AZ Jewish Post » Our Town

Business briefs 1.27.12

grace — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:05:44 +0000

Shelia Wilensky

SHEILA WILENSKY has been named associate editor of the ARIZONA JEWISH POST. Wilensky, a former teacher and bookstore owner, has been assistant editor of the AJP for the past eight years.

1ST RATE 2ND HAND THRIFT STORE has given $100,000 back to the Jewish community since its inception in November 2007, with a new round of checks being delivered this month. Funds are distributed to participating organizations based on volunteer hours. In 2011, the organizations logged more than 1,000 hours. The top recipients for this year’s distribution are Tucson Jewish Community Center, Hadassah Southern Arizona, Congregation Or Chadash, Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Tucson Hebrew Academy and Temple Emanu-El.

TUCSON HEBREW ACADEMY has acquired eight classroom-sized SmartBoards and one large portable SmartBoard as the result of a fundraising effort during the school’s Tikkun Olam Award Celebration on Nov. 6. THA previously had three SmartBoards and the school’s goal, based on a survey of parents, students and faculty, was to place one in every classroom. Used in place of a standard chalk or white board, the electronic boards are hooked up to computers, enabling teachers to display notes and images from the Internet and use interactive games and other applications.

TUCSON ORIGINALS has announced new officers for 2012, including Anthony Rocco DiGrazia, president; Frank Santos, vice president; Suzanne Kaiser, treasurer; and Julie Connors, acting secretary. Other board members include Mindi Bernstein, Pat Connors, Susie Elefante, Jonathan Landeen, Doug Levy, Todd Martin, Jim Murphy, Coralie Satta and Colette Landeen.

LAWRENCE I. SUBRIN, CPA, has decided to “un-retire.” He is located at 3041 N. Swan Road and can be reached at 299-6977 or lsubrincpa@aol.com.

People in the news 1.13.12

grace — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:33:09 +0000

REBEKKAH DIAMOND, a science teacher at Canyon Del Oro High School, was chosen to participate in the National Science Teachers Association yearlong fellowship program. One of three teachers chosen from Arizona, Diamond will receive an NSTA membership package, online mentoring, the opportunity to participate in web-based professional development seminars and financial support to attend NSTA’s 2012 National Conference on Science Education in Indianapolis. Diamond graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry.

An article by LORI RIEGEL, “New Educational Models: Engaging Stakeholders — Travelling up the Get-It Scale,” was published in the Fall 2011 edition of The Jewish Educator. Riegel is religious and cultural education coordinator at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging.

People in the news 12.23.11

PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:06:20 +0000

ASHER SUSSER, former visiting scholar in modern Israel studies at the University of Arizona, has a new book, “Israel, Jordan, and Palestine: The Two-State Imperative,” which will be published this month by Crown Books/Brandeis University Press.

DAVID MONTEFIORE has posted several YouTube videos in honor of Chanukah, featuring selections from his Grammy-nominated album, “Hazzan Rishon Opus I and Opus II,” including youtube.com/watch?v=d9CuGBdWDgQ.

Business briefs 12.9.11

grace — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:23:07 +0000

Congregation Chaverim has received a grant from Poets & Writers to fund writing workshops with Rabbi Stephanie Aaron and Deborah Mayaan at Chaverim, the Arizona Cancer Center and Casa de la Luz Hospice. The workshop schedule is available at chaverim.net or deborah mayaan.com. Mayaan was asked to write an essay for Poets & Writers Magazine describing their first workshop last year, held a week after the Jan. 8 shooting. “A Container for Healing” will appear in the January/February issue.

People in the news 12.9.11

grace — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:22:14 +0000

Jeff Sambur, a retired firefighter, has published a book about his San Diego to Maine bicycle ride, “Destroying Demons on the Diagonal,” a lighthearted account that takes readers to the highest points in three states and 15 baseball stadiums, among other places. For more information, contact the author at jeffsambur @gmail.com.

Business brief 11.25.11

grace — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:17:33 +0000

PROJECT ISAIAH, the community-wide High Holidays food drive sponsored by the JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, collected 6,335 pounds of food and $3,824 for the Community Food Bank and Catalina Community Services. Every $1 collected buys $10 worth of food for the food banks.

People in the news 11.25.11

grace — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:16:51 +0000

BARBARA R. LEVY, ACFRE, has been named chair of the Ethics Committee of Association of Fundraising Professionals, which represents 30,000 individuals around the world. Levy currently serves as president of the Tucson Symphony Society Board of Trustees. She is principal in her firm, Organization & Fundraising Counsel, and has been in the fundraising profession for more than 30 years in Arizona.

ADAM ZELDIN, a student at Johns Hopkins University, has received a Bloomberg Scholarship, a competitive scholarship that provides full grant funding of the student’s financial need. The scholarships were established by Michael Bloomberg, a 1964 JHU alumnus and current mayor of New York City, and continued by an anonymous donor.

Business briefs 11.11.11

grace — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:38:42 +0000

Tucson natives REBECCA GOLD (left in photo) and SHANA CUTLER have created LOVE JAY GIRLS, a collection of flower girl and special occasion dresses for girls sold through bridal boutiques and high-end children’s stores. Gold earned a bachelor’s degree in retailing and consumer sciences from the University of Arizona, followed by an associate’s degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, Calif., and has worked for bridal designer Ines Di Santo. Cutler received a bachelor’s degree in fashion marketing from the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University in New York. The parent company of the Los Angeles-based Love Jay Girls is Felicia’s LLC, named for Cutler’s late mother. For more information, visit lovejaygirls.com.

THE FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX in Tucson is seeking rabbis or lay volunteers to help serve the incarcerated Jewish population. Contact Chaplain James Elliott at 663-5000, ext. 6376.

ARIZONA THEATRE COMPANY is recruiting volunteers for a variety of weekday and evening/weekend tasks. Volunteer perks include tickets to ATC performances. Contact Jonathon Crider at 884-8210 or jcrider@arizonatheatre.org.

THE INVISIBLE THEATRE has received a $5,000 grand from RBC Foundation-USA to fund its Pastime Players youth programming and outreach.

People in the news 11.11.11

grace — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:35:55 +0000

Tucson resident JOHN NEWPORT, Ph.D., has written “The Tucson Tragedy: Lessons from the Senseless Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords” (Outskirts Press). RABBI STEPHANIE AARON of Congregation Chaverim, a longtime spiritual advisor and friend of Giffords, wrote the forward. Drawing on media accounts, the book summarizes the events and aftermath of the Jan. 8 shootings. Newport, who holds a doctorate in psychology, pleads for civility, gun control and better access to mental health care.

Several Jewish community individuals and organizations were honored at the Association of Fundraising Professionals Southern Arizona chapter’s 2011 National Philanthropy Day luncheon on Nov. 9. The NOAH COHEN MEMORIAL YOUTH PHILANTHROPY FUND at Congregation Or Chadash was recognized as Outstanding Youth Philanthropists. Local organizations recognized honorees with Spirit of Philanthropy Awards, including BARRY COREY, Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona; FRED FRUCHTHENDLER, Jewish Family & Children’s Services; ROB GLASER, Arizona Theatre Company; BONNIE KAY, Humane Society of Southern Arizona; HARRIET KRONMAN, Socal Venture Partners Greater Tucson; STUART SHATKEN, Tucson Jewish Community Center; KATHRYN UNGER, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona; and BILL and BRENDA VINER, University of Arizona Student Affairs.

Business briefs 10.28.11

grace — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:15:23 +0000

THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA has promoted MARLYNE FREEDMAN to senior vice president. Freedman joined the Federation in 2002 as director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, after serving as executive director at Temple Chai in Phoenix. She became the Federation’s director of Women’s Philanthropy in 2004 and in 2008 was promoted to vice president for campaign.

AMY HIRSHBERG LEDERMAN has joined the JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION’s legacy team as a development associate. A Jewish educator, attorney and author, Lederman has written and lectured about legacy. For more information, contact the JCF at 577-0388 or promise@jcftucson.org.

ARIZONA PUBLIC MEDIA’s PBS-HD Channel 6 received five Emmy Awards from the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, tying for sixth overall (commercial and non-commercial stations). The programs honored were “Neon Artistry” (“Arizona Illustrated”); “Secrets of the Divine: The Altarpiece of Ciudad Rodrigo,” which won two awards; “WaveLengths: Scientific Voyage”; and “Unforgettable: The Korean War.”

REBECCA KLEIN VISCUSI, M.D., has joined the University of Arizona Department of Surgery breast cancer team as assistant professor of surgery. She specializes in procedures to optimize breast reconstruction. An Arizona native, Viscusi received her bachelor’s degree from the UA and her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.