Drs. Sofia and Maksim Shapiro have been proud WTA parents since their twins, Aliza and Michelle, started kindergarten, in 2015.

Sofia’s family emigrated from Minsk, and Maksim’s family emigrated from Kyiv, both then part of the former Soviet Union. After three generations of Soviet suppression of Jewish observance, Sofia and Maksim chose to send their kids to WTA. Michelle and Aliza were the first girls to receive a Jewish education and have a Bat Mitzvah in the family.

Maksim is an associate professor at NYU Langone Medical Center, an interventional neuroradiologist, and fellowship director. He treats life-threatening emergencies such as stroke and brain aneurysms, and collaborates with Hatzalah and other Jewish emergency response teams to provide critical life-saving care. Maksim recently traveled to Ukraine as part of Razom, a mission to train and collaborate with interventional neurosurgeons in Ukraine and support the war effort against Russia. He returned for a second time, along with his colleagues, to treat more patients and expand the program.

Sofia is a pediatric endocrinologist at Optum Medical group in Westchester. She treats children with diabetes and other endocrine disorders. She also volunteers, both as a Tot Shabbat leader at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, and with the Helping Hands community outreach program.

Maksim and Sofia are so grateful to the dedicated faculty and the entire WTA community, for providing such an excellent education, with its warm and nurturing environment, and an unwavering commitment to love of Torah, Eretz Israel, and Jewish values. As Aliza and Michelle are getting ready to graduate this year, their youngest daughter Rachel started kindergarten, and Sofia and Maksim are looking forward to nine more years of being a part of the WTA family.

Drs. Sofia and Maksim Shapiro currently live together with their five children in Riverdale.