Ilyse and Kamyar Boudai

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Ilyse and Kamyar Boudai

To say Ilyse and Kamyar Boudai are busy people is the perfect example of an understatement.

With four children between the ages of seven and twelve, a thriving real estate business, and as proprietors of the Kidz Korner, an “indoor playground” for children’s parties and other celebrations in Encino, one would assume their time for anything else would be severely limited. Yet that is far from the case.

Three of their children, Jonah, Kayla and Alana, are currently enrolled in the day school and their oldest, Ian, is a recent graduate. They initially heard about the school and the excellent children’s programs from Kamyar’s mother whose youngest son was a graduate.

Ilyse began her involvement by attending mommy and me classes, and met “great families” that have developed into long lasting friendships. “And that’s what you want to surround yourself with,” she said. “We found the entire synagogue community to be friendly and welcoming. That’s what we were looking for in a temple.”

But Ilyse didn’t stop there. While Kamyar is an active member of the Men’s Club, Ilyse has been active in the day school’s Parent Organization and serves on the Day School Board of Trustees as well as on a variety of other synagogue committees. For the past five years, she has served on the VIVA VBS committee, a major fundraising event for the school, including one year as chair of the silent auction. Both Ilyse and Kamyar like that the day school offers many opportunities for parents to be “present” and hands-on, not only for holiday celebrations and shows, but also in the classroom.

And they are proud of the Boudai Family Innovation Lab, established in 2017 by Kamyar’s parents, Diana and Kamran Boudai, which allows students to design and create projects through the use of 3D printers, virtual reality devices, robotics, power tools and a laser cutter. The lab truly adds a whole new dimension to Jewish learning, allowing students to thrive and make the world a better place.

“We thoroughly enjoy our involvement at VBS,” they concluded. “We believe that if we can make a positive difference for students and families that attend the day school, we’ve done our job.”

Interview conducted by and article written by Jay Schuster