Sunflower Bakery and Cafe Sunflower will be CLOSED April 22-30 for Passover.

Sunflower Celebration

Each Spring, Sunflower brings together our community to celebrate our graduates and honor community members who have helped Sunflower fulfill our mission or have made significant contributions towards equity and inclusion for people with learning differences.

Celebration 2023

Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center

Sunday, May 21, 2023
Dessert Reception 7:30pm | Program 8:15pm

Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center
7995 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Parking at 931 King Street

Parking garage and surface lot

Our Community Honorees

Excellence in Leadership
Daphna Raskas
Former Sunflower Board Chair,
Executive Director, and Development Director

Building Community Inclusion
Chuck Short
Retired, 50 Years of Public Service in Montgomery County

Exemplary Employer Partner
The Pretzel Bakery

Event Co-Chairs

Honorary Chair Manette Mayberg
Sara and Paul Glashofer | Evelyn Goldstein and Rich Neimand

Master of Ceremonies

Montgomery County Councilmember Gabe Albornoz

Host Committee

(in formation)

Pennie & Gary Abramson
Riva Mirvis & Daniel Ball
Naomi & David Balto
Vivian and Raymond Bass
Erica & Jeremy Brown
Pam Diener & Dan Cohen
Alana & Brett Fine
Sharon Friedman
Rachel & David Milner Gillers
Sahra & Yale Ginsburg

Miri & Menachem Gottlieb
Leslie & Samuel Kaplan
Fran & Neil Kritz
Manette & Louis Mayberg
Jessica & Andrew Mener
Rachel Engelhart & Shaanan Meyerstein
Dottie Bennett & Richard Morton
Gale Nachman
Jen & Ron Offer
Santha Sonenberg & John Ogulnik

Chase Phillips
Jonathan Rhoads
Shannon Rosenthal
Amy & Harris Schwalb
Alicia Myara & Larry Stern
Elaine & Rabbi Warren Stone
Miriam & Adam Szubin
Orlee & Joseph Turitz
Sarah Wayland
Janet & Mark Zuckerman

Supporters

HCM corpSafewaySandy Spring BankHost Hotels & Resorts

Bernstein Management Corporation LogoGoldfarb & Associates Inc - Pumps - Injectors - TurbosNeimand CollaborativeNFP The Melter GroupDigital Ink

Cintas LogoCommercial Insurance Managers, A Mumpower Enterprise, "Lighting the Way to Business Security" JCRC Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater WashingtonMJO, Digital | Data | ServicesReNutrition: re-think. re-fresh. re-nourish.S. Freedman & Sons, Inc. logoShalom Kosher, Naturally FreshSulam - Unlimited Learning (logo)Woodmont Properties

Celebration 2022

Pastry Arts Graduates

Leora Cherry
Dishon Scott
Paul Smith
Christian Garcia
Vicky Adams
Drew White
Ethan Bailey
Maia West
Julia Kraft
Joshua Blount
Reese Branham
Rachel Hamm
Kai Shuman
Dahneesha Whyte
Jahi Sibert

Hospitality Graduates

Juan Jose Campero
Jessica Lipsher
Josh Rubin
Noah Plitt
Webb Kavanagh
Haydee Alonzo Herrera
Jessica Morissette
Tierney Caulfield
Josef Klausner
Alessandro Spilimbergo
Toby Edelschick

Our Unsung Heroes

Shaping Inclusive Futures
Sara Portman Milner
Co-Founder and Director of Student Services

Building Community Impact
Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman and Ohev Sholom – The National Synagogue
Spiritual Leader and Community Partner

Exemplary Employer Partner
Adventist Healthcare, Shady Grove

2021

Pastry Arts Graduates

Hospitality Graduates

Austin Agrofiotis
Osemen Aigbedion
Jolie Band
Demba Cisse
Ethan Edwards
Catrina Hainer
Mike Kelly
Luis Neimand
Connor Pennanen
Ellis Rodgers-Archer
Cam Shorter
Ashley Thompson
Hana Tsegaye
Andrew Tucker
Jacob Van Houter
Moire Wright
Alvaro Cervantes
Gary Copeland
Kylie Huntington
Michael Pesin
Jessie Wiley

Our Unsung Heroes

Making Dreams Happen
Cathy Bernard
Business executive and community arts entrepreneur

Building Community Impact
Ron Halber
Executive Director, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington

Fostering Confidence to Succeed
Susan Belsky
Speech/language pathologist and Sunflower volunteer

Developing Skilled Employees
Elizabeth Hutter
Culinary Director, Sunflower Bakery