Alumni News & Notes

Jacob Zaldin ’21 is making the most of his gap year in Israel! While attending Reichman University in Herzilya, Jacob is also working as the Director of Content and Fan Engagement for the local basketball team, B’nei Herzilya. Jacob is responsible for all English-language communications, producing social media content, and liaising with leading companies and brands regarding partnership opportunities.

BOOSTING CANADA'S PANDEMIC RESPONSE

While eligible Canadians searched frantically for their vaccines, Sabrina Craig ’14 was busy developing innovative solutions. Sabrina was one of the two founders of Vaccine Hunters Canada, the primary resource for eligible Canadians to find a local vaccine. As Director of the grassroots organization, Sabrina was responsible not only for management and leadership, but also forging relationships with the pharmacy sector across Canada. Sabrina helped to scale the organization to a management team of 150+ people in just five months. In that time, VHC garnered 400,000 followers on Twitter, and has been credited for contributing to Canada’s high vaccination rate (currently over 80%). Sabrina was named by Chatelaine magazine a recipient of a 2021 Doris Anderson Award (formerly Woman of the Year). She and fellow co-founder Andrew Young, were also listed first in Toronto Life's “The Influentials 2021”, an “annual ranking of the Torontonians whose bravery, smarts and clout are changing the world as we know it.” VHC has received many other accolades, including being ranked #5 on Bay Street Bull’s Power 50 Most Impactful Companies in 2021, and named one of 13 “Pillars of the Pandemic” by the University of Toronto. By day, Sabrina works as a Technical Analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

Esther Vlessing ’12 was named to the Bay Street Bull’s 30x30 list, which “showcases a group of incredible individuals who are championing their communities and redefining the way we do business.” Esther was featured following the establishment of her new company, Canada Emergency Medical Manufacturers. As Canada came alarmingly close to a shortage of medical supplies and PPE equipment, Esther connected with government officials to develop and execute a nationwide emergency manufacturing response unit. She retooled domestic factories, created 1,000+ new jobs, and has delivered over 1 million units to medical professionals across the country, keeping them safe on the frontlines.

Zac Winkler ’19 has just completed training, and has officially joined the Shiryon, the Armored Corps division of the Israel Defense Force serving as a “lone soldier”.

Ari Satok ’10 recently released his third book, Love Too Can Spread: Poetry from the Midst of a Pandemic (self-published, 2021). Per Ari’s description of the book, the poetry captures “the strange and surreal times that the pandemic brought with it” and “tells the stories of how we filled our days when nothing was as it had been before”.

Welcome Back!

This new school year saw several new alumni join the faculty. Welcome back to (from L to R): Danya (Borenstein) Koplowitz ’08 (Jewish Studies), Sonya Ben-Ishai ’15 (English & Drama), Matthew Pollak ’13 (Math), Orit Baruch ’02 (Jewish Studies), and Lauren Meisels ’14 (Guidance).

In our first alumni giveaway contest, Elise (Kazman) Devlin ’98 become the lucky winner of an Apple Watch! Here’s Elise with her son, current student, Eitan ’25!

Eternal youth has been sought after for generations, but TanenbaumCHAT alum Lee Davis ’13 may have finally discovered it. Lee is the founder of HideSeek, an immersive, multi-sensory pop-up experience, aimed at turning back the clock and reminding us of the things we loved about our childhood. With a room covered in velcro, and another with a giant ball pit – there is something for everyone. Lee started with pop-ups in Toronto and Montreal but has now expanded internationally, having just completed a 3-month pop-up in Chicago!