Tammy Chaimov
As a first generation American in her family, Tammy understood the significance of that responsibility. Her grandparents emigrated from Tashkent , Uzbekistan in the fall of 1979 with her nine-year-old mother and four-year-old uncle.
Tammy was born in Queens, NY but spent her early childhood growing up in Aventura, Florida.
At the time, she was one of the few Jewish students in the school-let alone Russian speaking. She craved a sense of community and belonging, and therefore started her own NASH JEW Teen Club in Brooklyn, NY when she moved there as a Sophomore in High School.
In different points of her life, she took it upon herself to create opportunities to unite Russian speaking Jewish people.
Today Tammy lives in Manhasset, Long Island with her husband and two daughters Olivia and Sophia. She recently started a “Russian Speaking Jewish Moms of North Shore Group” and has been organizing events for both parents and children.
Her motive in doing so, is to foster an environment in which children are part of a strong Jewish community that will instill a sense of belonging - rather than assimilation into a monolingual non-Jewish culture.
Tammy has her Masters in Speech Language Pathology and currently works as a Private Speech Language Pathologist with both adults and children.
JPA LI Leadership
Lily Ilizarov
Lily immigrated to the United States at the age of eleven from Baku, Azerbaijan. Majority of her teen and young adult years took place in Brooklyn, New York, where she graduated Brooklyn College with Bachelor's Degree in History and Philosophy. She later went on to complete her masters in history and urban studies in Queens College. She currently lives in Long Island and is a stay-at-home mom to four children.
Lily is a grandchild of WWII survivors and believes in the importance of retelling of Jewish experiences to future generations. She believes and hopes that if we unify and pass on our stories, we can further preserve our Jewish identities.
Alla Mayer
Alla originally immigrated from Tiraspol, Moldova with her family and older brother in late 1980’s. She briefly attended all girls school in Brooklyn at Prospect Park Yeshiva Academy. As a young child with no previous Jewish education or traditions, Alla found it hard to fit in and, therefore transferred to public school. Alla graduated with
degrees in Computer Science and Applied Math and Statistics. Alla worked for Lehman Brothers for over 10 years. After getting married and starting a family, Alla moved to various states to complete her husband's fellowship program. As her family relocated through various states, they realized that New York is their home and felt the need to get back to their Jewish roots, community and traditions.
All and her family recently moved to Great Neck and love that that there is a sense of community their children are not the only Jewish kids in school. Alla’s family loves to go skiing, biking and hockey.
Last year Alla had an honor and pleasure of being part of 2022 JPA National Cohort. This experiences has inspired her to connect with her roots, to raise her children with passion for Judaism and try to inspire others in my community to do the same.
Ilona Trokel
lona was born in Odessa, Ukraine. When Ilona was seven years old, her family immigrated and arrived in NY in 1978. They settled in Forest Hills, Queens where Ilona attended Solomon Schechter, Cardozo HS and then NYU. After graduating NYU, Ilona worked for a fashion PR firm. Once married, she left to become a full-time mom. Ilona is a proud mom to three amazing boys. She currently resides in Great Neck.
Ilona is very involved in grassroots philanthropic organizations, PTA and multiple Jewish organizations.
Ilona loves people, enjoys spending time with her family, reading and learning daily. Ilona and her husband are very connected to our Jewish heritage. They study weekly and host an array of lectures.
Ilona recently re-joined the workforce as an executive for the Nassau Board of Elections responsible community outreach.
She looks forward to playing an active role in North Shore JPA.
Julie Yakubov
Julie Yakubov immigrated from Uzbekistan with her family to the USA in 1989 . She was raised in New York and presently resides with her family in Great Neck. Julie comes from a household where culture and tradition is fostered. Judaism is an important foundation to her identity and lifestyle. Julie, along with her family, play active role in multiple charities.
Julie completed her undergraduate degree in Speech Language Pathology and Psychology at Queens College and her Masters at St. John’s University. She has extensive experience working with preschool and school-age children with speech or language delay/disorder. Currently, Julie is working in a private practice with students on their speech and language development. In addition, she is embarking upon a career in real estate. She is a leader and strong advocate for healthy lifestyle and educating others on mindfulness and spiritual connection. Her biggest accomplishment is her family: husband and three children.
Julie is delighted to be part of Jewish Parent Academy as she has a love of learning. She is honored to be amongst great individuals and scholars. She sees tremendous value in learning about the Jewish heritage and staying connected as a Russian-speaking community. Knowledge gained at JPA will benefit the generations to come and preserve the understanding of who we are as Russian-speaking Jews.