STEPHEN WISE TEMPLE AND SCHOOLS USHER IN A NEW ERA OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Transformational Aaron Milken Center at Wise

Mountaintop Campus Designed to Inspire and Develop Young Minds in a Unique, Creative Setting

Made Possible by the Lowell Milken Family Foundation and Generous Donors

March 23, 2025 (Bel Air, CA) – Stephen Wise Temple and Schools marked an exciting milestone on Sunday, March 23, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the highly anticipated Aaron Milken Center for Early Childhood Education at Wise. More than 500 guests—including community leaders, generous donors, congregants, and close friends and family—gathered on the Wise campus to celebrate this momentous occasion.

Among the distinguished attendees were Lowell Milken Family Foundation Founder Lowell Milken, Senior Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback, Head of School Tami Weiser, and key figures who also played a pivotal role in bringing this vision to life including Building Committee Chair Leandro Tyberg and lead architect Marco Marraccini.

Opening its doors in the coming months, the Aaron Milken Center at Wise will offer an innovative, nurturing environment where young learners and their families can grow together. Rooted in the educational philosophy of Wise’s visionary founder, Rabbi Isaiah Zeldin, the Center reflects a steadfast commitment to lifelong Jewish learning for all who seek it. It also stands as a meaningful tribute to Aaron Milken, the late son of lead donors Lowell Milken and Sandra Salka Milken.

“Early childhood education is the foundation of a child’s lifelong journey of learning and discovery. The Aaron Milken Center embodies our commitment to providing a world-class experience that nurtures curiosity, creativity, and community,” said Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback.

“The new campus of the Aaron Milken Center builds on parenting and early childhood education, physically, conceptually and professionally. It expands, enhances and enriches efforts to embrace children with the kind of attention and care, with the kind of love, that has everything to do with who they become,” said Lowell Milken.

A Vision Years in the Making

First conceived in 2018, the Aaron Milken Center was envisioned as a transformative early childhood educational and spiritual experience, housed in a state-of-the-art facility. With the guidance and generosity of the Lowell Milken Family Foundation, in collaboration with Abramson Architects, construction began in late 2022.

The scope and scale of the $35 million Center maximizes the breathtaking beauty and security of Wise’s mountaintop campus, blending dynamic learning environments with a profound connection to the natural world. It fosters growth and discovery while strengthening a sense of community among children, parents, and educators alike. The Aaron Milken Center at Wise is not just a new building, but a pillar of our community, representing our long-term commitment to investing in the future of our earliest learners.

Beyond classrooms, the Aaron Milken Center will feature community and sacred spaces, providing a warm village filled with Jewish values that will nurture young minds and foster lifelong connections. The space will also include a Parenting Center, designed for parents and their youngest children to experience and explore a diverse array of classes geared specifically toward each developmental stage.

A Bold Vision, A Lasting Impact

In late 2024, the “We Are” marketing campaign was launched to introduce the Aaron Milken Center at Wise to the community. Featuring the tagline “Nurturing young minds, fostering lifelong connections,” the campaign highlights the Center’s core values through thematic messaging such as “We Are Exceptional Educators,” “We Are Shabbat,” “We Are Your Sanctuary,” “We Are Future Leaders,” among others.

Developed in partnership with Greg Kestenbaum and his team at Creative Matters, Wise’s brand and marketing agency since the project’s inception, the campaign reflects the transformative impact the Aaron Milken Center will have on young learners and their families.

With the unwavering support of the Lowell Milken Family Foundation and numerous generous donors, the Aaron Milken Center is poised to set a new standard for early childhood education, shaping the future of young minds for generations to come.

For more information and photos, please visit WiseLA.org/aaronmilkencenter

Press contacts:
Amy Shelby, [email protected]
Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback, [email protected]
Tami Weiser, [email protected]

For over four decades, Lowell Milken has dedicated his time and resources to creating an education system that serves both the students who depend on it and the professionals who deliver it—from early childhood to higher education. Lowell’s groundbreaking initiatives, advanced through the Milken Family Foundation and the Lowell Milken Family Foundation, reflect his core belief that teaching is the most essential of all professions. An international businessman and philanthropist, Lowell understands the direct correlation between excellent educators and America’s future leadership, prosperity and security.

His visionary leadership through the Milken Educator Awards and National Institute for Excellence in Teaching not only celebrates and recognizes outstanding educators, but also generates excellence in the profession. Lowell also advances educator excellence through the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, ARTEFFECT and the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography at Art Center College of Design. At the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy and Lowell Milken Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofits—both housed at UCLA—the next generation of leaders in law, business, government and policy are being developed to make meaningful, lasting contributions to society.

Lowell founded the Jewish Educator Awards, and conceived the Aaron Milken Center for Early Childhood Education at Stephen Wise Temple and Schools with the support of temple leadership, to ensure that children have an outstanding foundation that fosters a love of learning, a connection to Jewish values, and a deep sense of community. As North America’s first permanent academic home for the study of Jewish American music, the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience at the UCLA Herb Alpert School builds on the mission of the Milken Archive of Jewish Music: The American Experience—the largest collection of American Jewish music ever assembled and made available to people of all faiths and cultures.

Lowell’s achievements have been recognized internationally by education, Jewish, and academic organizations. Lowell graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from the University of California, Berkeley, where he received the School of Business Administration’s Most Outstanding Student Award. He earned a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, with academic honors of Order of the Coif and the distinction of UCLA Law Review. Chapman University and Hebrew Union College have each presented Lowell with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. For more information, visit LowellMilken.com.