at YU in May. Hershel lives in Herzliya, is finishing up his degree in Computer Science at Reichman University this summer, and will, iy’h, be joining the IDF in December.