Honorees
Lisa Beth and Greg can’t tell you the exact day they met on the campus of Hobart and William Smith College in 1983, but neither can they remember a day that they weren’t close friends. Lisa is always saying there were only four Jewish men taller than her at school, so Greg’s prospects were pretty good.
After college, Lisa joined the buyer’s program at Lord and Taylor and Greg started at Cushman and Wakefield as a leasing broker. They spoke as often as they could as their new jobs were all-consuming. Lisa’s job took her to Chicago and even though they were in different cities, they would speak by phone (via land line) for hours every night as their friendship grew even stronger.
Lisa moved back to NY to attended Brooklyn Law School and they started dating shortly thereafter. By the end of Lisa’s first year, they were engaged and married the summer after. After graduation, Lisa joined the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and Greg followed his original passion for the markets to Smith Barney.
Once Lisa was pregnant with twins, they knew that they needed to move out of NYC. Benjamin and Jordan came into their lives on February 10, 1995 and nothing has been the same since. Over the next years, the young family joined the JCC and began looking for their home, ultimately settling in Tenafly. Both Lisa Beth and Greg believe they were not just moving into a town, they were joining a community and looked to get involved. Greg’s advisory business was growing as he became a Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley and now leads a team of ten professionals specializing in asset management and wealth transfer strategies for successful families, philanthropic organizations, athletes and entertainers.
Lisa’s legal career flourished and she was promoted to the Special Prosecutions Division. As Ben and Jordan got older, Lisa made the difficult choice to be a full-time Mom. Soon after, Lisa was asked to join the JCC Board and has remained active since, serving on various committees in the role of Chairperson, and she is a currently a Vice President on the Executive Board. Lisa Beth was also asked to join Federation’s Young Leadership Cabinet, a national organization. Through Cabinet, she has traveled with them to the FSU, Berlin, Poland and Israel. Lisa was nominated and received our local Federation’s award as a Rising Star.
Greg’s philanthropic passions took him in different directions. His passion for Israel and Zionism translated into his leading multiple missions to Israel over a ten year period. Two very memorable missions involved our Temple and the local community. A Men’s trip with Rabbi Kirshner went to Poland before sharing Israel’s 60th Birthday watching fireworks over Tel Aviv. Greg also organized and led the Federation’s largest family trip, J2J, when 325 people, 80 from Temple Emanu-el, along with Cantor Singer, as well as many first timers, shared an incredible week in Israel together. Greg has been on the Board of UJANNJ, the Rockleigh Home and served on numerous committees’ at the JCC.
When Temple Emanu-El asked Greg to join the Board, he immediately said, “Hineni, here I am. How can I help?”. Over the years, Greg has served on various committees and task forces, eventually being nominated to the Executive Board as Treasurer and First Vice President, and then he had the privilege of serving for two years as President. One of Lisa Beth’s strongest memories of Temple Emanu-El was helping to carry the Torahs from Englewood to their new home, as she had grown up in an Orthodox shul and was not permitted to even touch a Torah. When Ben and Jordan became a B’nai Mitzvah, Lisa Beth also studied with them, read from the Torah that she carried and became a Bat Mitzvah that day too. Lisa Beth and Greg are proud of the impact they have had on the community they joined and are humbled to be recognized with such an honor as the Founders’ Award from Temple Emanu-El
Jen Maxfield Ostfeld and Scott Ostfeld have been members of Temple Emanu-El for six years. Along with their children Trevor, Vivian, and Evelyn, they are grateful to be a part of the Emanu-El community and have met many wonderful friends at temple. The Ostfelds truly appreciate Temple Emanu-El’s commitment to service and they enjoy being involved in projects both at Temple Emanu-El and in the larger Jewish community.
They support the Joint Distribution Committee, an organization helping Jews around the world. In 2017, Jen was selected as a “Woman to Watch” by Jewish Women International. On a family trip to Israel, the family had an inspiring visit to the Bet Elazraki Children´s Home and has been helping to support children in their care ever since. On that same trip, the Ostfelds met with Lone Soldiers and IDF troops and are proud to be sponsoring college scholarships for soldiers who have completed their service.
They support the Joint Distribution Committee, an organization helping Jews around the world. In 2017, Jen was selected as a “Woman to Watch” by Jewish Women International. On a family trip to Israel, the family had an inspiring visit to the Bet Elazraki Children´s Home and has been helping to support children in their care ever since. On that same trip, the Ostfelds met with Lone Soldiers and IDF troops and are proud to be sponsoring college scholarships for soldiers who have completed their service.
Jen and Scott are also supporters of other organizations focused on health and education. They are both vegan and work to promote plant-based eating through the Cardiac Wellness Center at Montefiore Hospital. Jen served on the board at the Center for Food Action and is a Vice President of the Board of Trustees at the Elisabeth Morrow School. Scott has served on the board of The Opportunity Network for over a decade, working with students from historically underrepresented communities in developing their skills to achieve their college and career goals.
Jen and Scott met in an art history class in 1997 at Columbia and both remain involved with the University. Jen serves on the Board of Visitors at Columbia College and Scott serves on the Board of Columbia University’s Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy. The couple graduated from Columbia College; Scott has a J.D. from Columbia Law School and an MBA from Columbia Business School, and Jen has a Master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School.
Scott joined JANA Partners in 2006 and is a Partner and Co-Portfolio Manager of the JANA Strategic Investment Fund and is responsible for active stockholder engagement. Scott is a Director of HD Supply Holdings and was previously a Director of Team Health Holdings, Inc. Jen is an Emmy Award-winning reporter and substitute anchor for NBC-4 in New York City. Prior to joining the station in 2013, she worked for Eyewitness News in New York as a reporter and a substitute anchor for ten years. Jen is also an Adjunct Professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she teaches broadcast journalism.
Jen and Scott enjoy living in Bergen County, where Jen grew up as the oldest of six children. They love being close to family and are thankful that their children are growing up surrounded by so many of their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. After celebrating simchas with friends’ families at Temple Emanu-El, they are looking forward to their oldest child Trevor’s Bar Mitzvah this fall. In addition to cheering on the sidelines of Trevor’s soccer games and in the audiences of Vivian and Evelyn’s dance competitions, Jen and Scott both enjoy running, travel, vegan restaurants, and ‘90s hip hop music.