About OHT: Officers

Ohr HaTorah is blessed with a diverse and extraordinary group of officers who help shape the life of the OHT community on a daily basis.

Sheila Coop, President
Sheri Porath Rockwell, Vice President
Karen Feldman, Second Vice President
Julie Giuffrida, Secretary
Sherwin Banda, Treasurer
Tamara Effron, Officer at Large
Ilan Efrati, Officer at Large
Masoud Moradzadeh, Officer at Large
Sandra Macdonald, Officer at Large

Sheila Coop, President sheila@ohrhatorah.org Responsibilities: Human Resources, Development, Communications to Congregation, General Oversight, Fundraising Events, and Executive Committee

Sheila Coop is the mother of two daughters, Diane and Nancy Klein, and the proud grandmother of Diane's two children Harry and Siobhan. Sheila is an independent consultant and the managing partner of Coop Consulting Associates, Ltd and advisor to Fortune 100 companies in the areas of Human Resources Strategy, Professional and Executive Development, Executive and Business Coaching and Communications. Since early in 2003, Sheila has served as Director of Communications for The Marlo Group, an independent documentary film production company headquartered in Los Angeles. Sheila is a founding Board member of the Mesesso Foundation. The Foundation is focused on education, healthcare and microlending in support of children and families in Ethiopia. top

Sheri Porath Rockwell, Vice President sheri@ohrhatorah.org Responsibilities: Executive Committee, Legal Liason and New and Prospective Member Outreach

Sheri has been a member of Ohr HaTorah since 1996. She is married to Marshall Rockwell, and together they have three children – Jacob, Lily and Isaac. Sheri has been active in the Ohr HaTorah community for several years in various capacities including President, Vice President and Secretary of the Congregation. Sheri is a Southern California native and a graduate of UC Berkeley and USC School of Law. Before becoming a mother she practiced law for seven years, first as a law clerk to a federal judge and then as a litigator with a local law firm. top

Karen Feldman , Second Vice President karen@ohrhatorah.org Responsibilities: G'milut Chassadim Committee and New and Prospective Member Outreach

Karen has been an active member of OHT since 1994 and has always volunteered in some capacity. She was born in New York City and spent most of her years growing up in Southern California and Oregon. After earning her RN degree and BA in Applied Psychology from California State University, Long Beach, Karen entered the medical field. Her focus for the past 12 years has been in Psychiatry, managing two psychiatric units in a downtown hospital in Los Angeles. She recently began a consulting service at the hospital and works throughout the medical center assessing and providing consultation on certain medical and psychiatric conditions in the general medical population. top

Julie Giuffrida , Secretary julieg@ohrhatorah.org Responsibilities: Religious Service, B'nei Mitzvah Coordinator and Calendaring

Julie Giuffrida is an independent consultant, educator and author. Her areas of expertise include leadership development, services marketing, corporate communications and publishing, hospitality, restaurants and all things culinary. She has worked with the Jewish Agency of Israel, The Nation Newspaper, Standard and Poor's, Cini-Little International, AmericanFone and UCLA among others. Currently, Julie is the Director of OHT's B'nei Mitzvah Program, teaches privately and is writing a Jewish cookbook. Julie earned a Master of Management and Hospitality/Master of Business Administration degree from Cornell's Hotel School; a BA in Philosophy, Jewish Studies and Creative Writing from Syracuse University as well as a certificate of Hebrew proficiency from both the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University. An active member of Ohr HaTorah for 11 years, Julie volunteers for duties both behind the scenes and as a Torah Reader, Gabbai and Lay Cantor. Born and raised in Stamford, CT, she lived in upstate New York, New York City and Israel before relocating to Los Angeles in 1997. She is on the board of directors of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of CHADD and is a member of the Cornell Hotel Society; the Conference of American Jewish Educators; and, the International Association of Culinary Professionals. top

Sherwin Banda, Treasurer sherwin@ohrhatorah.org

Sherwin Banda has spent over 10 years in the international hospitality industry working in South Africa, United Kingdom, and most recently Southern California. He is the consummate hotelier, exuding warmth, polish and impeccable style. His current position is General Manager for Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive where has developed comprehensive hotel rating standards for Luxe Worldwide Hotels, achieved the highest GOP and NOP in the hotel's 12-year history, and raised guest satisfaction scores through comprehensive training initiatives. Sherwin has also involved himself in the Beverly Hills community by becoming an executive board member to both the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and the Rodeo Drive Committee. He studied Law at The University of Western Cape, South Africa and Public Relations at the Academy of Learning Institute, South Africa. Sherwin lives with his life-partner in Westwood. Sherwin is one of a handful of registered assessors in the hospitality industry responsible for devising the standards and training certification for trainees in post apartheid South Africa. top

Tamara Effron, Officer tamara@ohrhatorah.org Responsibilities: Religious School

Tamara Effron and her family have been members of Ohr HaTorah for 4 years. She first volunteered as a room parent, then the Parent Coordinator for the Religious School. She began teaching 2nd grade in the 2006/2007 year. Tamara is a California native, attended UCLA where she received a degree in Film, Theater and Television. She went on to pursue an acting career for 15 years. She then began a career at the Carl Bean Aids Care Center where she served as Volunteer Coordinator, and Assistant Director. Tamara was then trained as a bereavement counselor. During this time, she founded Tanya's Children, a non-profit charity which finds home for children orphaned by AIDS. Tamara's two children are the wonderful Lexi (9) and the cool Leland who is (11). After becoming a mom, she began teaching breastfeeding and serves as a La Leche League Leader. She studied at UCLA four years ago to become a Quality Parenting Instructor and currently leads support groups and teaches parenting classes throughout Los Angeles. Along with teaching 2nd grade at Ohr HaTorah, she also has had the wonderful honor of homeschooling her children since preschool. top

Ilan Efrati , Officer ilan@ohrhatorah.org Responsibilities: New and Prospective Member Outreach

Ilan Efrati was raised in a suburb of Tel Aviv after his family emigrated from Libya. He served in the Israel Defense Force as a paramedic. Afterward, Ilan’s advanced schooling consisted of the University of Bar Ilan, followed by worldwide travel. Ilan settled in Los Angeles in 1985, and has been working in the media industry ever since. He is the proud father of a 17-year old daughter, and has been an active member of Ohr HaTorah for twelve years. top

Masoud Moradzadeh, Officer masoud@ohrhatorah.org Responsibilities: New and Prospective Member Outreach

Masoud and his family have been members of Ohr HaTorah since 2003. Masoud and his wife Jilla are the parents of three children; Arash, Alexander and Bahar. Bahar recently celebrated her becoming a Bat Mitzvah with the Ohr Hatorah community in December 2006. Masoud was born and raised in a traditional Sephardic home in Tehran, Iran. Masoud came to the United States to complete his studies by receiving his Masters of Science degree in engineering. Masoud went on to work for IBM and Singer Business Machines before he returned back home in 1973 where he met Jilla and they wed in 1974. Masoud has always been a supporter of Israel and Jewish causes, loves his community at Ohr HaTorah and is privledged to be of service to the OHT community. top

Sandra MacDonald, Officer sandra@ohrhatorah.org Responsibilities: Fundraising and Events

Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Sandra began a career in the hotel business in Quebec before moving to the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and then Toronto. She spent 17 years in the business and also worked as a professional meeting planner. She has planned many events from an intimate dinner for two in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria in New York to multi level parties for 3,000 in Avery Fisher Hall in New York and everything in between. During this period, she also took three months to complete an intermediate course with Cordon Bleu, the prestigious cooking school. Having lived in Montreal, Alberta, Toronto, New York and London, Sandra moved to Los Angeles in 1989. While raising her son Max she completed a Bachelor's Degree in History at USC. She has served on the Board of the American Institute of Wine and Food for numerous years. Sandra's volunteer work includes seven years at The Shoah Foundation as well as assisting in planning an annual fundraiser for the Special Olympics on Santa Monica Pier. Now that her son has left to attend University, Sandra is working on her first book, which will be a biography. She will also continue to spend time in London, England, where, among other things, she assists with an annual fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Society. top