Honorees
If you were to look up the definition of the term “community leader,” the chances are excellent that you would find the names Vicki and Brian Zell. Since moving to the area in 1999, both Vicki and Brian have made their marks on many organizations that are the pillars upon which our strong Jewish community rests.
The Zell family came to Southern New Jersey so that Brian could join his best friend, Mark Sobel, in their orthopaedic practice. Over the past 21 years, many members of the Jewish community have benefitted from Brian’s skills and caring manner. Since 2007, under Sobel-Zell Orthopaedics and now personally, Brian has been a major sponsor of events such as the Arts, Books and Culture Festival and Super Sunday. He has also been part of clerical support for Super Sunday for over a decade. After serving on the Board of the Samost Jewish Family and Children Services (JFCS), Brian became a board member of the Jewish Senior Housing and Healthcare Services (JSHHS) in 2012. Currently, he is Treasurer, on the Executive Committee, chairs the Finance Committee, and is on the Future Planning Committee.
Vicki began her 20-year volunteer leadership journey with the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), starting as a BookMates reader and ultimately serving as President (2009-2011). Simultaneously, Vicki was a Jewish Community Center (JCC) Board Member, Executive Committee member, and major event chair. At Jewish Federation, Vicki chaired Super Sunday, the Annual Campaign, co-created the Federation Leadership Institute (FLI), and served as President from 2014-2016. During her tenure, she worked tirelessly to increase awareness of the value of Jewish day school education to the overall health and stability of our community. Nationally, Vicki is on the Board of the Jewish Federations of North America and co-chairs the JFNA-JCPA Blue Ribbon Task Force on Jewish Community Relations. As an endowed Lion of Judah, Vicki was nationally recognized as a Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award winner.
In January 2017, Vicki became the Executive Director of the Raymond & Gertrude R. Saltzman Foundation, a supporting organization of the Jewish Federation of SNJ and its family of agencies. Vicki’s focus, both as a lay leader and in her professional role at the Foundation, is to convene, connect and collaborate with all organizations to build a stronger Jewish community.
Brian and Vicki are members of Temple Beth Sholom locally, and Temple Beth Elohim in Massachusetts. They are most proud of their wonderful children, Alyssa; Adam and daughter-in-law Nicole; and Cantor Shanna and fiancé Josh Mondshein.
Vicki and Brian have seen firsthand how KBA students are taught to become the Jewish community leaders of the future through the school’s emphasis on Hebrew skills, STEM skills, and especially kindness and compassion to others. In turn, Lions Gate residents are visited, BookMates children are read to, and students from the KIPP Cooper Norcross School partner on the "Names not Numbers" Holocaust survivors project – all with our KBA students. Brian and Vicki are truly humbled to be honored by this phenomenal school as this year’s Community Leaders.
Sitting in Ellen Barmach’s classroom learning about government and civil engagement as a young teen, Alexandra Schimmer might have wondered about the impact this amazing educational experience would have on her. In all likelihood, it would have been difficult to imagine that this educational foundation would one day lead her to become General Counsel for Denison University, the former Solicitor General for the state of Ohio, and a lawyer and leader in the fields of public law and higher education. But she has realized all of these accomplishments… and so many more!
As Ohio’s Solicitor General, Schimmer led and argued the state’s major cases before the United States Supreme Court and other federal and state appellate courts, and advised Ohio’s Attorney General and other state officials and agencies on a range of legal issues, including constitutional matters, consumer protection, civil rights laws, antitrust, environmental law, and legal issues in higher education.
Following her time in the Attorney General’s Office, Schimmer became the Deputy General Counsel for The Ohio State University, where she led the day to day provision of legal counsel for Ohio’s flagship public research university, now the largest university in the country. Schimmer is an expert in higher education law and litigation, including campus speech issues, regulatory compliance and investigations, and research integrity, including research conflicts of interest and foreign influence. In August 2019, Schimmer became the General Counsel for Denison University.
Schimmer is also deeply engaged in volunteer law reform efforts and law and civics teaching. For ten years, she served by appointment of the Governor of Ohio as Ohio Commissioner to the Uniform Law Commission, a non-partisan, national organization that drafts model legislation on issues common to all the states. In this role, Schimmer worked extensively on the drafting and enactment of the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act, designed to remove undue barriers to rehabilitation and reentry after involvement with the criminal justice system. Schimmer also played a key role in Ohio’s Civil Gideon Project, which has sought to expand the right to counsel for indigent citizens in civil proceedings where critical rights are at stake, and she was honored for this work by the Columbus Bar Association and Foundation. Schimmer is also a frequent speaker on public law and university legal and policy issues, and has taught at the Yale Law School, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she was the Harris Distinguished Practitioner. In addition, Schimmer has worked extensively with the Ohio Center for Law Related Education, which delivers programming and educational resources for Ohio students and teachers on government, law, and the importance of active citizenship.
Schimmer graduated from Kellman Brown Academy and Akiba Hebrew Academy (now the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy). She received her B.A. from Princeton University, her J.D. from the Yale Law School, and prior to law school was a Fulbright Fellow to England, at Cambridge University. Schimmer is grateful to KBA for the foundations it provided for lifelong Jewish living and learning, and for the broader values of pluralism and engagement that it inspired.
DEBRA GRINBERG
Debi Grinberg considers herself very fortunate to have parents who believed in the importance of a Jewish education. Born in Montreal, Canada, she attended Jewish preschool and elementary school where she studied in four languages – English, French, Hebrew, and Yiddish – and was taught to embrace her Jewish identity. These are values that Debi holds dear to this day.
Debi received her Bachelor Degree in Art Education from Concordia University in Montreal. In 1997, she moved to Philadelphia where she earned her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education at Beaver College (now Arcadia University).
After graduation, she and her husband, Ron Raducanu, moved to Virginia Beach for his residency program in podiatric medicine. Never straying far from her roots and values, it was of utmost importance to Debi that she work at a Jewish school. She interviewed at Hebrew Academy of Tidewater and spent nine wonderful years teaching kindergarten, first and third grades, and art there. She subsequently taught kindergarten for two years at Beth Yeshurun Day School in Houston.
When the opportunity arose for Debi, Ron and their three extraordinary children, Sophie, Avery and Emilia, to move to Cherry Hill, she immediately researched schools in the area and instinctively knew that Kellman Brown Academy would be her new home.
Since 2011, Debi has loved the warm, nurturing environment that KBA offers. During her tenure at KBA, Debi has enriched the lives of our pre-school students on a daily basis. Over the years, she has become good friends with the parents of KBA students, and has embraced the fun, talented, and loving teachers at KBA as her extended family. She feels extremely fortunate to be a part of her students’ secular and Jewish journeys, and to watch them grow.
After 20 years of teaching, Debi insists she still has the best job on the planet because she gets to spend her day among tiny humans with big ideas!
ELIANA SELTZER
Eliana grew up in New York, the daughter of a congregational rabbi and the librarian at her local Jewish day school. From a young age, Eliana’s parents instilled in her the values of menschlichkeit, love of learning, and pride in her Jewish identity. Eliana attended both the Solomon Schechter Day School and Solomon Schechter High School on Long Island, where she had teachers who nurtured and guided her, and challenged her to become a critical thinker who values her own voice and perspective. After high school, Eliana enrolled in the double degree program of Barnard College and The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) for her undergraduate education, where she earned two bachelor’s degrees – one in American Studies and one in Talmud. She furthered her education at JTS and earned two master’s degrees - one in Jewish education and one in Talmud.
Along with her educational background, Camp Ramah holds a central place in Eliana’s life. She attended camp there as a child, worked there as a counselor and supervisor, and most importantly, met her husband, Rabbi Joel Seltzer there. He is currently the Executive Director of Camp Ramah in the Poconos, and Eliana feels blessed to spend her summers at Ramah with her family, finding it a place that deepens her connection to Judaism, nature, and her community.
Eliana and Joel have three daughters and proud KBA students, Ayelet, Tali and Noa, who bring joy and laughter into their lives, as well as a dog, Abe, who loves going to camp just as much as the campers do!
Eliana began her teaching career thirteen years ago at the Heschel High School in Manhattan, followed by a stint at the Jewish Community Day School in Rhode Island. Eight years ago, she found her second home here at Kellman Brown Academy, where she currently fulfills a number of different roles. She is the 5th grade Jewish Studies teacher, teaches Judaic Studies to our middle school students and does tefillot with the students from Gan through 8th grade. In addition, she plans all of the Jewish Holiday programs for the school, is the Student Council advisor, and is a member of the J-STEM Team. In 2017, she was named the Judaic Studies Coordinator in recognition of her oversight responsibilities.
Kellman Brown Academy is not only a second home to Eliana and her family, but it is the place where her hopes and dreams come together. Both personally and professionally, KBA has been a place for Eliana and her family to learn and grow, to make meaningful connections to others and to our traditions, and to live a life imbued with joyful Judaism, a commitment to Israel and the Hebrew language, and a focus on the values that shape us as a people. Every day at KBA gives Eliana another opportunity to serve God and try to make the world a better place: one lesson, one interaction, and one child at a time. Eliana feels incredibly blessed to call Kellman Brown Academy her family and her home.
Fifteen years ago, Rachel Shmuts and her wonderful husband, Robert, came to the area for their medical training and decided to stay on after it was completed. The warm and welcoming Jewish community they found here was a key factor in their decision, and over time, both Rachel’s and Robert’s families moved here (from Pennsylvania and New York) to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
Rachel and Robert have three beautiful girls, ages almost 8, 5 and 2 years old. The older two are currently students at KBA, and are thriving academically in both their secular and religious studies. Plans for their youngest daughter to attend KBA preschool in the fall are in the works!
About 4 years ago, Rachel and Robert started to invest more time in KBA and became involved in the very successful “A Night with the Real Beverly Goldberg,” the Parent Teacher Group (PTG) annual fall fundraiser. After their third child was born and Rachel was home on maternity leave, she threw herself into working on both existing PTG events and developing innovative ideas for new PTG activities and fundraisers. She has been involved in the planning of other major events including last year’s “Trivia Night” and “Laughs and Latkes” this past December; arranging local in-store small business events to benefit KBA; bake sales; Mother’s Day flower sales; the Scholastic Book Fairs; and arranging for sweets, treats, and biannual lunches for our very appreciated teachers and staff. Rachel is currently in the second year of her term as PTG Co-President, and after her term ends in June, she is looking forward to helping the transition to new leadership and maintaining her involvement in many more PTG events.
This past November, Rachel was fortunate to be part of the Jewish Federation/KBA sponsored Momentum trip for first time visitors to Israel. Together with thirteen other mothers from our local community, Rachel had the opportunity to connect more deeply with Israel and to explore Jewish values in this life-changing and meaningful 8-day trip.
Even though Rachel’s two older daughters believe she is employed by KBA because of all she does for the school, Rachel actually has a career outside of her volunteer work at KBA. She is on currently on staff at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM), where she is heavily involved in medical student and resident education in her specialty field of psychiatry. For the last 2 years she has worked extensively in medical student curriculum reform as the Brain and Behavior Block Director. Last June, she won the prestigious Golden Couch Teaching Award for her skills in psychiatry resident teaching, supervision, and mentorship, and in January, she was appointed the Rowan SOM Psychiatry Residency Program Director.
Clinically, her passion is women’s mental health, specifically in medication management and psychotherapy with pregnant and post-partum women with mental illness. In her practice at The Healing House (Cherry Hill), she also specializes in transcranial magnetic stimulation, a non-medication treatment for major depression that targets patients who have not responded to medication or who can’t tolerate it.
In whatever spare time she has, Rachel enjoys exercising and spending time with her family, Peloton bike, reading, being at the beach, shopping, and watching TV and movies.
Rachel is truly honored and humbled to be receiving the Volunteer Award. She wants to express her deep gratitude to her husband, Robert, for supporting each and every one of her many endeavors; to her children for all the love and hugs she needs when she’s tired; to her mother and father (may his memory be for a blessing) for instilling her with confidence and providing opportunities for success (like writing her Bat Mitzvah speech!); to her in-laws for their support and Shabbos food; and to all her family and friends who energize her and validate her strength.
Throughout her childhood, a 34-year teaching career in Cherry Hill Public Schools, and now retirement, Marcia Brown has lived her passion for education.
When Marcia was a child, her favorite activity was “playing school,” enlisting neighborhood friends and her younger brother to be her pupils. As a Future Teachers of America member at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, PA, she won a national contest with her essay entitled “A Teacher Affects Eternity” (quotation by Henry Adams).
Upon earning her B.A. and M.S. in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, Marcia became a reading specialist at Cherry Hill High School East. After 20 years, she transferred to Clara Barton Elementary School, where exciting new opportunities awaited—including the one that led to this honor. Her principal and mentor, Philip Reed, made it possible for her to attend annual conferences of the International Reading Association, where she discovered Canadian teacher/author Lois Burdett and her “Shakespeare for Kids” series. Marcia did not know at that time how Burdett would dramatically affect her teaching and ignite the imaginations of hundreds of students in South Jersey.
From 2002 to her retirement in 2005, Marcia, co-teaching with Barton’s 2nd grade teachers, engaged students in the interactive exploration of Shakespeare’s writing and his life and times. Everyone fell under the spell of the “Bard’s” magic.
As a retiree, Marcia has taken advantage of opportunities to continue working with children. She served 4 years on the Temple Beth Sholom Preschool Board and has volunteered for BookMates and for the Raab/Goodwin Holocaust Museum and Education Center.
Perhaps it was “bashert” that Marcia’s daughter, Amanda Linick, joined the KBA faculty in 2012. Marcia spoke to Rachel Zivic and Emily Cook about becoming a volunteer. When she shared her excitement about teaching Shakespeare to 7 and 8-year-olds, they took a chance…and KBA 3rd graders have become insatiable Shakespeare scholars ever since!
KBA has given Marcia the best unexpected gift of her retirement—the joy of working in a warm and nurturing, innovative and exciting learning community. She feels welcomed into the extraordinary KBA family.
Marcia and her husband Cliff, a financial planner, live in Cherry Hill, where they raised their children, Dan and Amanda. Marcia thanks her children for participating in her school programs, including Dan playing the roles of Shakespeare and Einstein and Amanda as dance choreographer. It’s not surprising that both Dan and Amanda chose careers in education!
Marcia and Cliff’s greatest pleasure is spending time with their children and four grandchildren. Dan and his wife Colleen live in Maryland with 10-year-old Sadie and 6-year-old Sam. Amanda lives in Cherry Hill with her husband Dan and their 4-year-old son Nate and daughter Maya, who is almost 2.