Lisa and Larry Mandelker, along with their son, Charlie, have been Beth El Members since 2012.  Their daughter, Molly, born in 2013 shortly after their move to New Rochelle, has literally been a Beth El member her entire life.
 
Larry is a lifelong NYer, having grown up in Riverdale before graduating from Columbia College, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he earned his JD, and New York University School of Law where he earned his LLM in Tax Law.  Larry is currently a Trusts and Estates Partner in the Tax and Wealth Planning department of Venable LLP.

Lisa grew up in Bellevue, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.  After graduating from The George Washington University and earning her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ, she began her residency at Long Island Jewish Hospital’s Schneider’s Children’s Hospital (currently Cohen Children’s Hospital). Lisa is currently the Lead Physician at Pediatric Associates of Southern Westchester, a division of Boston Children’s Health Physicians, in New Rochelle.

Lisa and Larry met in 2005 – another JDate success story - shortly after Lisa moved to NY for her residency and Larry began his year long LLM program.  In 2008, they were married at Herzl Ner-Tamid on Mercer Island, Washington, in Lisa’s childhood synagogue, in a ceremony officiated by Larry’s childhood Rabbi and Lisa’s childhood Cantor.

Although shortly after they started dating, Larry joked they would get married and live in Westchester, it wasn’t until Lisa, Larry and 1 year old Charlie attended a Bat Mitzvah at Beth El that they realized they found the warm and welcoming community in which they wanted to raise their family.  Within a year they found a house within walking distance, moved to New Rochelle and became Beth El members.

Lisa and Larry quickly became actively engaged in the Beth El community.  Lisa has spent years serving as a member of the Officers’ and Trustees’ Nominating Committee, a Co-President of the Religious School Parents’ Organization, and various committees planning prior Galas, community shabbat dinners, trivia nights and other Beth El events.  Outside of Beth El, Lisa serves as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the New York Medical College School of Medicine as well as a volunteer for Molly’s Girl Scout Troop.  Larry has also been active at Beth El, serving as a member of Beth El’s Board of Trustees and Audit and Finance Committee, and even as a stand-up comedian at Beth El’s Comedy Night.  In his spare time, Larry also serves as a Trustee of the NYU Law School Alumni Association, member of the Professional Advisory Committee of the SUNY College of Optometry, volunteer for Teachers for Ukraine Initiative, Adjunct Professor at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, coach for Beth El basketball and YBNR baseball and softball teams and has performed stand-up comedy at other fundraising events.

It has been an exciting year for Lisa and Larry as they just finished celebrating Charlie’s Bar Mitzvah and are starting to plan for Molly’s upcoming Bat Mitzvah in 2026.  Still, nothing could match how humbled they feel to be recognized with the President’s Ne’emanim Award. The Patchens were one of the first families Lisa and Larry met when they joined Beth El, and they are honored to be sharing this year’s honors with them.