Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/01/2022
6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Location
Seaport Hotel
The Rashi School’s annual fundraising and community event will be held live on Sunday, May 1 at the Seaport Hotel after being held virtually last year due to the pandemic. This year, the much anticipated celebration is honoring Michelle and Darren Black with the 2022 Kehillah (Community) Award for their outstanding leadership and commitment to the school as well as to the local Jewish community.
“We are thrilled to present Michelle and Darren with this prestigious award,” states Head of School Adam W. Fischer. “Their work on behalf of The Rashi School is truly exceptional. They embody Rashi’s core values and have contributed to our community for years with their time, effort, heart, and soul. Clearly, these two remarkable individuals set such a wonderful example for all of us.”
Michelle Black currently serves on the Board of Trustees at The Rashi School and Gann Academy where she is a strong champion for expanding the reach and impact of local Jewish Day Schools. Previously she served on the board of Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), is an alumnus of CJP’s Acharai Leadership Development program and The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) National Young Leadership Cabinet. Michelle is a past recipient of CJP’s Young Leadership and Circle of Excellence awards, recognized for her commitment and passion to Jewish communal service. Currently Michelle co-chairs CJP’s Teen Initiative and co-founded TribeTalk, an organization that helps prepare teens for Jewish life on the college campus and navigate any antisemitism they may face. Michelle earned her BA from University of Pennsylvania and her MBA from Harvard Business School.
Darren Black is a Managing Director at Summit Partners, a private equity firm where he focuses on health care investments. Darren currently serves on the board of directors for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, CJP, and Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of New England. He has served as Campaign Chair for CJP and is a current co-chair of Gann Academy’s Permanence and Possibilities Campaign, lending his time and expertise to building a strong future for Jewish day schools and the Greater Boston Jewish community at large. Darren earned his BA in government from Harvard College and his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In his free time, Darren is an avid athlete. Michelle and Darren, Newton residents, are the proud Rashi parents of four Rashi alumni: Evan ’16, Emily ’20, Scott ’20, and Alex ’22.
The Rashi School is also proud to present Rashi Alumna Clara Scheinmann ’04 with the 2022 Tikkun Alum Award in recognition of her extraordinary dedication to social justice and tikkun olam (repairing the world). Currently Clara is the Director of Programs and Strategy for the Kraft Family Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. Clara works closely with the family to execute on the foundation’s mission – to win the hearts and minds of non-Jews and Jews through powerful positive messaging and partnerships, motivating and enabling them to be defenders of and upstanders for Jews and Israel. Previously, Clara held several key roles at MassChallenge, the global network for innovators who are working to solve massive challenges.
Clara is deeply involved in the local Boston and global Jewish communities where she has both completed several leadership development programs and co-chaired committees for the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP). She is a first generation American, a dual French and American citizen, and speaks six languages including French, English, Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. As the daughter of an Ashkenazi father and a Sephardic mother, Clara inherited a rich tradition and strong Jewish identity that motivates her to connect with others, hear their stories and develop solutions to ensure a strong future for the Jewish people.
This year’s event co-chairs are Helene and Seth Gelber, Jessica and Chuck Myers, and Lisa and Neil Wallack. Over the years, the Rashi Annual Dinner has evolved into an annual celebration of Rashi and its impact on the Boston and Global Jewish community. After being held virtually last year, Rashi families, friends, and the surrounding communities are very much looking forward to the 2022 gala.
The Rashi School’s Annual Dinner is the school’s largest and most important fundraiser and community event of the year. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres kick off the event at 6:00 PM; followed by a seated dinner and program at 7:00 PM. The Seaport Hotel Boston is located at 1 Seaport Lane in Boston. To purchase tickets, make a donation, or for more information, please visit www.rashi.org/dinner2022 or call Shelby Regan at 781-355-7312.
About The Rashi School
Located on a 162-acre, multigenerational campus in Dedham, Mass., The Rashi School is the Boston area’s Reform Jewish K-8 independent school. Rashi is distinguished by exceptional academics, a strong sense of community and a deep commitment to Jewish learning and social justice. In our classrooms, children, adolescents, and adults form a community of learners, learning with and from each other and cultivating critical minds and compassionate hearts.
Rashi’s diverse community welcomes all kinds of families including interfaith and Jewish+, two-mom/two-dad families, single parents by choice, Jews of Color, and multiethnic families. Our students represent 25 towns across eastern Mass
