Portland

Ecotrust Building

Co-Chairs

Susan & Rick Rosenbloom

Barbara Atlas & Brian Suher

Planning Committee

Todd Bedrick

Naomi Leavitt

Sandy & Wendy Menashe

Advisory Committee

Ben O’Glasser

Seattle

Stroum Jewish Community Center

Co-Chairs

Carol & Allen Gown

Dorothy Dwoskin & Mark Orr

Planning Committee

Lisa Fein 

Dan Friedmann 

Shelly Shapiro 

Robert & Polly Amkraut 

Howard Zack 

Advisory Committee

Rob & Lisa Low

British Columbia

Congregation Beth Israel

Co-Chairs

Lisa Boroditsky

Sandy Hazan Switzer

Planning Committee

Shelley Behr

Karli Behr

Ronit Berger

Kyle Berger

Dan Brown

Alena Levitz

Ben Lubinizki

Lisa Romalis

Deborah Stern Silver

Renee Switzer

Julia Switzer

Lissa Weinberger

Jennifer Wilds

Debbi & Alan Montrose

Portland Honorees

Alan Montrose spent seven formative summers at Camp Solomon Schechter, first on Whidbey Island and later in Tumwater. As a camper and Machon (now the Oded program), he built lifelong friendships across the Pacific Northwest and discovered the power of Jewish community outside the synagogue, reflecting that “CSS with Rabbi Stampfer being there were probably the strongest influencers in creating my Jewish identity.” Years later, Alan returned to serve on the CSS board, eventually becoming president during the hiring of the camp’s first full-time executive director – an important step in expanding both camp enrollment and retreat rentals. During that time,  the Montroses participated with a circle of former campers to help launch annual post-campers family camps, forging deep multigenerational bonds that continue today.

Debbi Montrose fell in love with Schechter through those family camps, even before their children were old enough to attend CSS. Inspired to bring Israeli dance retreats to the space, she founded B’Yachad PNW in 2001, Schechter’s only annual Israeli Folk Dance retreat rental for intermediate and advanced Israeli folk dancers. Now approaching its 24th year, the weekend shabbaton welcomes dancers from across the Pacific Northwest and alumni who travel from around the country to return each year.

Together, Alan and Debbi have chosen to include Camp Solomon Schechter in their estate and legacy plans, helping to ensure that the magical place where “Judaism and Joy are One” continues to thrive for generations to come.

Cindy & Bob Strauss

Seattle Honorees

Cindy Fein Strauss and Bob Strauss share a lifelong love story with camp. Cindy spent every childhood summer at Schechter, along with her four siblings, beginning back on Whidbey Island. Bob’s camp journey started in classic Bob fashion: riding his motorcycle to Tumwater in the summer of 1978 to visit Cindy, who was serving as Camp Director.

That summer, sitting together on the hill overlooking camp, they decided to get married. In the years that followed, Schechter became a true family home. They attended Family Camp, and all three of their boys, Aaron, Joey, and Danny, grew up spending their summers at camp. Bob even served as “Camp Dad” for two summers, finally getting his own taste of being a Schechter camper.

Both Cindy and Bob have given so much back to camp over the decades through board service, professional expertise, generous support, and endless hours of volunteering. Many of their closest lifelong friends are people they met through camp, and the same is true for their sons.

Though humbled (and, in true Strauss fashion, a bit embarrassed) to be honored, Cindy and Bob are delighted to shine a light on the role camp has played in their family’s life and in strengthening Jewish community across the Northwest.

Rabbi Matthew Bellas (z”l)

British Columbia Honoree

At just eight years old, Matthew first felt the spark to become a rabbi while leading services at Camp Solomon Schechter. His early summers at Schechter shaped his love of Judaism and his path toward Jewish leadership. While earning his rabbinical degree, Rabbi Bellas returned in 2001 and 2002 as “Rabbi Matt,” writing curriculum, facilitating Torah Zones, and co-creating the Jewish history timeline that hung in the Beit Knesset for years. Though officially Rabbi in Residence, he showed up everywhere: on the court during Shabbos basketball, planning programs with the Judaics team, leading spirited t’fillah, and competing (enthusiastically) in the pin game. He later served as consultant and editor of the camp humash.

Schechter remained his lifelong home away from home, the place that ignited his greatest joy and set him on a path to creating meaningful Jewish experiences for youth and families across North America.

After receiving ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2004, Rabbi Bellas built a distinguished career in Jewish education. He served as School Rabbi at The Brandeis School in Lawrence, New York, and at Vancouver Talmud Torah in British Columbia, and spent the past decade as Lower School Principal at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (CESJDS) in Rockville, Maryland. He was a visionary leader who fostered joyful, rigorous, and inclusive learning. At CESJDS, he coined his well-loved daily reminder: “Ask a good question, learn something new, and be kind to everyone.” His deep Jewish knowledge anchored his work, but his warmth and positivity made him unforgettable. Rabbi Matthew Bellas’ spirit lives on in the countless students, educators, institutions, and communities he touched, reminding us that intention, integrity, and heart are at the core of Jewish leadership.