Great Neck Student Aid Fund, dedicated to helping needy area high school graduates afford college expenses, continues to add members to its Board of Directors to assist in its efforts to aid the community’s students.

Nine new Great Neck residents have joined the Board, committed to assisting with the goals of the organization. Elise Kestenbaum, president of the Student Aid Fund, said: “The growth of our Board shows that more and more area residents realize the importance of making higher education affordable for all who seek to go to college. No child in our community should be deprived of an education because of family finances.”

Among those joining the Board are Steven Chen, who has lived in Great Neck since 2012.

“I have a vision of empowering our residents by bridging communities and working closely with all local civic organizations,” he said. He serves on the Board of the Great Neck Chinese Association and Great Neck PAL, and is the committee chair of the Great Neck Cub Scouts.

Another incoming Board member, Debbie Doustan, grew up in Great Neck and, after marriage, moved back to the community, where she has lived for 18 years. She has been an active member of the Parent Teacher Organization Board at the E. M. Baker Elementary School for the past 11 years. She also serves on the Board of the Kulanu Religious School at Temple Israel of Great Neck. In 2015, she founded the Chai Group of Hadassah, for young women.

“Every child in this community should have the opportunities I had and that my children have had,” said Ron Edelson, who is also joining the Student Aid Fund Board. “What many do not realize is that there are a significant number of families in our community who don’t have the economic means to make that possible. I am hoping that by helping this group do its good work I can help change that, even if only in a small way, for some Great Neck graduates who might not otherwise have the means to go to college.”

A resident of Great Neck for more than 50 years, he graduated from Great Neck South High School in 1971. His daughter and son are Great Neck school graduates and his granddaughter is currently a student in the Great Neck School District. He founded a communications firm, ZE Creative Communications, more than 30 years ago and has been involved with the Great Neck community his entire adult life.

Another new Board member, Robin Fleishman, has held multiple positions on the Great Neck School District’s UPTC Executive Board and PTO Executive Board. She has also served for many years as the UPTC committee chair of the District-Wide Safety Committee and is a past member of the Board of Education’s Citizens Advisory Committee. She is currently a volunteer mentor for Great Neck South High School’s Rebel Robotics Team, guiding team members in their fundraising and outreach initiatives. She is a special education consultant, advocating for children with learning differences, and was assistant general counsel for the New York City ASPCA and a supervisor at Morgan Stanley Trust.

“As a special education consultant advocating for children with learning differences, I am equally passionate about Great Neck Student Aid Fund’s mission of providing one-time grants to students within the Great Neck School District to help pay for their first year of higher education,” she said.  “Equal access to education is an initiative that is near and dear to my heart, and I am honored to serve on the Board of Directors of the Great Neck Student Aid Fund.

Another new Board member, Ruth Greener, said, “As a first generation American, I have a great appreciation for our community and our school system. I am honored to be able to give back.” The 30-year resident of the community raised three sons, who all attended Great Neck schools. She has served on their high school PTA Board and has worked as a benefits administrator in the insurance industry.

Neil Hendelman, who is also joining the Board, has lived in Great Neck since 2005 and has two children who attend the Saddle Rock Elementary School. For the past 20 years he has investigated federal securities violations for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jill Madenberg, who has living in Great Neck since 1993, has volunteered within the Great Neck School District and with many other community organizations. She has served on the Executive Board of multiple PTAs and volunteers to help students in need navigate high school and apply to college. She is a nationally recognized college expert and co-author, with her daughter, Amanda, a South High School 2016 graduate, of “Love the Journey to College.”

She is a former high school guidance counselor and now works as a high school and college adviser. She has visited more than 900 college campuses, has worked as a regional recruiter for two specialized colleges and speaks regularly to students and their families about the college admissions process. She is a Certified Educational Planner and an active member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association and the National Association of College Admissions Counselors.

Lori Beth Schwartz, who is also joining the Student Aid Fund Board, has served as president of the United Parent Teacher Council, co-president of the North Middle School PTA, chair of multiple Shared Decision Making committees, and Total Community Involvement. She currently is a member of the Board of Directors of LifeFlight Foundation of Maine and the Herring Gut Learning Center of Port Clyde, Maine. She has received a Leadership Award from Copay of Great Neck, The Lily Wang Outstanding Community Service Award from the Great Neck Chinese Association and was inducted into The May W. Newberger Women’s Roll of Honor of the Town of North Hempstead.

She and her husband, David, have two children and have lived in Great Neck for 25 years. She is the founder of Identity, Inc., an outerwear manufacturing company specializing in custom-made jackets.

Karen Verola, another new member of the Student Aid Fund Board, has been a remedial reading teacher in the Baldwin Public School District. She helps high school students with their college essays and test preparation for the ACT and SAT. She is one of the presidents of the Lulav Chapter of Great Neck Hadassah and she and her husband have raised two daughters in Great Neck.

The Student Aid Fund, founded more than 90 years ago, raises money to provide need-based college scholarships for students residing in the Great Neck School District, whether they currently attend public or private school.

“We maintain an objective and confidential screening process,” said President Kestenbaum. “Each year, the Student Aid Fund provides financial assistance to help with the cost of the first year of college or vocational school. The fund has been able to help a significant number of the neediest students in our community, but we need your help to enable us to fulfill our mission of helping these young people get this important start in their lives.”

For further information about the Great Neck Student Aid Fund visit www.GNSAF.com.