JPA NJ Leadership
Yana Bar
JPA - Board Member / JPA NJ Lead Member
Yana was born in Saint Petersburg and immigrated to US with her parents in 1990. Growing up in Brooklyn, she attended several yeshivas followed by a public high school and Pace University. Yana works in financial services as a project manager. She resides in Livingston NJ and enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, skiing, diving, reading, and always trying new things. Yana is passionate about raising her children with a love for Judaism and inspiring others in her community to do the same.
JPA NJ Leadership
Alina Tokar
JPA NJ Lead Member
Born in Kharkov, Ukraine, I happily lived my early childhood knowing that I was Jewish and not knowing what being Jewish meant. Just as many other Jewish families of the late 80’s and early 90’s, my parents decided that “enough was enough” and off we went to Israel. Growing in the Jewish State, I formed my Jewish identity, learned my history and celebrated my holidays. I did what most people in Israel do, without putting any effort in doing so. Fast-forward eleven years, and we decided that, yet another immigration is in order. We packed one more time and came to the US. Though my formative years were in Israel my adulthood started here. As an adult I started to appreciate that which the Jewish State gave to me and that which I always took for granted. It became a mission to retain my love of land, history, heritage and tradition. I want to pass that love, appreciation and pride to my kids. Now I am a wife, a mom, a daughter and a professional. I am looking for ways to stay honest to my mission and this is why I am here.
Lana Vegman
JPA NJ Lead Member
Lana Vegman immigrated to Brooklyn, NY in 1991 from Riga, Latvia with her parents and grandparents. Lana holds a Doctorate degree in Pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Lana works in the pharmaceutical industry and is currently Head, US Publications for Novartis Pharma. Lana now lives in Short Hills, NJ with her husband Igor, their creative, curious and fun boys - Matthew and Ilan; and Cooper, their handsome golden doodle. Lana’s hobbies include Broadway shows, trying new foods, kickboxing and planning the family’s next vacation. On weekends, Lana can generally be found cheering on the side-lines of her kids’ sport games. Family is and always has been Lana’s priority and she hopes to instill a sense of Jewish tradition, family values, empathy, and culture in her children.
Lidiya Rothstein
JPA NJ Lead Member
Lidiya Rothstein lives in Livingston, NJ with her husband, Daniel and their two kids, Jacob and David. Lidiya was born in Moscow and immigrated to the United States when she was eight years old. As a child, she attended Solomon Schechter Day School for a few years and graduated from Millburn High School. Lidiya attended Rutgers University where she majored in Economics and received her MBA from Rutgers Business School in Accounting and Finance. After graduating, she accepted an offer with PwC and has been working at the Firm for the past 18 years in Products and Technology. In 2008, Lidiya and her husband moved to Tel Aviv for a few years. Living and working abroad was one of Lidiya's most memorable experiences. After living in Israel, Lidiya and her husband lived in Rochester, Houston and ultimately settled down in Livingston because of the wonderful Jewish community. During her free time, Lidiya enjoys exercising, traveling, hosting friends and family, cooking new recipes, volunteering, wine tasting, watching her kids play sports and planning family gatherings. Lidiya is excited to be a part of Jewish Parent Academy!
Natalie Lisak
JPA NJ Lead Member
Natalie was born in Odessa and grew up in Israel. She is very passionate about Jewish history and Israel advocacy. Professionally, Natalie worked in Wealth Management where she was a Private Banker for high net worth attorneys and Law Firms. Later she worked as an Executive Director of the Israeli Business Forum of NY. She is now studying Adlerian parenting coaching in a combined program with Haifa University and hopes to help parents build strong relationships with their children by practicing positive parenting solutions. She holds a B.S. in Finance and Masters in International Finance and Economic Policy from Columbia University. She lives in Livingston, NJ with her husband and 3 kids.
Victoria Shpilsky
JPA NJ Lead Member
Victoria was born in Kiev and immigrated first to Israel with her parents in 1991 and then, after getting married, to the USA. She currently resides in Short Hills, NJ with her husband, Vlad, and four children.
Victoria has an advanced degree in Statistics from Rutgers University and worked as a statistician at major pharmaceutical firms. She loves spending time with kids and during the pandemic decided to become a math teacher with an after school enrichment program. She enjoys nature, yoga, painting, good movies, playing piano and sharing it all with her family. Victoria is passionate about Jewish education and support of Israel and participated in many community events for these causes.
Victoria is excited to join the JPA community to expand her knowledge and build new friendships.
Ilya Lisansky
JPA NJ Lead Member
​Ilya grew up in Moscow and immigrated to the US at the age of 17. After graduating from MIT, he worked in the technology and financial services industries and is currently a portfolio manager for a proprietary trading firm. Ilya lives in Millburn, NJ with his wife and two children. He enjoys skiing and hiking.
Ilya and his wife participated in two separate JPA cohorts and greatly enjoyed the experience. Ilya believes that learning about Jewish history and traditions in the company of like-minded people embodies two of the key aspects of being Jewish -- learning and community. JPA is a vehicle for Russian-speaking Jews to come together and explore questions related to our Jewish identity. Ilya joined the JPA team to help sustain this organization in our community.