The WBJE is a proud member of the Manitoba Federation of Independent Schools (MFIS) and grateful to be a partner agency of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg (JFW). The JFW’s annual allocation to Gray Academy helps to support the school’s bursary assistance program.
Key Responsibilities
- To ensure that Gray Academy’s mission is fulfilled
- To provide policy guidance, monitoring and evaluating the management of Gray Academy
- To maintain Gray Academy’s financial security and infrastructure, and to provide the resources necessary to fulfill the its mission on an ongoing basis
- To help Gray Academy maintain the highest standards of character and integrity as an institution
- To lead, through careful recruitment and ongoing evaluation of: the members of the Board, the Head of School, and CEO
Elected & Appointed Officials
Executive Committee
Sean Shore, President
Sean is currently a lawyer at Canadian Compliance & Regulatory Law. He holds law degrees from the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law (LL.B., 1993) and the London School of Economics (LL.M., 1994) and has been practicing law in Winnipeg since 1995. He has two daughters that attend Gray Academy in Grades 8 and 11.
Bruce Caplan, Secretary
Bruce Caplan is a partner with BDO Canada LLP and is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Licensed Insolvency Trustee. Bruce is a past president of Jewish Child & Family Service. He is married to Sheri and they have two daughters attending Gray Academy in Grades 8 and 10.
Diane Shindleman, Treasurer
Diane Shindleman is a CPA, CGA and is a manager of Corporate Finance. Diane has been a volunteer on the finance committee and a board member since 2011. Diane and her husband, Sandy, have one daughter, Annie, who is in Grade 10 at Gray Academy.
Board Members
Jen Dimerman, Gray Academy Parent Association (GAPA) Representative
Jennifer received her Bachelor of Social Work from University of Manitoba in 1997. For the past year, she has been the Vice President of GAPA. Jennifer is married to Ian (’88) and they have two sons attending Gray Academy in Grades 6 and 9.
Evgeny Gotfrid (’13)
Evgeny is an entrepreneur and a student pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce Degree at the I.H. Asper School of Business, with the intent to major in Finance and Entrepreneurship. He is an active member of the Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization at the U of M. Born in Ukraine and raised in Israel, Evgeny came to Canada in Grade 4, where he attended Gray Academy until graduation.
Richard Hechter
Richard Hechter is an Associate Professor of Science Education and Acting Department Head in the Faculty of Education, Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning at the University of Manitoba. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of North Dakota where he studied the science teaching self-efficacy of preservice elementary science teachers. Before joining the academy, Richard was a high school physics and science teacher for 11 years at the U of W Collegiate.
Tara Kozlowich (’94)
Tara earned her Bachelor of Commerce degree with a double major in Marketing and Management from the U of M, Asper Business School. After living in Toronto, Tara and her husband, Paul, returned to Winnipeg. Their two daughters are in Grade 6 and 3 at Gray Academy.
Laura Kravetsky-Chisick (’99)
Laura is an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba in the Department of Internal Medicine. She practices as an internist on the medical wards at the Health Sciences Centre as well as an obstetric internist in her clinic. She graduated from Gray Academy in 1999 and then went on to receive her Masters of Science at the University of British Columbia and her MD at the University of Manitoba. Laura and her husband Josh are the proud parents of Lev and Maya Chisick (in Grade 2 and Junior Kindergarten at Gray).
Cindy Lazar (’87)
Cindy has been a labour lawyer for over 20 years, currently serves on many boards and committees and is heavily involved in volunteerism for the Jewish community. Cindy and her husband, Joel, have two children attending Gray Academy, one in Grade 7, and one in Grade 4.
Rabbi Matthew Leibl (’03), COR Representative
Matthew Leibl is a proud graduate of the Gray Academy. He’s been involved in synagogue life since he was 19 years old, when he started working at Congregation Shaarey Zedek as a Torah reader and Bar/Bat Mitzvah tutor. He studied journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax and worked for six years as a radio host with TSN 1290 before deciding to become a rabbi. His passions in life are sports (especially baseball), music (especially live music), travel, Seinfeld, and, of course, his wife, Heather Wadsworth.
Marla Levene (’93)
Marla received her Law degree from the U of M in 1998, and is now a partner at MLT Aikins LLP. Marla has been a member of the board since 2011. She is married to Adam and they have two children attending Gray Academy in Grades 6 and 9.
Josh Weinstein (’89)
Josh was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1997 and is a partner at Myers LLP practicing almost exclusively in the area of criminal defence. He has appeared at all levels of court in Manitoba and at the Supreme Court of Canada. Josh has been a guest lecturer at the Law Society of Manitoba’s Continuing Legal Education program, a CPLED instructor for articling students, a teacher at the Winnipeg Police Training Academy, and also as a regular presenter at the annual conference of the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association. He is married and has two children, one at Gray Academy in Grade 7 and one in Grade 5.
Ex-Officio Members
- Tracy Kasner Greaves (’94), Past-President
- Lori Binder (’91), Head of School and CEO
- Carlos Benesdra, CPA,CMA, Chief Financial Officer
- Ron van der Hooft, WJSTA Vice-President