Howie Paskowitz

“Hineni, here I am!” exclaims past Netivot President Howie Paskowitz, when asked about his volunteerism at Netivot over the past 15 years. He counts himself as part of the “huge group of people in this community who are super committed to the vision and success of Netivot HaTorah. When I was President (2013-2015), it was a real inflection time at Netivot. I, along with members of the Board, had to figure out what changes we had to make. We were going to be heading in a new direction and the lay leadership accepted the responsibility of what the new vision would be. The first step of that was getting parents involved. I’ve always said that I think one of the great parts of Netivot is that we have so many people who want to get involved, who want to step up. We really are so fortunate to have this real sense of obligation, responsibility and community. It’s off the charts and one of our competitive advantages as a school! We are a school that is unique and special.”

Howie, originally from Buffalo, NY, attended the Kadimah School there. There wasn’t a high school option in Buffalo, so he moved to Toronto and boarded at the home of a (younger) (Rabbi) Rafi Lipner while attending Yeshivat Or Chaim. His parents had set him up for social success by sending him to Camp Moshava Ennismore over the years so Howie knew lots of students at YOC and he also met his future wife Devora at Camp Moshava. After yeshiva in Israel and YU, Howie moved back to Toronto; he had a passion for real estate and works as VP of Development and Municipal Affairs at Starlight Investments. When asked about his spare time: “I love to volunteer for Netivot and watch football with my kids! 

Howie and Devora are parents of 4 children, 3 Netivot graduates and 1 current student. 

Fun Fact : Howie thought of the #netivotproud hashtag and clearly describes Netivot as “a place we should take great pride in. The wanting to be part of Netivot is remarkable.”