Honorees
WHHS is proud to honor the President of its Board of Trustees, Cindy Sternklar Worenklein, and her husband, Jay Worenklein, a member of the WHHS Finance Committee, for their tireless efforts and personal dedication to our school. Cindy and Jay are the proud parents of David, Daniel, Sabrina, Laura, Ari, Etan and Sasha. Sasha is a senior at WHHS.
Each is extremely accomplished—Cindy, who attended Brooklyn College, the American University in Paris, and the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, worked at several Wall Street law firms, had her own private practice, and founded a successful girls clothing company, Chick Chat. She is currently involved in her family-owned real estate business. Jay is a graduate of Columbia University and holds a joint law and business degree from NYU. A former partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy, he is currently the CEO and Chairman of US Grid Company and Chairman of Ravenswood Power Holdings, as well as a member of the Board of the UJA Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council. Jay has also taught classes on ethics and business at Yale, Princeton, and NYU. Cindy and Jay are active supporters of HaZamir, The International Jewish Teen Choir which provides Jewish teens from all over the United States and Israel with a high level choral experience in a Jewish environment.
Cindy and Jay are our staunchest advocates. They have dedicated themselves to making WHHS known to the broader Jewish community in the tri-state area, hosting meetings in their home, and leading by example as volunteers at all events in school. With their intellect and creativity, they have helped to enhance the Arts Program at WHHS, including a Dance Team and course offerings such as graphic design and filmmaking. Thanks to their innovative minds, determination and support, WHHS now has a mentoring/internship program, and has hosted special events at school, including a variety of guest speakers and an annual Poetry Workshop and Slam.
Michael Tedesco, joined WHHS in 2009 as Director of College Guidance. Mr. Tedesco has advanced degrees from Iona College and Manhattan College. Among his many achievements, Michael was instrumental in creating Relig/The Catholic Youth Community of New Rochelle. His service as a long-time volunteer at the Career Center of New Rochelle High School (NRHS) led to the creation of the FACTS Office (Financial Aid for College and Technical Schools, which he coordinated. In 1990, Michael became a full-time school counselor at New Rochelle High School, a position he held for eighteen years. Advising parents and students about the importance of knowing the workings of financial aid became his weekend mission, and Michael has been a frequent speaker throughout the tri-State area, helping to educate families about how to obtain funding for college.
We are privileged to have Michael as our Director of College Guidance. With his many years in this field, Michael has long-standing relationships with college representatives, many of whom visit WHHS annually for small group meetings with prospective students. He also runs our College Night, where a panel of representatives from a variety of schools make presentations to WHHS students and parents and answer any questions that are raised. Unlike any other high school, Michael begins the college admissions process by meeting with students starting in ninth grade. By the time the college application process starts, WHHS students have the advantage of having prepared throughout their high school years, knowing the types of schools they hope to attend, and confident that they have done everything possible to optimize their chances of admission.
A true testament to his character and dedication, Michael continues with a tradition he started early on in his career - every year, he writes and mails a birthday card to each student he has worked with.
Evan was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. As a child, he was always involved in his Jewish community, from leading “Anim Z’mirot” at age three, to becoming gabbai after his Bar Mitzvah. In fact, Evan was a recipient of the Herbert S. Schweitzer Memorial Youth Services Award for his dedication to the Pelham Parkway Community and K’lal Yisrael.
At WHHS, Evan (or as he was more affectionately referred to, Mo Papi) flourished. He was Class Representative for grades 10 and 11, and school Vice-President during his senior year. He was also captain of College Bowl, Torah Bowl, and the Soccer Team, as well as Yearbook Editor. He even helped to create a WHHS Paintball Club. Evan was the Salutatorian of the Class of 2010. He attended the Macaulay Honors College at CCNY. He chose the field of Biomedical Engineering based on a recommendation made by Mr. Mort Kotkin z"l, his WHHS science mentor. Evan maintained a strong Jewish identity throughout his college years, as both Treasurer and Vice-President of the CCNY Hillel.
Evan was part of the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics lab at CCNY. His research has been presented at national conferences and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Evan was part of the first group of students to earn a Masters Degree from the Translational Medicine Program (MTM) at CCNY. Translational Medicine is the process of translating basic science discoveries into practical medical technologies for use with patients.
This September, Evan rejoined the WHHS family, this time as a faculty member. He designed and is teaching a new STEAM curriculum geared towards teaching engineering design skills, along with 3D modeling and printing skills to bring those designs to life. The capstone project of the course is based on the chessed organization, e-Nable, which consists of engineers, students, and 3D printing enthusiasts who produce 3D-printed, functional, prosthetic hands for children in need. In addition to his work at WHHS, Evan continues to be involved in the MTM Program at CCNY, working with graduate students on their designs of new emerging medical technologies.