Tamar Davis: As a person born with a disability and parent of a child with a disability, Tamar is keenly aware of the ongoing need for advocacy and accessibility for disability inclusion and education for children and families in the global Jewish community. In August 2020, Tamar became CEO of Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, after having served as the Chief Development Officer for the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston. Before that, Tamar had worked for over a decade at Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America and Hadassah International, most recently as Hadassah’s National Director of Annual Giving. Tamar is an active volunteer in the Greater Boston Jewish community, having previously served as a member of Gateways’ Board of Trustees and as Board Chair of the Young Israel of Brookline. When she lived in Manhattan, Tamar was a Vice President of Congregation Ohab Zedek, a member of JNFuture’s Leadership Ring, and co-founded ViZion, a growing network of professionals working for Jewish, Israel and Zionist-related non-profits (now managed by the American Zionist Movement). Tamar has a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Yeshiva University’s Syms School of Business. A proud stepmother and mother to five children, Tamar and her husband, Allan Galper, live in Brookline, MA.

Liz Offen is the Director of Yachad New England, a regional human service organization dedicated to providing high quality social programs and recreational activities, as well as family support services for Jews of all ages with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and autism. Yachad is always at the forefront of imagining new opportunities for inclusion and genuine community in our region. Since the start of the Covid pandemic, Liz has stewarded Yachad to be responsive and flexible, launching new ways of breaking social isolation and loneliness through a combination of online programs, 1:1 support, and training in the use of tablets and technology. Since she began at Yachad in 2012, Liz has helped the region grow significantly in membership, programming and resources, including opening the Yachad Community Center in 2018 in Coolidge Corner.   Liz grew up in Newton, attending Temple Emanuel and Prozdor. She has a Master’s in Political Economy from MIT and spent her early career working in government, non-profits, NGO’s, and as a consultant on strategic planning, curriculum design & training, and management. For several years, Liz also ran the inclusion program at Camp Ramah in Palmer, MA and was on the staff at Gateways and Temple Shalom of Newton.

Deborah Flaschen is a parent of a 31-year-old son on the autism spectrum.  During her son’s transition years (generally considered to be ages 14 – 21), Deborah evaluated her son’s traditional service options offered by the

Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and concluded none of them was a good fit.  As a result, Deborah founded 3LPlace, Inc which offers individuals highly personalized programming and scheduling. At 3LPlace, all staff and members celebrate neurodiversity, work together to grow each participant’s abilities, and wholeheartedly support the voice of participants to choose their path in life. Deborah has more than 35 years of high-level project management in private and public sectors: Senior Vice President, Investment Banking, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley (12 years); Founder, president, or chair of three autism-related nonprofit organizations, 1997 to present; and parent advocate for a child on autism spectrum for 28 years. Deborah earned her MBA in Finance from The Wharton School, and a BA from Tufts University.