Meet our Honorees
Daniella ’91 and Jonathan Muller have been pillars of the North Shore Hebrew Academy community for nearly two decades. Having called NSHA her home since childhood, Daniella was inspired by the leadership example of her parents, Philip z”l and Tina Machnikoff, to become deeply involved in the school. Both her parents held leadership positions at NSHA, with her father serving as a long standing member of the executive board and her mother as an active member of the academic boards. Daniella joined the Board of Directors, ultimately serving as Executive Vice President and President. She now holds the position of Vice Chairman of the Board.
Under her board leadership, NSHA has grown its student base, raised critical funds, completed major campus renovations and built a team of distinguished administrators and faculty by making critical hires during her tenure, which have been transformative to our school. Daniella has dedicated countless hours to the school and broader community, giving generously of her leadership, legal expertise and fundraising acumen for the benefit of NSHA.
Jonathan has co-chaired the NSHA Summer Outing for the last 15 years, pairing his love and knowledge of golf with steadfast support for the school and encouraging new and younger parents to take an active role in the outing. The funds raised through his leadership of this event are vital to the NSHA annual budget. Jonathan can often be found manning the scoreboard at his son Jack’s NSHA hockey games and he provided livestream commentary for the high school hockey team prior to his son Benjamin’s graduation.
Daniella and Jonathan’s leadership contributions to NSHA are all the more meaningful given their demanding professional lives. Daniella serves as Executive Vice President, Human Resources, and Associate General Counsel at Arbor Realty Trust. Jonathan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Gaffos. They are active members and leaders of the Great Neck Synagogue and board members of United Hatzalah. Daniella is also a member of the Great Neck Synagogue shiva committee.
The Muller family is well known for its deep community involvement, and Daniella and Jonathan’s example is reflected in the midot of their children: Benjamin ’25, Jack (8th Grade), David (2nd Grade), and Philip (2nd Grade). Benjamin is currently studying at Yeshivat Torat Shraga in Jerusalem and will attend the University of Maryland in the fall.
It is an honor to welcome Daniella and Jonathan Muller as our Guests of Honor in recognition of their unwavering leadership, generosity, and dedication to North Shore Hebrew Academy.
Fran and Morris Gad are the recipients of the Dor L’Dor Award, honoring a legacy of devotion to North Shore Hebrew Academy that now spans two generations. Their deep involvement with NSHA continues today as their grandchildren attend the very school they helped strengthen and grow.
Both Fran and Morris were raised with a strong sense of communal responsibility. Fran’s father, a Holocaust survivor, instilled in her the importance of living proudly as a Jew and engaging in Jewish communal life. These values guid Fran and Morris as parents and leaders within NSHA.
During their years as parents at the school, Morris served as Financial Secretary of the NSHA Board of Directors and Treasurer of the NSHA High School Board. Fran was an active member of the PTA, contributing to the Holiday Committee as well as the Siddur and Chumash Assembly committees. Their commitment deepened when they became a Founding Family of NSHA High School, dedicating their vision, passion, leadership, and resources to its establishment. Recognizing the need for a preeminent yeshiva high school in the Great Neck community, they helped mobilize communal support to bring that vision to life. Their children, Sara Gad Tsur ’05 and Michael Gad ’09, were among the early graduates of NSHA High School.
Today, Fran and Morris experience the nachat of watching ten of their grandchildren grow into proud, committed Jews at NSHA, with additional grandchildren joining in the coming years, be’ezrat Hashem. Their children, Dina and David Gad and Sara and Jonathan Tsur, are active members of the NSHA community. David currently serves as a Trustee of the NSHA Board of Directors, while Dina and Sara are actively involved in the PTA and are often seen volunteering on campus.
Beyond NSHA, Fran and Morris are deeply engaged in Jewish communal leadership, including longstanding involvement with the Great Neck Synagogue and the Cherry Lane Minyan. Professionally, Morris serves as Co-Chairman and CEO of Almod Diamonds Ltd.
Fran and Morris’ children, Sara ’05 and Jonathan Tsur, Dina and David Gad, and Michael ’09 and Amanda Gad, exemplify lives guided by Torah values instilled through their NSHA education. NSHA is proud to educate the next generation of the Gad and Tsur families including Katie (5th Grade), Emily (4th Grade), Jared (1st Grade), Sophia (1st Grade), Daniel (Kindergarten), Rachel (Pre-K) and Jordan (Incoming Toddler) Gad and Anna (5th Grade), Moshe (3rd Grade), Jacob (1st Grade) and David (Future NSHA student!) Tsur. Fran and Morris are also the proud grandparents of Mia and Romi.
With profound gratitude, NSHA honors Fran and Morris Gad with the Dor L’Dor Award, in recognition of their enduring commitment and the strong foundation they have built in support of generations of NSHA students to come.
Dr. Dorothy Bruckstein began her professional career with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Lehman College (CUNY) and a Master’s degree in Nursing from NYU. While working as a nurse at Maimonides Hospital, she discovered that her greatest strengths lay in supporting patients’ psychological, social and emotional needs. This insight led her to pursue a degree in Psychology, culminating in a PhD in Clinical/School Psychology from Hofstra University in 1999 and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at South Nassau Communities Hospital’s outpatient mental health center.
Although her initial professional focus was clinical practice, Dr. Bruckstein’s path changed when she joined North Shore Hebrew Academy High School. What began as a plan to broaden her experience quickly became a true calling. She has been a dedicated member of the NSHA High School community since its founding, serving the school for 25 years.
Dr. Bruckstein is especially proud of earning her PhD while balancing professional life and family responsibilities, with the love and support of her husband, Alex. She treasures the sense of family, respect, and kindness that defines NSHA High School and feels privileged to work closely with students and families to support their growth and well-being. It is her greatest nachas to reconnect with graduates years later and see the people they have become. Dr. Bruckstein is a member of the American Psychological Association, National Association of School Psychologists, and NEFESH International (Network of Orthodox Mental Health Professionals).
Dr. Bruckstein is most proud of her large and growing family including her children Tammy, Shavy, Sarah, and Moishe, twelve grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Dr. Bruckstein’s own words relay the dedication she embodies to her students throughout her years at NSHA and each and every day: “I have been truly blessed to have had the unique opportunity, privilege, and honor to help our wonderful students in a meaningful way to navigate social, emotional, and academic challenges. When I walk into our building each day, I feel like I am walking into my second home.” It is our privilege to bestow upon Dr. Bruckstein the Distinguished Faculty Award for her two and half decades of devotion to the students of North Shore Hebrew Academy High School.
The Founding Families of North Shore Hebrew Academy High School, led by Ivan Kaufman, are a group of visionary parents and community leaders with an extraordinary commitment to a preeminent yeshiva high school for our community founded in the values of Torah u’Maddah, academic excellence and dedication to the State of Israel. Together, they dedicated their resources, time and expertise to establish NSHA High School. Their commitment resulted in the creation of our magnificent high school campus that welcomes students from across Long Island and New York City, where our children learn from expert faculty and strengthen their Jewish pride and love of Israel each day.
Our inaugural graduating class was a small group of nearly 25 dedicated students and families and today NSHA High School graduates more than 100 students each year, with thousands of alumni worldwide. Among this distinguished group are award-winning doctors, scientists, engineers, Rabbeim, educators, and Jewish communal leaders who were raised at NSHA High School with the goal of making an impact on the world around them. Our greatest source of nachat is the many alumni who return to NSHA as teachers and parents, continuing to invest in the future generations of our school.
In honor of the 25th anniversary of NSHA High School, we proudly celebrate the enduring legacy and vision of our Founding Families.