Alumni of The Year
Philip Pravda (‘86)
Philip Pravda was born in New York and grew up in New Rochelle. He began his Jewish day school education in kindergarten at the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester. Upon graduating from SSS in 1982, Philip attended Westchester Hebrew High School. He and his siblings, Sacha and Evan, were part of the growing WHHS community in the late 1980’s. Philip states that, “Although the high school was in its nascent stage, with Rabbi Majerowicz at the helm, it afforded many unique opportunities to its students and affiliated families. The unparalleled teaching staff coupled with the intimate class sizes provided invaluable learning and social experiences. Not only was a teacher’s time and attention accessible, it was almost impossible not to have it given the impressively high teacher to student ratio.”
The building’s physical features of that time could be summed up as one long hallway and a brand new gym. The only thing missing from that new gym floor was a hockey team to play on it. Philip and his lifelong friend, Sim Shapiro, rallied the support of the Rabbi and WHHS parents and instituted a team. Though their first season was not a trophy-winning period, their uniforms were undoubtedly the most preeminent in the Metropolitan Yeshiva Hockey League. Philip believes, “This scenario highlights and exemplifies the very ideology WHHS still boasts today-- that students with creativity and drive will have a venue for executing their plans and their ideas will be fostered.”
WHHS paved way for a very organic segue to a secular university. Philip attended Clark University in Worcester, MA. He pursued his interest in the sciences and graduated with a double major: Biology and Environment/Technology and Society. After graduating, his entrepreneurial spirit took hold and Philip began Truth Technologies, a computer consulting company that modernized businesses and trained support staff as to how to operate networks and manage database platforms. During that time, he commenced a personal project in his father’s Madison Avenue retail business. British American House Inc, his father’s menswear haberdashery, had been a fixture on the avenue for decades, but was in desperate need of revamping. Philip framed a point of sale program and database to categorize and manage the inventory of imported goods. At that juncture, Philip committed to expanding the family business along with his father and brother. Together they opened three more locations. In the mid 1990’s, Philip began to design and manufacture his own line of men’s suits. In 2003, Philip left the family business and started his own menswear concept at the corner of 59th Street and Third Avenue. His opening was blessed with a visit from Rabbi and Mrs. Majerowicz. He named the store “Phil’s 1908” as a tribute to the original name of his great-grandfather’s first New York City shop called “Phil’s” in 1908. In 2009, Philip’s father retired after a forty-five year career in the menswear industry. As such, Philip embraced the opportunity to return to Madison Avenue and operate the original location. He changed the name to “Pravda Abbigliamento” to better reflect the high-end Italian garments that has been and continues to be part of the fashion-forward collections individuals from around the world seek out and that has been premiered in the location throughout the decades.
Philip resides in New York City with his wife, Joy Altheim, and their daughters.