Leah is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Vassar College, though she primarily leverages her chemistry expertise to throw science-themed birthday parties for her kids. Daniel is an Engineering Manager at Datadog.

 

Leah has served on the Board of Trustees at WDS since 2021 and has been a member of the Recruitment Committee, the Head of School Search Committee, the Head of School Coaching and Evaluation Committee, and the Executive Committee. She is also on the WDS Healthy Tech Committee, in which she tries to convince everyone to bring back home-phone culture (she hasn’t given up yet!). The Bendavids are members at the Hebrew Institute of White Plains, where Daniel has served on the Board of Trustees and has co-chaired the Youth Committee for seven years. Beyond their formal roles, Leah and Daniel are committed to building community, both within WDS and across the White Plains Jewish community. They love welcoming new families for Shabbat meals, creating connections over good (or good-enough) food and hopefully even better conversation.

 

What they cherish most about WDS is its unique sense of closeness: the way every teacher truly knows (and genuinely loves!) their kids, and how the school celebrates each of their children’s distinct personalities, helping them grow into their best selves.