Strategic Plan Board of Trustees 2007-2008
SSDS is run by a Board of Trustees made up of parents, community members and leaders. SSDS serves the Jewish Community of Greater Albuquerque and beyond and seeks to make Jewish Day School education available to any family that wants it. To offset the cost of financial aid, SSDS raises money, is a beneficiary of the Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque, and receives donations and support from many members of the Jewish community.
- Joel Adelstone, CPA
- Mr. Adelstone was VP of Operations for All-American Package Stores, Inc. in metro Atlanta from 1971 through 1983. During these years, the company grew from a 3.5 million-dollar enterprise to the largest chain in Georgia. He sold his interest in the chain and moved to Albuquerque in 1984. He has owned and managed his own commercial real estate and equipment leasing companies, software development and sales companies, and restaurant and brewery since his arrival in Albuquerque. Mr. Adelstone currently is the sole owner of his CPA practice established in 1985 that serves clients across the nation, specializing in income tax consulting and preparation. Mr. Adelstone is one of the first five NM CPAs to receive the AICPA’s certificate of achievement in "Tax Planning and Advising for Closely Held Business." Mr. Adelstone is an owner, serves on the Board of Directors and is Treasurer of Theranostech, Inc., a biotech company that produces HIV test kits. Mr. Adelstone graduated with honors from the Business School of Georgia State University with a major in accounting and a minor in finance.
Back to top- Morris Albert, MSW
- Morris, a native New Mexican, is the Director of Member Services for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque. He received his Master of Social Work and Certificate in Jewish Communal Studies degrees from Wurzweiller School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of New Mexico. Morris returned to Albuquerque in 2003 after working as a Jewish Communal professional in Jewish Federations in Toronto, Canada, Stamford, Connecticut and New York City. A long-time active member in Albuquerque's Jewish Community, Morris has held volunteer positions on the Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque Board of Directors (1987-1994) as well as chaired numerous committees and programs. Morris is the proud father of one Solomon Schechter graduate and a current Solomon Schechter student.
- Igal Brener , Ph.D.
- Igal holds a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering, B.A. in Physics, and a Ph.D. degree in Physics, all from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. Currently a scientist for Sandia National Labs, he held various research positions in the east coast at Bell Labs, Amersham Biosciences, GE Healthcare and other small companies, with main emphasis in the areas of optics, semiconductors and biophysics. Igal has served in advisory boards of companies, and conference committees of professional organizations such as the IEEE, Optical Society of America, etc. During the course of his scientific career, he has advised and mentored numerous national and international graduate and undergraduate students. Igal has authored over 120 journal and conference papers and holds 13 patents. He enjoys participating in science outreach programs, the latest being MANOS, a minority outreach program for middle schools in Albuquerque. Two of his children are former Schechter graduates.
- Harvey Buchalter
- Harvey is serving his first term on the SSDS Board. He holds a BA in English from Brooklyn College and an MA in Spanish and Portuguese from UNM and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia prior to coming to New Mexico in 1969. He was a high school teacher for 29 years, mostly in the alternative setting of School on Wheels High School, retiring five years ago. He has always been an active member of the Jewish community, serving as President of Congregation B'nai Israel and Director of the Religious School. He has been the Director of the Federation Day Camp, Director of the Hanukkah Festival and has served on many committees and boards throughout the years. Harvey is also a sculptor in wood and stone - specializing in Judaica, and a certified Yiddish-English translator.
- Andrew Gans, MPH
- Andrew joined the Schechter Board in 2005 as Campaign Chair and also served as Vice President prior to stepping up to President in 2007. Andrew comes from a family very involved in Jewish community service and fund raising in New Jersey and California and has continued this tradition in Albuquerque. He has worked with a variety of government and non-profit organizations in the fields of health, social services and education as a consultant for over a decade, having started his business in California in 1996. Andrew is currently the HIV Prevention Program Manager for the New Mexico Department of Health.
- Roberta Haynes-Sparks
- Roberta received her B.A. in Chemistry from the University of New Mexico and her MA in Adult Education from the University of New Mexico. Roberta works for the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility as the Water Education Coordinator. She has served on the Board of Trustees for Congregation B’nai Israel and also served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque. Roberta is currently a member of the New Mexico AIPAC Council and the proud grandma of a student at Schechter.
- Deborah Helitzer
- Deborah Helitzer is a Professor at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She is a social scientist and conducts research on public health problems, primarily for the purpose of understanding how to prevent disease and disability. She works mostly with multi-cultural populations, primarily Hispanic and Native American, who experience disproportionate shares of preventable illness and death. She has lived in New Mexico for 12 years, moving from Baltimore, MD, in 1995, where she was a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She received her doctorate of science in International Health from Johns Hopkins in 1989, and has worked in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Deborah has two children who were among the first students enrolled and graduated from Solomon Schechter and was also the first "Kehilla" vice-president.
- Karen Higgins
- Karen Higgins is a technical manager at Sandia National Laboratories where she has worked for the last 26+ years. She holds a BS in Pre-Med from the University of Colorado and did graduate work in Electrical Engineering at UNM. A Colorado native, she has lived in Albuquerque since 1976. Her identical twin sons, Aaron and Adam Heyman, attended Albuquerque's first Hebrew day school, Akiba, in the late '70's and her grandson Sam is a Solomon Schechter alumni. With another grandson soon of age to attend the school, she has an interest in helping to make the school a premier educational facility. In addition to her scientific work in analytical chemistry, she has acquired skills in strategic planning and meeting management/facilitating.
- Marisa Johnson
- Marisa Johnson is serving her second term on the Solomon Schechter board. She has volunteered at the school in many ways since her oldest son, Avery, started in first grade. Marisa studied Japanese and Communications and Journalism at UNM. She served on the board of an international non-profit organization that supports stay-at-home moms for two years, one year as Vice President and one year as President. Marisa comes from a family of Holocaust survivors and is very committed to supporting Jewish life in our community. She is a mother of two boys, both enrolled at Solomon Schechter. Marisa was a stay-at-home mom for seven years, but is now a Real Estate agent specializing in Placitas.
- Stuart Lipkowitz
- Stuart Lipkowitz was born and raised in New York. He attended public schools and graduated from the City College of New York with a Bachelor of Science in Ethnomusicology. He subsequently studied violin making and was the co-owner of Lipkowitz and Lacy Musical Instruments. He has been a union organizer and worked as a head chef. His Master's degree (in literature) is from the University of Delaware. He studied Klezmer violin with Leon Schwartz--one of the last remaining, European born Klezmer violinists. Since 1995, he has worked at Albuquerque Academy as a teacher of history and English. He is also the coordinator of the year-long diversity project at the Academy--designing programs to introduce the Academy community to important people and issues in the areas of politics, culture, and the arts. He heads the Kompanye ensemble--a group that plays music and song of the late 19th and early 20th century from the Yiddish speaking world. His wife, Stephanie, also works at the Academy as director of curriculum development and as head of the English department. They have two children, who both attend SSDS.
- Perry Pintzow
- Originally from Miami, Florida, Perry Pintzow and his wife have lived in Albuquerque for 5 years. Perry is a strong believer in Jewish traditions and is working to raise his children with these same values. He is the proud father of two, one of whom is currently an SSDS student. Perry holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He has over 20 years experience in engineering and project management fields. Perry is the owner of two companies — Jobsite Software, Inc. which develops and maintains databases for tracking the Network Implementation for Cingular Wireless. The second company, JSI Resources, LLC. addresses the consulting needs of the telecommunications industry by supplying skilled engineers and project managers. Customer base includes Cingular Wireless, Nokia, Inc., AT&T, and ADC Telecom.
- Rita Siegel
- Rita holds a BS in Industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell University, and a JD from UNM School of Law. With more than 25 years experience, she is an expert in employee and labor/management relations and dispute resolution. She has served as the Director of Labor Relations for Albuquerque Public Schools but is currently in private practice. She also serves as an adjunct professor for the UNM School of Public Administration. Rita has served on numerous professional community boards, in particular as the past Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee for Sandia Preparatory School. She has been invaluable to the school in helping to develop policy.
- Rabbi Arthur Flicker
- Arthur Flicker is Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Israel in Albuquerque, New Mexico - a position he assumed in August of 2002. He received his bachelor’s degree in History from Northwestern University in 1971 and his master’s degree from Ohio State University in 1990. He received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Reuben Luckens in 1989. Rabbi Flicker has served congregations in Tyler, Texas, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Columbus, Ohio. He has had numerous articles published, is a member of the Rabbinic Cabinet of the United Jewish Communities, a member of the American Association of Rabbis and served on the Board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Albuquerque. Rabbi Flicker services as an Albuquerque Police Chaplain. In 2002, Rabbi Flicker was awarded the Martin Luther King Spirit Award by the Baptist Ministers Conference of Greater Cincinnati. Rabbi Flicker has been involved with the school since he first arrived in Albuquerque and serves as rabbinical adviser to the board.
- Kathryn Weil
- Dr. Weil came to Solomon Schechter as the Head of School in July, 2001. She retired from her position as Assistant Superintendent for Accountability and Information Services with the New Mexico State Department of Education. An Albuquerque native, Dr. Weil has served in the Rio Rancho School District as Principal of Lincoln Middle School and Assistant Principal of Martin Luther King Elementary School. She was the Testing Assessment Coordinator for Albuquerque Public Schools for 8 years. She has held a part-time faculty position at the UNM College of Education. Dr. Weil has 10 years of experience as an elementary school counselor at various schools within the APS system. She holds a Ph.D. from UNM’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction in Multicultural Teacher Education with a major in Early Childhood Development and a minor in Psychology. She also received her MA in Guidance and Counseling from UNM and her BA in Psychology from University of Wisconsin. At one time Dr. Weil also ran the Congregation B’nai Israel Religious School and served as the Education Vice President on B’nai Israel’s Board of Trustees.
- Scott Weiner
- Scott Weiner holds a BS in Biology from the State University of New York at Albany, a MSPH in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from UNC-Chapel Hill and a MBA from Georgia State University. Scott and his family are new arrivals to the Albuquerque area having moved from Massachusetts during the winter of 2006/07. Prior to living in Massachusetts, Scott and his wife lived for over 20 years in Atlanta, Georgia. Scott is currently employed as the Environmental Safety and Health Manager for Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, the only private basic science, biomedical research organization totally dedicated to the prevention, treatment, and cure of respiratory diseases. Scott is the proud father of a Solomon Schechter student with an additional student just a couple of years away.
Solomon Schechter Day School of Albuquerque
Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Jewish Community Campus
5520A Wyoming Boulevard NE
Albuquerque, NM 87109 505/232-2325 (phone)
505/232-3422 (fax)