ARI PINCHOT ’94YC AND AVI SAVITSKY ’93YC: THE PRODUCERS
Ari Pinchot ’94YC always liked the movies but never considered it a potential career, instead picturing himself as a teacher. “It wasn’t until a pulpit rabbi delivered a speech about the religious themes in Star Wars that I understood that movies could impact people on a larger-scale,” said Pinchot. “It was then and there I decided I wanted to make films.”

Pinchot and Avi Savitsky ’93YC met when they roomed together during their post-high school year at Ohr Yerushalayim, a yeshiva in Israel, before attending Yeshiva University. “I felt YU would help strengthen my religious foundation in the face of the challenges that would come as I entered my career,” said Pinchot. While at YU, Pinchot was lucky enough to secure an internship with MGM Studios in New York to write a screenplay with a producer there. “I probably spent a little too much time writing the script and not enough time on my school work that year, but it launched me into the industry,” he said.

Years later and coming off an associate producing role with the hit documentary, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, Pinchot produced the popular 2004 film Paper Clips with the Virginia-based production company the Johnson Group, with Savitsky serving as an associate producer. Paper Clips received critical acclaim and was distributed by Miramax and bought by HBO.

Following Paper Clips, Pinchot transitioned into feature films, co-producing Everything Must Go starring Will Ferrell through Nationlight Productions in Philadelphia. With a growing track record, Pinchot and Savitsky began to work exclusively on the company they co-founded in 1999, Crystal City Entertainment (CCE), which develops and produces documentaries and dramatic feature films. “I didn’t intend to work in film,” said Savitsky, “but I’ve always been an entertaining storyteller who can sense and appreciate dramatic moments in life.”

CCE’s most recent project is Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story, which premiered in January 2012 at the New York Jewish Film Festival and went into wider theatrical release this spring. Both Pinchot and Savitsky, who have sons named Yoni in honor of Netanyahu, count Follow Me among their most personally meaningful projects. Pinchot’s co-director on the film, Jonathan Gruber, is a graduate of YUHSB. CCE is one of the production companies involved in the award-winning The Ides of March, starring George Clooney.

Future projects for CCE include a documentary about balancing high-powered careers with Shabbat, which both Pinchot and Savitsky know a little something about. “Many people we have worked with were appalled that we truly cut ourselves off at sundown for 24 hours,” said Pinchot. “But with all of the stress and frenetic activities in this profession, it has been a gift to be able to escape everything for a period of time each week and spend time with the people who really matter in your life.”

Pinchot and Savitsky were both at YU recently for a screening of Follow Me for the University’s Presidential Fellows. Said Pinchot: “I believe the alumni can have a dramatic impact on the University and its students by giving them a glimpse at many different futures, and sharing their own experiences along the way.”

Pinchot lives in Silver Spring, MD, with his wife, Rachel, and their four children, while Savitsky lives on Long Island with his wife, Cheryl, and their four sons.

ADENA ROHATINER ’06S: THE STYLIST
Adena Rohatiner ’06S was like most little girls who loved pretty dresses, but unlike most little girls, she decided at that young age that she would one day forge a career in fashion. Today, Rohatiner is the official stylist for Hollywood personality Maria Menounos, the fashionable co-anchor of Extra who is frequently lauded by magazines and blogs for her on-point sense of style—in no small part thanks to Rohatiner’s touch.

Rohatiner, who uses her maiden name professionally, knew that if she wanted to succeed, she’d need to start early. She worked in various summer internships while still in high school. “When it came time for college, I decided to attend Stern College for Women because I was considering pursuing its joint program with the Fashion Institute of Technology [FIT],” said Rohatiner. Deciding not to pursue the joint degree with FIT, but still set on her fashion goals, Rohatiner interned at Glamour magazine. She also worked at Teri Jon, the fashion house headed by Rickie Freeman-Platt, the mother of two Stern alumnae and a member of the Stern College for Women Board of Overseers.

“My last semester at Stern, I got an internship working for Rachel Zoe [a fashion stylist with her own reality TV show], which helped me realize that I absolutely wanted to work in the stylist part of the fashion industry. I love being able to dictate someone’s look,” said Rohatiner.

Rohatiner then moved home to Los Angeles to work for Estee Stanley and Christina Ehrlich, fashion stylists who headed the Miss Davenporte clothing line. When the duo split up, Rohatiner followed Stanley to her solo business, where, together, they styled celebrities like Lea Michele and Jessica Biel.

“Fashion is a fun but stressful industry. There were many times where I was glued to my BlackBerry, and my husband urged me to relax because I was so stressed out,” said Rohatiner, who is married to Jordan Frenkel ’02SB and gave birth to their daughter, Ayla, last year.

“After I had Ayla, I knew I couldn’t keep up the pace of working on such an intense fashion line,” said Rohatiner. Luckily for her, Menounos was in the market for a good stylist and Zoe recommended Rohatiner.

“Maria and I hit it off right away, and I started work on a trial basis for two weeks,” Rohatiner said. “This was right around the time of the holidays in September and October, and I told my new boss that there were already days I wouldn’t be able to come in. Thankfully, they liked me enough that my insistence on taking off yomim tovim didn’t matter, and I was hired on a permanent basis after that.”

“Being at Stern taught me that one can balance a religious life with a career,” added Rohatiner. And the job of styling Maria for Extra is much friendlier to Rohatiner’s schedule as a mother. “I usually leave work by 3 or 4 p.m. and can often take Ayla with me when I am running fashion-related errands out of the office,” she explained.

Rohatiner plans to develop her own fashion line and business, where she can style more celebrities.

CORY RICHMAN ’95YUHS, ’99SB: THE AGENT
Cory Richman ’95YUHS, ’99SB works in an industry that never sleeps; yet, as an observant Jew, he has still found success as a talent agent who is Shabbat observant and, therefore, unreachable to his celebrity clients for 24 hours each week.

“Sometimes I wonder, when I’m about to shut down my phone and e-mail for Shabbos, why my clients would want to sign with an agent who they can’t contact for a big part of the weekend,” said Richman. “It turns out, though, that a lot of my clients respect my beliefs and my dedication to my religion.” One of Richman’s clients, Anna Chlumsky, a child actress who starred in the popular film My Girl, is a devout Christian, and when she found a 2006 Jewish Week article that profiled Richman, she was impressed with his dedication to Judaism.

“I have only ever felt that Cory’s Jewish observance is a positive thing, especially considering that I, as a Catholic, also observe a religion and regularly attend Mass,” said Chlumsky. “I feel grateful being able to work so closely with someone who clearly has his priorities in check. From my basic understanding, Shabbat forces you to take a regular break from your work, and it’s something Cory’s clients can learn from as well.”
So how did a nice Jewish boy get to work with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood like legendary actress Lauren Bacall, and at the same time, continue to observe halacha?

Richman, a native of Teaneck, NJ, graduated from YUHS and then went on to major in marketing at the Syms School of Business. “I was a longtime sports fan, and figured I would go into something sports-related,” he recalled. An internship at NBC Sports, obtained through Richman’s independent research and tenacity, was “a great experience,” he said, “but I saw how sports peaked on the weekends. I knew I wouldn’t be able to give my all to the job and keep Shabbos, and I knew that someday when I had a family, I’d want to spend Sundays with them as much as I could.”

Richman veered to internships in the entertainment industry, and secured gigs at DreamWorks Pictures, Warner Brothers, Aaron Spelling’s Manhattan office and Miramax Films. With all that experience under his belt, Richman figured finding a full-time job in the industry would be easy, but when he sent out his resume to every talent and management company in New York, he got no bites. Eventually, an offer came from the William Morris Agency (now William Morris Endeavor), one of the largest and most prestigious talent agencies in the world, and Richman was admitted to their agent training program. “I explained it to my parents as the Goldman Sachs of Hollywood,” explained Richman, laughing. He soon worked his way into their talent department.

About six years ago, he and Ben Liebman co-founded Manhattan-based Liebman Entertainment, and the client roster includes stars from film, television and theater. “Working in the entertainment industry is a stressful and hard business, but I get up in the morning and I love going to work,” Richman said. “I don’t think there’s a more fun industry than this one.”

Richman lives in New Jersey with his wife and three sons.

YONI OPPENHEIM ’99YUHS, AVI SOROKA ’99YUHS AND AMY GORDON GUTERSON ’88S:
THE ACTORS

Yoni Oppenheim ’99YUHS and Avi Soroka ’99YUHS had always gravitated toward the arts. The duo met at the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy/Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), where they co-directed the high school’s first theater production, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. “It was a new and innovative initiative that challenged us both artistically,” said Oppenheim, who counts the experience among his fondest memories of YUHSB. Finding ways to speak about theater that relate to the observant community continues to be central to our work.”

Oppenheim went on to graduate from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Soroka, who was president of the Yeshiva College Dramatics Society (YCDS), has stage-managed productions all over the United States. “My parents arrived in the U.S. from the former Soviet Union, with a stopover in Israel, where I was born,” said Soroka. “While the language and scenery around us changed, one of the constants in our home was music and theater. I always knew that I would be happy if the arts could become my profession. Dr. Anthony Beukas [former chair of YU’s speech and drama department], and working for YCDS, helped me actualize this.”

In 2010, the duo, along with friend Jesse Freedman, co-founded 24/6: A Jewish Theatre Company, which showcases the work of Shabbat-observant artists—the first company of its kind in New York. 24/6 debuted at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue in the East Village with, appropriately, The Sabbath Variations: The Splendor of Space, a collection of six short plays inspired by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s writings on the Sabbath. All of 24/6’s works are inspired by Jewish themes.

Soroka and Oppenheim say that while 24/6 is a full-time job, it doesn’t pay the bills. “I think of us as theater entrepreneurs. We’re dedicating a lot to 24/6 because we believe it has enormous potential for the Jewish community,” said Oppenheim, who works a variety of freelance arts-related jobs while being a stay-at-home dad to his one–year–old daughter. Soroka works in Manhattan’s diamond district.

Creating productions that allow shomer Shabbat theater artists to demonstrate their ability and realize their potential is Oppenheim’s favorite part of running 24/6. “It’s very hard not working on Shabbat in the theater world,” he said. “Yet many observant Jews are incredibly talented and inspiring artists who can make a unique contribution to the arts, and through the arts, to the Jewish community and broader society.”

Recent 24/6 projects include a rerun of the successful Purim-themed adaptation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and participation in SHINSAI: Theaters for Japan, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake. 24/6 has been in residence at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue since August, presenting plays like Brooklyn Boy and original pieces from young up-and-coming playwrights.

24/6 will soon relaunch the shomer Shabbat improvisational comedy group “Improvodox” as its improv wing. YU students and alumni with a comedic side are invited to get involved; learn more at www.twentyfoursix.weebly.com.

Amy Gordon Guterson ’88S was Stern College for Women’s first theater major, and though most students probably would not want to serve as a guinea pig, Guterson’s success, both on stage and off, should be a source of comfort for any pioneer.

“Although there were more expansive fine arts programs at other universities, I knew the environment at Stern would allow me to maintain my Orthodoxy while I studied theater,” Guterson said. Guterson became involved with the drama society right away, and says she learned a lot about the numerous roles—including stage managing, directing, and acting—that go into making a successful play.

“I didn’t know how I was going to pursue theater as an observant woman, but I knew somehow I would,” Guterson said. “My mentor at Stern was [associate professor of speech and drama] Peninnah Schram, and she remains my mentor to this day.” After graduating from Stern, Guterson began going on many auditions and acted in off-Broadway plays, including Jewish repertory, Yiddish and classical theater, which earned her an Actor’s Equity Card.

She studied acting with acclaimed actress and teacher Uta Hagen, and then went on to earn her graduate-level degree in acting from The New Actor’s Workshop. Guterson soon felt, however, that despite being at the top of her professional game, something was amiss.

“So here I was, having spent all this time developing my acting skills, when I discovered that what was really missing from my life was my connection to God,” recalled Guterson, who had drifted away from Orthodoxy during her acting stints. Soon after, Guterson met and married her husband, Dr. John Guterson ’87E, a ba’al teshuva (returnee to the faith) through Chabad. She began learning Chassidic teachings and felt certain that she, too, could utilize her talents while maintaining her Torah Judaism. They moved to Pittsburgh, and Guterson co-founded the Kol Isha theater company, served as its artistic director and joined the Pittsburgh Playback Theatre. More recently, she became a board member of ATARA, the Arts and Torah Association for Religious Artists, and made the award-winning film Becoming Rachel.

“I realized that Torah laws are not meant to stifle artistic expression as I once thought,” Guterson said. “I found that I am meant to use my talents to communicate Torah values to the world in a new way.”

Guterson founded Tzohar Seminary for Chassidus and the Arts in fall 2011; she also serves as its director. “At Tzohar Seminary, post-high school students study Chassidus, which, in turn, illuminates the study of the arts, including writing, music, dance, fine arts, theater and filmmaking,” said Guterson proudly.
Aside from inspiring scores of young women with her visionary role, Guterson has inspired one young woman very close to home: her daughter, Tanya, who will be attending Stern College for Women this coming fall, where she plans to major in music.

To read about other accomplished and inspirational YU graduates, visit yu.edu/alumni/profiles; or, to share your own achievements, submit a Class Note at yu.edu/alumni/notes.

After graduating from Stern College for Women and New York University School of Law, Naomi Maryles ’96S was set with a job at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, a highly esteemed law firm in Manhattan. Newly married to her husband, Rabbi Bini Maryles ’97SB, ’00R, ’10AZ, she was employed at the firm for several years and was actively working her way up the corporate ladder. There was one problem: she missed putting her three children to sleep.

“Anyone who says women can ‘have it all’ is wrong—there is simply no such thing,” said Maryles. “I want to dispel the myth that women can be perfect at everything they do. We need to realize that we can’t do everything 100 percent. We need to find a balance that works for each of us. For me, that was scaling back my corporate law career so I could be home with my children at a decent hour.”

Maryles went to work for a smaller firm on Long Island and then decided to take a break from law altogether. “Making that choice was difficult for me, because as a Type A personality, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in myself when I felt pulled in all different directions and couldn’t completely devote myself to each pull,” Maryles said. “But life is a journey and you need to do what makes you the best at whatever is most important to you at any given time. I chose the bedtime routine with my children over being a hot-shot lawyer and I learned to give myself a break.”

Maryles grew up in West Hempstead, NY, the daughter of an attorney, and always knew she wanted to be a lawyer. She attended Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns & Rockaway (HAFTR) elementary school and for one year of high school (where she was the first freshman ever to be accepted to the school’s mock trial team) before switching to Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC). She then spent 18 months learning at Midreshet Moriah in Israel.

At Stern, Maryles majored in elementary education, which might seem like an odd choice for someone intending to enter law school. “I always knew I would go to law school, but I also wanted to graduate college with a real skill, which in my mind was accounting or teaching,” she explained. “Since I’m horrible with numbers, I chose teaching.” Maryles loved the student-teaching she did at the Ramaz Middle School and at a public school in Greenwich Village, and although she was admitted to her first choice for law school, NYU, she decided to defer for a year to work as a teacher at Manhattan Day School.

After beginning law school, she saw a sign looking for volunteers for the Battered Women’s Justice Project, and her interest was piqued. “It was there that I learned just how common domestic violence is, and how many women are victimized. This led to my interest in working on behalf of women’s rights.” Maryles continued to focus on battered women’s issues in her pro bono work at Kramer Levin and served as a liaison to InMotion, an organization that assists victims of domestic violence.

During the years she took a break from law, Maryles worked at Nishmat, the Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. “I was attracted to Nishmat because it works to empower women and give them important roles within the Orthodox Jewish community,” said Maryles, “It was a continuation of my attraction to professional roles that allowed me to help women.”

While at Nishmat, Maryles also trained as a volunteer for Shalom Task Force, a communal organization promoting healthy marriages and peaceful family relationships. As a volunteer, she travels to different high schools to speak to young women about healthy relationships.

During this time, Maryles was contacted by Rabbi Shlomo Weissman, the director of the Beth Din of America (BDA), who was looking to fill a newly created position of administrative attorney. “Beth Din has this reputation as being female-unfriendly, and the idea of helping women feel less intimidated by the process by having a woman there made me feel like it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up,” said Maryles. “I also missed law more than I thought I would.”

As the Beth Din’s administrative attorney, and the first female attorney to work with any rabbinical court in the United States, Maryles handled the administrative casework dealing with marital issues, such as gittin (Jewish divorces), end-of-marriage issues (such as division of property and custody arrangements) and commercial matters (such as business and real estate arrangements). Maryles was in charge of the case procedures from opening case files, to drafting and sending summonses, scheduling hearings, mediation, negotiations and settlements.

“Yeshiva University really laid the groundwork for me to be so interested in helping women,” said Maryles. “As an all-women’s college, Stern emphasized how important each of us is and that we have so much to contribute to society. Every step you take leads you to the next step in life, and the fact that I went to Stern gave me the foundation to accomplish a lot as a woman, for women.”

Eventually Maryles left the BDA and went to work at Gracin & Marlow LLP, a corporate and securities firm on Long Island, but she continues volunteering for Shalom Task Force and taking on speaking engagements. “As much as my children have seen that they are my number one priority, I also feel it’s important for them to see that I’m actively involved in the Jewish community, and that I won’t be home sometimes,” Maryles explained. “I tell them that Mommy is doing a mitzvah, and I am teaching them that involvement in the community is something valuable.”

Maryles largely credits her husband’s support for enabling her to do as much as she does. “In truth,” said Rabbi Maryles, “I don’t know how she has the time, strength and energy to do all of the things she does and still finds time to take on more, but it is quite inspiring to watch her go each day.” Maryles lives with her husband and four children—Avigayil, 10, JJ, 8, Orly, 6, and Azi, 3—in North Woodmere.
To connect with Naomi Maryles and other YU alumni living in the Five Towns and around the world, visit www.yu.edu/alumnidirectory.

In 2005, when the crisis in Darfur was first making headlines, Cynthia Bernstein was in her second year of studies at Stern College for Women. Unable to sit idly by while the papers reported on such atrocities, Bernstein connected with a small group of students who were also interested in becoming socially involved. [That core group included Shoshana Fruchter Samuels ’07S, an alumna profiled in the December 2011 Alumni eNewsletter.] “I had already met many of those students while running Jewish programming in Belarus with YUSSR (Yeshiva and University Students for the Spiritual Revival of Soviet Jewry) and in Germany with Lauder Yeshurun,” explains Bernstein. “The Darfur campaign seemed natural as we have all grown up in post-Holocaust communities and raising awareness about the horrors is something I thought all students could relate to.”

Bernstein and fellow students coordinated a memorable rally in Central Park for Darfur in May 2005, which was largely praised by the press for showing Jewish students taking a stance on an issue technically outside the Jewish community. The students showed that the Darfur crisis related directly to their community’s values.  Bernstein spent that summer in Ghana with the American Jewish World Service, and, upon her return to campus that fall, worked with her good friend Rebecca Stone ’05S to coordinate YU’s first overseas trip with the American Jewish World Service to Honduras.

Bernstein’s involvement in social and communal issues is not surprising, given her background. “Growing up in Yonkers/North Riverdale, my family was always very involved in the community and inspired me to be so as well,” she explains. “At Yeshiva University High School for Girls, I was student body co-president and was excited about making change at my school. YU seemed a natural next step and a way that I could effectuate change within my community.”  Bernstein majored in both history and political science at Stern so she could learn about the history of social movements, foreign policy and political theory. “I am so thankful for the history and political science professors I met at Stern who motivated me in my academic studies and encouraged me to pursue my interests and achieve my career goals,” she says.

Bryan Daves, assistant professor of political science, feels fortunate that he was one of Bernstein’s early mentors at Stern. He says, “Cindy exemplifies the best of Stern College for Women by taking what she learned in the classroom and combining it with values that she holds dear to work toward the betterment of others. Over the years, I have watched with pride as she has taken on one challenging task after another with the same infectious enthusiasm, all with the intention of Tikkun Olam.”

While at Stern, Bernstein began an internship at the Program in Holocaust and Human Rights Studies at YU’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, which continued into the summer post-graduation. Upon graduation, Bernstein received a Legacy Heritage Fellowship, which placed her at the helm of programming for the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. Bernstein says, “At JCRC-NY I was fortunate to learn from masters of community outreach, engagement and mobilization. I was also fortunate to travel to meet with other young, engaged Jews around the world.” At the conclusion of the fellowship, Bernstein worked at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in the Office of Program Planning and Budget. “It was there that I learned about the systems in place for Jewish humanitarian assistance and community renewal. This was particularly meaningful as I had spent time working with Jewish communities in Germany and Eastern Europe and it was a great opportunity to learn from the leading organization on the mechanisms in place,” Bernstein remarks.

Bernstein then spent time working at a small NGO dedicated to genocide prevention and conflict resolution, where she  organized seminars for government ministers throughout Eastern Europe. After spending some time in Jerusalem, writing curriculum at Yad Vashem and volunteering with refugees, in 2009 she returned to New York to start an MA in International Affairs at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). “At SIPA, I focused my studies on human rights and security and enjoyed studying advanced topics in such a multicultural environment” says Bernstein. Bernstein was also fortunate to receive a Wexner Graduate Fellowship for her studies, and was awarded numerous leadership fellowships at SIPA as well. Among her favorite experiences during her two years at Columbia was serving as Teaching Assistant for “Covering Religion,” a class at the Columbia School of Journalism that traveled to Israel and Jordan to meet with religious leaders and visit holy sites.   She is also grateful for the opportunity Columbia afforded her to conduct research in the former Yugoslavia and Syria.

Bernstein is now hard at work at, possibly, her most prestigious internship yet: the White House. She explains, “Towards the end of my graduate career, I became increasingly interested in working for the government. I found out about the White House Internship Program, applied, and got it!   Bernstein’s primary responsibilities include facilitating speakers and briefings for interns focused on leading foreign policy, domestic policy and legal issues.  “Looking long-term, I would like to continue working for the government,” says Bernstein. “I’m particularly interested in foreign affairs and working with constituent groups. The White House internship ends in May and I am already looking for my next step.”

YU students who are interested in becoming more involved with social justice causes can find fewer sources of advice better than Bernstein as they set out to achieve their aims. She says, “Work hard and try to put your all into what you are passionate about. Build yourself a support system of motivated and engaged individuals and wise mentors. Challenge yourself and throw yourself into new and diverse environments. Finally, believe in yourself. Somebody has to get the great position, win the fellowship/award or run the significant program. It might as well be you.”

Karen Bacon, the Monique C. Katz Dean of Stern College for Women, said, “Cindy was an early and passionate supporter of turning classroom theory into public action for the benefit of society.  Her bio and work both in Stern and afterwards reflect a combination of focused attention, fearless activism and empathic intelligence. She is a wonderful model for us all.”

Feeling inspired by Cindy Bernstein?  To read about other fantastic and inspirational YU graduates, visit the alumni Web site and check out the alumni profiles; or, to share your own achievements, submit a Class Note.