Alison and Cory Wishengrad

“Before I met Alison, it never occurred to me that I would send my kids to Jewish Day School,” recalled Cory. Although he grew up in a Jewish family, the son of first-generation Americans both with refugee parents from eastern Poland, his family was essentially non-practicing. And yet Cory’s childhood home in Manalapan, NJ included the vague and distinctly Americanized remnants of Ashkenazi Jewish tradition: bagels and lox, matzah ball soup and (electric) Hanukkah candles.

In contrast, Alison was raised in a traditional Modern Orthodox Jewish family. Her Bobbie survived Auschwitz, and her Zeyde was part of the Resistance—forging papers in Romanian forests. After getting engaged to one another in Europe before the chaos and devastation of the Holocaust, they miraculously found each other again after the war (in the Bronx) and instilled in their son (Alison’s father), Sid, the critical importance of Jewish tradition and Jewish education. Alison’s mother, Jayne, having grown up in a Reform family, embraced a Modern Orthodox lifestyle and, together with Sid, raised Alison in a home surrounded by a warm community, with most friends within walking distance in Livingston, NJ. 

“We were definitely sending our kids to Jewish Day School,” recalled Alison. “It was non-negotiable.” The only question was which one. At Heschel, Cory and Alison found a pluralistic community that embraced both of their backgrounds. “Although Alison asked me to wear a kippah on our tour, at the time I noted that not everyone was wearing one,” remembered Cory.

Their children, Noah ‘23 (currently a freshman at Cornell), and Ethan (currently in Grade Eight at Heschel), both started at Heschel in Nursery. According to Cory, “We found not only the rich Judaic Studies and world class secular education we wanted, but also and more poignantly our New York City family. Our home is filled with a constant stream of Heschel teenagers, as well as their parents and siblings for Shabbat dinner, with most friends within walking distance on the Upper West Side.”

Alison seized upon the opportunities at Heschel to work with like-minded parents as a volunteer. As co-chair of HesedPalooza from 2013 to 2016, she spearheaded the evolution of the annual Book Fair into a school-wide day of Hesed. Alison served as Associate Chair of the Benefit Dinner from 2016 to 2017 and graciously served multiple terms as Chair of the Benefit Dinner from 2018 to 2023. 

Inspired by Alison’s positive experience volunteering at Heschel, Cory joined the Fall Campaign Committee in 2013, and became its Chair in 2018. Cory joined the Board of Trustees in 2020 and currently serves as Chair of the Development Committee. “At Heschel, we have been building and strengthening our community with individuals who have become lifelong friends over the last 15 years,” observed Alison. “We have made our closest relationships through volunteering at the school.” 

Since October 7, the indispensable role Heschel has played in Alison and Cory’s lives has grown even more evident. “We deeply value the Heschel approach that has taught our children to question and to analyze. Combined with the focus on oral presentation and advocacy skills at every grade level, the Heschel education has enabled our children to represent Israel and Judaism in today’s fractured world,” reflected Cory.

When not spending time with family, at Heschel, or playing with their dog, Cooper, Cory is Head of Fixed Income at Guggenheim Securities, a full-service boutique investment bank, and Alison is a Management Consultant at Gold Health Strategies Inc., a New York-based healthcare consulting firm. “When we started our lives in New York City, our friends from college and graduate school and our careers were the center of our lives,” mused Alison. “Now the center of our life is our family, and Heschel.”