BBYO Names Michael A. Leven, Chairman and CEO of the Georgia Aquarium as Alumnus of the Year

WASHINGTON, DC— BBYO is proud to announce Michael A. Leven as the recipient of the distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award. A native of the Dorchester/Mattapan area of Boston and alumnus of BBYO New England Region, Leven received the award while addressing more than 3,000 Jewish teens at BBYO International Convention (IC) in Orlando, Florida on February 15, 2018.

Each year, two renowned BBYO alumni are selected by BBYO teen members to receive these awards, which were established in honor of Anita Perlman and Sam Beber, founders of the B’nai B’rith Girls (BBG) and the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA). Tracy Reichman Kalik ‘88, a Bethesda, Maryland resident and 44th International N’siah (teen president), an esteemed civil litigator and partner of Heideman, Nudelman & Kalik, received the 2018 BBG Alumna of the Year Award.

Leven has generously supported BBYO's leadership training efforts for Jewish teens and took time to meet with ten teen leaders during IC.

"It was inspiring to meet and speak with Mike Leven at IC about leadership skills that BBYO has taught me and to hear from him about how he uses those same skills practically and successfully in the real world," said Ben Kort, a high school senior and BBYO member in Mountain Region.

Leven was chosen for the annual alumnus award for his remarkable professional achievements as well as his contributions to the Jewish community and society at large. As a leader both during his time in AZA and throughout his life, Leven has demonstrated a consistent passion, wisdom, and unwavering support of BBYO and Jewish teens.

“I am honored to receive this award from BBYO and my brother Alephs,” said Leven to 3,000 teens gathered for IC. “Today’s members are on the path to preserving and protecting the Jewish people throughout their lives. I am so grateful for each Aleph and BBG for all that they do to be together and learn together in BBYO so that they will go on to be the future of our people—that is the power of this amazing organization.”

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About BBYO
BBYO is the Jewish community’s largest and fastest growing pluralistic platform for reaching and inspiring Jewish teens during the school-year with 600 teen-led local chapters and over 100 weekend retreats along with a plethora of summer experiences including Israel visits, travel programs and leadership camps. For more than 90 years, BBYO‘s leadership programs, the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA, high school fraternity) and the B’nai B’rith Girls (BBG, high school sorority) have been providing exceptional programs and identity enrichment experiences, shaping the confidence and character of more than 400,000 alumni who are among the most prominent figures in business, politics, academia, the arts and Jewish communal life.

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