HONORING
Maggie and Cliff Newman have been members of Etz Chaim almost from the inception of the Shul. Maggie ran the kiddush program, youth program, and also the Sisterhood for many years. Cliff ran the Men’s Club, the softball team, and was President along with Michael Bachner in 2007-2008. Their house is always available for Shul programs and guests. They also had the honor of hosting Rabbi and Rebbetzin Klibanoff for their first Shabbos at the Shul.
Both Maggie and Cliff have been very active in the local and national Jewish community. They have been honored as Parents of the Year by Meor, which is an organization that helps Jewish college students connect with their Judaism. They have also been honored by the Friendship Circle for all their involvement in the growth of the organization.
After college, Cliff joined his father’s small microfilm company and grew it into the largest independently-owned document imaging company in the United States. He sold DRS to a private equity company in 2018 and worked there until 2022. Cliff now owns Princeton Disability Advocates, a company that helps those in need receive government disability benefits. Maggie served as class mother for many years at Solomon Schechter, and once their children were old enough, Maggie worked with Cliff at DRS and now at his new company.
Maggie and Cliff have three children who they are extremely proud of. Sabrina Newman Bendory is an accomplished writer and author, Dr. Neil Newman is a radiation oncologist at MD Anderson in San Antonio, TX, and Jonathan Newman is a partner in the real estate group of Shearman and Sterling LLP. They also have six grandchildren, Natti, Gavi, Emmy, Joey, Jude, and Ayala, who they love dearly.
Both Maggie and Cliff have been very active in the local and national Jewish community. They have been honored as Parents of the Year by Meor, which is an organization that helps Jewish college students connect with their Judaism. They have also been honored by the Friendship Circle for all their involvement in the growth of the organization.
After college, Cliff joined his father’s small microfilm company and grew it into the largest independently-owned document imaging company in the United States. He sold DRS to a private equity company in 2018 and worked there until 2022. Cliff now owns Princeton Disability Advocates, a company that helps those in need receive government disability benefits. Maggie served as class mother for many years at Solomon Schechter, and once their children were old enough, Maggie worked with Cliff at DRS and now at his new company.
Maggie and Cliff have three children who they are extremely proud of. Sabrina Newman Bendory is an accomplished writer and author, Dr. Neil Newman is a radiation oncologist at MD Anderson in San Antonio, TX, and Jonathan Newman is a partner in the real estate group of Shearman and Sterling LLP. They also have six grandchildren, Natti, Gavi, Emmy, Joey, Jude, and Ayala, who they love dearly.
Keter Shem Tov Award
Shelley has been working both behind the scenes and in more formal positions at Etz Chaim since its inception. If you ask her what were some of the most meaningful points in her life, one would be the opening of the shul in September 1996. She has worked as Youth Chair, Secretary, Sisterhood President, and ultimately as the first woman Co-President of the shul. She has been involved in an assortment of events/projects as a “professional volunteer” in the shul, most notably organizing the Annual Family BBQ. Shelley has also spent a good many years giving of her time at GOA in an assortment of roles, including President of the Parents Association and Development Chair. Currently she is also President of the Holocaust Resource Foundation at Kean University.
Shelley was born in the United States, a child of Holocaust survivors. Having been brought up in a very Zionist home, she moved to Israel in 1970 and did her BA at Hebrew University. There she met and married Chick Paradis, also the son of survivors, whom she met on a kibbutz (volunteering, what else). Though they came back to America in 1979, she still sees herself as Israeli. They have 4 children – Gonen (and Jaci), Dalit (and Andre), Kalya (and Mike), Matan, and six wonderful grandchildren.