Gloria and Harvey’s first gifts to OHEL were toys and much-needed supplies for a child with disabilities. Not long after, they sponsored a delightful Succot trip to Hershey Park, Pennsylvania for Bais Ezra clients…and the rest is history. The Kaylies have for many years been generous and devoted members of the OHEL family. They are benefactors of the Marvin Kaylie Tikvah at OHEL, named in honor of Harvey’s brother, and of the soon-to-be-dedicated OHEL CAMP.
The Kaylies first developed a personal relationship with OHEL through their friends, the Schickman family of Long Island, who were wonderful OHEL foster parents to five children. Gloria and Harvey know, too, from personal family experience, how OHEL touches the lives of people of all ages in need of quality care and services. OHEL’s personal relationship with the Kaylie family extends to daughter, Roberta, an OHEL volunteer who has helped make our annual Chanukah and Purim festivities resounding successes.
Gloria and Harvey are visionary philanthropists who understand the value of Jewish traditions and education and who believe in service to others. They have generously supported the Israel Cancer Research Foundation, local yeshivot, and numerous other charitable organizations. Harvey serves on the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medical College and is a Vice Chair of America’s Voice in Israel. Gloria serves on the Boards of the Israel Cancer Research Foundation and Shaare Zedek. She is an active member of UJA, Hadassah, Rachel’s Society, and numerous other Jewish organizations.
Harvey is the President, Founder, and CEO of S.C.C. dba Mini-Circuits, a high tech microwave electronics company. Mini-Circuits’ products are sold world-wide to electronics manufacturing companies involved with communications. The business is still founded on a simple yet winning principle: manufacture products people want; sell them for a better price; don’t compromise on quality; deliver them fast.
We are grateful that he has used his considerable business skills and acumen to offer business advice that has helped OHEL manage our agency successfully. From the gift of joy to young children, to facilities for adults living with disabilities, to smart business counsel, we applaud the Kaylies for their leadership and generosity and are proud to honor their devoted service to our community.
Mr. and Mrs. Kaylie are President and Vice President, respectively, for the Harvey and Gloria Kaylie Foundation, Inc. They have two daughters and eight grandchildren who continue on the path of tikun olam set by Harvey and Gloria.
Hy Hetherington is an accomplished, nationally recognized business leader whose many achievements include providing litigation strategy and technical knowledge to help clients navigate some of the highest profile and largest legal matters in the United States. As Chief Executive Officer of SuperiorGlacier, a litigation support company with offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington DC, Hy transformed a company once struggling to remain viable into an industry leader. Devoted to the welfare of his employees and committed to the highest ethical standards, he serves as an impressive, forward-thinking role model.
Under his leadership, SuperiorGlacier supports corporate philanthropic efforts. The company has supported numerous local and national causes, including Fannie Mae's Help the Homeless Project, The Whitman Walker Clinic, and Project Innocence.
Hy is also the Managing Partner of his own firm, HLP integration which provides synergies between technology, knowledge, and best practices to help companies reduce costs and optimize efficiency. The driving force behind HLP, he has assembled a high-powered team of attorneys, technologists, and business executives with whom he collaborates.
Introduced to OHEL by his long-time business associate, Saul N. Friedman, a member of OHEL's board, Hy has visited OHEL residences and met many members of the OHEL family. "I count among my friends many, many children and adults living with disabilities of all kinds, and I recognize OHEL's invaluable and essential role in their lives," Hy said, "I am proud to lend my support to an agency that is such an integral part of our community."
Hy and his wife, Amy, have a young son, Rowan. They are expecting their second child in February. An intrepid business leader, Hy has an adventuresome spirit and enjoys travel to new destinations. OHEL is proud to recognize and honor his success as our Corporate Man of the Year.
A.J. Schreiber is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Health Management Strategies, a care management technology solutions provider. A.J. also serves as the Chief Technology Officer of its parent company, Healthcare Innovations.
A.J., his wife Leah, and family reside in Teaneck, New Jersey. Leah hails from St Louis, Missouri, and A.J. is originally from Highland Park, New Jersey. A.J. has served on the Board of OHEL Bais Ezra for several years, as well as on the boards of Yavneh Academy in Paramus, Congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, and the National Jewish Council for the Disabled.
A.J. and Leah cite a strong lifelong family connection to OHEL, thanks to parents Barry Schreiber, a longstanding member of the OHEL Board of Directors, and Batsheva Schreiber, who worked at OHEL for 18 years, as the founding and lead member of OHEL’s medical department.
The Schreibers have three wonderful children; Chloe (8), Lilly (5), and Judah (1 ½). Chloe and Lilly attend Yavneh Academy in Paramus.
Rachel and Jona Retchnitz are extraordinary communal leaders. The OHEL family has benefitted enormously from their creativity, generosity, and service. They are terrific role models and energetic young leaders.
Jona was a founder of OHEL’s Young Leadership Division and has devoted a great deal of time and energy to the development of OHEL’s successful Swish-A-Thon tournament. He has provided invaluable advice to guide our Benefit Concert series and, as an avid devotee of Jewish music, has helped to produce other concerts.
Rachel has been an active volunteer with Sharsheret, helping women to cope with issues related to breast cancer, and she regularly volunteers with her Bikur Cholim group. She is active in a group on New York City’s Upper West Side that provides food to those in need for Shabbos, as well as the Yeshiva Ketana of Manhattan. Rachel and Jona participate together in many charitable events and activities in the Jewish community, including projects by Yeshiva University, Mevaseret, Hakshiva, Bet El and Hatzolah Israel. The Retchnitzs’ also are supporters of the arts and are young patrons of Lincoln Center.
For the past three years Jona has served as Director of Acquisitions and Disposition at Africa–Israel, controlled by its Chairman, Mr. Lev Leviev. He recently started his own new venture, JSR Capital, a real estate investment, development, and management company located in NYC.
With full hearts and generous spirits, Rachel and Jona have dedicated themselves to service and leadership. We are pleased to honor them as our Young Leadership Honorees and to recognize their invaluable contributions to our OHEL family. Jona is a native of Los Angeles, California and Rachel is from Teaneck, New Jersey. They live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with their two young sons, Simcha age 3 and Henry age 1.
Leon Hofman is an award-winning leader in the mental health field who has touched the lives of thousands in his nearly 30 years of experience operating homes for mentally disabled adults and other individuals with disabilities. Currently the Operator at four separate facilities in Brooklyn, Elmhurst, Brookhaven, and Beacon, he has transformed these residences into model adult homes, and his work has been recognized by the New York State Department of Health, a New York State Commission on the Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled report and the Empire State Association of Adult Homes and Assisted Living Facilities.
Leon began his career in the mental health care industry in 1981 as assistant administrator for Mermaid Manor and quickly built a reputation as a top-notch professional with the drive and savvy to effect positive change. Today, he oversees all operations for the Brooklyn Adult Care Center, the Queens Adult Care Center, the New Brookhaven Town House and Hedgewood, home, collectively, and with his partners Zvi Gurevich and Martin Hofman to more than 900 adults. He also is a major provider of home care services in the community.
Thanks to Leon’s expertise, resourcefulness, and dedication, the adult homes he operates are among the most respected in the state. For these homes’ residents—and their families—what matters, above all, is the opportunity to live in safe, beautifully maintained environments where they receive round-the-clock-care and the special services they need to thrive. Leon recognizes the value of providing quality care and psychiatric services to those living with mental illness and the importance of these individuals’ re-integration in the community. He has played a critical role over the years in helping raise awareness and standards in care.
Both Leon and Andriyana are members of the Lido Beach Synagogue which honored them in 2003 and recognized their contributions to the community. Andriyana, a nurse by trade, is a member of the sisterhood there and has devoted her career toward improving the quality of life of those entrusted in the facilities where she has been a staunch advocate for the Residents. Since 1993, she has enhanced and improved the medication management system at New Brookhaven Town House. In fact, she has been involved in the improvement of the computerized medication systems in all facilities except Hedgewood in Beacon. Her work in the adult home environment also has been dedicated to bettering and improving the quality of life of the Residents.
It is a privilege to recognize both Leon and Andriyana for their work to elevate lives every day and for their leadership in our community.
Sura and Bert Fried are pioneers in the mental health care industry. Widely admired as exemplary advocates, caregivers, and protectors of people living with mental disabilities, the Frieds have created warm and loving homes for many disabled members of our community.
In 1974, just seven short years after immigrating to the United States from the Carpathian region of the former Soviet Union, Sura and Bert opened Seaview Manor (HFA licensed) with their friends and colleagues Etella and Chaim Marcovici. They have since opened numerous other facilities. Currently, Bert is the Administrator of Mermaid Manor Assisted Living Program and Assisted Living Facilities and Sura is the case manager for Surfside Manor. Sura and Bert recognize the importance of treating every individual, no matter his or her personal challenges or circumstances, with dignity and respect. Over the years, they have provided beautiful residences near New York’s wonderful beaches with the goal of helping adults coping with mental illness to gain the skills and confidence for independent living.
The Frieds came to the United States in 1967 to build a life filled with chessed and yidishkeit. They settled in Lido Beach, New York, where they raised two wonderful daughters, Esther (Zeidman) and Ruchele (Lifschutz) and have been instrumental in helping to grow a vibrant Orthodox synagogue, the Lido Beach Synagogue, and the nearby Jewish community. Sura served as president of the Sisterhood and Bert has served as a vice president and president and as a valued member of the synagogue’s Board of Directors and Board of Trustees. Bert’s service to community also has included leadership at HALB, where he was vice president for many years. The Fried’s daughters are active HALB board members and their grandchildren attend the school.
Bert and Sura have dedicated their lives to strengthening the Jewish community, as well as the broader community of adults living with mental illness. They have created a nurturing Jewish environment for our friends and neighbors in need of special care, and have given of themselves selflessly to others. The Frieds, and the facilities they own and manage, have earned them a reputation as one of New York State’s most respected and valued providers of mental health programs and services. As a premier social service agency helping individuals living with mental illness, at OHEL we are proud to recognize their accomplishments and invaluable work in the field of mental health.