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Dan Tenenbaum, Board Member: A Father and a Founder
Some people hear “infrastructure,” and their eyes immediately glaze over. For Dan Tenenbaum, it’s an essential element of a moral and meaningful life – and a critical part of what distinguishes Milken Community Schools.
The father of two girls at Milken, Dan is also the founder of a real estate investment and property management company and serves part-time as a commissioner for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, where he helps oversee the Section 8 low-income rent subsidy program and the city’s public housing. Dan is also the Chair of the California Apartment Association LA Advisory Board. He understands better than most what goes into the architectural finishes of a building (the plans to ensure access, to maximize usability and to nurture community) is often as important as the structure itself. As a Milken board member, he has a unique perspective on what the school offers to Jewish families in Los Angeles.
“The types of resources and programs we have at Milken, the courses available, the incredible faculty, the values being taught and, yes, the beautiful facility, are all just extraordinary,” Dan says. “There was nothing even close to this at the Jewish day school I went to in Montreal.”
He points to Milken’s Architecture + Design Institute (ADI) as a case in point. “My elder daughter, Gabriella, is passionate about architecture, and the school provides an excellent curriculum around it that will prepare her well if she decides to continue in that direction,” he says. “On a trip back to Canada, I met with the dean of the architecture program at McGill, my alma mater. He was astonished to hear about the ADI and said that many of the concepts Gabriella is learning are things they teach in the first year of university classes.”
Dan’s other daughter, Sophie, has a different range of interests – and Milken delivers for her, too. “Sophie loves the performing arts and singing, as well as sports, and the school has wonderful opportunities in all those areas,” he notes. “She’s extremely happy.”
Seeing their kids thrive in a Jewish learning environment is particularly gratifying for Dan and his wife Yael, who attended a Jewish day school in Copenhagen. “Growing up, I had daily classes in Hebrew and Yiddish and I attended Jewish day camp. Yael and I wanted our girls to benefit from the same type of backgrounds we had, to soak up the values and history of the Jewish people,” he says. “Coming to Milken was a great decision.”
One of the things they appreciate most about the school, Dan comments, is the exceptional level of support it provides. “There’s a palpable feeling on campus that the staff truly cares about the kids. From my daughters’ point of view, they are absolutely seen and heard. When they need help, they get it, and they know their ideas matter.”
On the Milken board, Dan chairs the Building and Grounds Committee, which is tasked with improving the school’s physical plant and increasing safety and security. It is an extension of his long-time commitment to giving back: He has also served on the boards of Builders of Jewish Education and the historic Breed Street Shul, and he belongs to the Jewish Venture Philanthropy Fund, a giving circle that provides resources and strategic direction to nonprofits in the US and Israel. “Being involved in the community has always been a priority of mine, and I’m thrilled to have a chance to leverage my skills and experience on Milken’s behalf,” he says. “Whatever I can do to help sustain its healthy future!”
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