MANALAPAN – Bonnie Leff, the executive vice president of Congregation Sons of
Israel, Gordons Corner Road, has been named the 2018 Woman of Valor by the congregation’s Sisterhood.
Leff is a past recipient of the Tanzman Fellowship from the Jewish Federation in
the Heart of New Jersey. She will be the guest of honor at the annual Daughters of
Israel Woman of Valor Breakfast on May 6, according to a press release.
Leff has made her mark across the broad spectrum of the Jewish community dating back to her teenage years where she honed leadership skills in the chapter and region levels of the B’nai B’rith youth organization, according to the press release.
A graduate of Brooklyn College, where she met her husband-to-be, Steven, Leff began her professional career as an administrative assistant at Wall Street’s Bear, Stearns & Co., eventually working her way up over a 32-year career to the position of managing director, serving as chief of staff to senior partners in the real estate, marketing, fixed income and human services departments.
By the late 1980s, the Leff family, having grown to five with the addition of daughter
Sharon and twin sons Michael and David, moved to Manalapan where they joined
Congregation Sons of Israel and enrolled the children in the Solomon Schechter Day
School of Greater Monmouth County, Marlboro, according to the press release.
Leff became active as a volunteer at Solomon Schechter and was elected to the board, later becoming its first female president. She was a leading force in the school’s successful $1 million fundraising campaign which paved the way for construction of a new building.
At Congregation Sons of Israel, Leff became active in Daughters of Israel, the
100-year-old congregation’s Sisterhood arm, and with the congregation’s main body.
Leff has served as co-president of the Sisterhood and as a trustee for many years; has chaired the congregation’s strategic planning committee under two presidents; has held other key trustee positions, and is currently serving as its first female executive vice president, according to the press release.
Daughters of Israel sponsors cultural activities and programs for families and children and plays a leading role in all major development campaigns and functions at the synagogue. Tickets for the May 6 event may be obtained by calling 732-446-3000. Sponsorship and
journal advertising opportunities are also available. Deadline for reservations is April 20.
