People in the News

FEIGIE CEITLIN, program director of Chabad Tucson, delivered the keynote address, “The Innate Power of Youth,” at  the annual Kinus (convention) of young shluchos (emissaries) of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Sunday, Jan. 31. Addressing 900 people in attendance from around the world, Ceitlin spoke of the… Read more »

Tucson author RONI CAPIN RIVERA-ASHFORD’s bilingual book, “My Tata’s Remedies/Los remedios de mi tata,” received the American Library Association and REFORMA’s Pura Belpré award as a 2016 Illustrator Honor Book. The award is given annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator “whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the… Read more »

MARVIN SLEPIAN, M.D., of the University of Arizona colleges of Medicine and Engineering has been elected a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. He will be inducted on April 15 during the academy’s annual conference at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va. Slepian is a… Read more »

A photo taken in Israel by KEN BRANDIS, “Path to Peace,” will be part of the University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies 25th annual photography exhibit. The show will displayed in the Union Gallery at the UA Student Union beginning Jan. 28, with an opening reception from… Read more »

CORINNE FORTI was named Hadassah Southern Arizona’s Wom­an of the Year at Hadassah’s Chanu­kah brunch on Dec. 6. Forti, who became a Jew by choice in 2009, has served as president and co-president of the chapter. She continues to serve on the chapter board, has been appointed to the… Read more »

A series of paintings by LAURA WILSON ETTER, “Medical Bodies,” is on display at the Hotel Congress Lobby Gallery through Dec. 9. Etter, a mixed-media artist, used vintage medical diagrams as inspiration for her pieces, which highlight the body parts that make us what and possibly who we are.… Read more »

A book by local author DEBRA SCHILDHOUSE, “Bio-Touch: Healing with the Power in Our Fingertips” was recently published by SelectBooks, Inc.  Schildhouse will hold a meet and greet on Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 5130 E. Broadway.  More information is available at debra schildhouse.com. Disruptive… Read more »

MICHELLE BLUMENBERG, director of the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, received a Community Service Award from the UA SALT (Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques) Center at its annual Family Weekend Celebration and Awards Ceremony on Oct. 9. Hillel recently hosted the SALT tutoring program while the SALT Center was undergoing… Read more »

DAVID ALBERTS, M.D., was one of three finalists for the Lifetime Achievement in Health Care award presented at Tucson Local Media’s Influential Health and Medical Leaders Awards on Sept. 23. Alberts is the director emeritus of the University of Arizona Cancer Center and a regent’s professor of medicine, pharmacology,… Read more »

CLARE LINDNER, M.D., has joined the University of Arizona department of pediatrics and Banner Children’s — Diamond Children’s Medical Center as a pediatric nephrologist. Lindner received her medical degree from Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. She completed her residency in pediatrics from Cohen Children’s Medical Center of… Read more »

Local filmmaker, actor and health coach JUDY BEN-ASHER is one of 25 authors featured in “Menopause Mavens: Master the Mystery of Menopause,” published last month by Flower of Life Press. Ben-Asher’s work on the book also ties in with her documentary in progress,“TruthSeeker, Shedding Layers and Shifting Forward,” which… Read more »

Pima County Attorney BARBARA LaWALL was honored at a recent Arizona’s Children Association VIP celebration for her dedication to children and families and her advocacy efforts in Pima County. ITZIK BECHER was named major gifts director at the Jewish National Fund. He will work with the Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson… Read more »

RABBI BENZION SHEMTOV was recently featured in the Sierra Vista Herald, which reported on his 10-day visit to Jews in Southern Arizona communities including Sierra Vista, Bisbee and Green Valley (http:// svherald.com/content/sierra-vista-news/2015/07/27/397799). Shemtov, the son of Rabbi Yossie and Chanie Shemtov of Chabad of Tucson, grew up in Tucson… Read more »

Jill Rich

JILL RICH will receive the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Southern Arizona Chapter at its 27th Annual National Philanthropy Day luncheon on Nov. 19 at the Westin La Paloma. Rich has been volunteering and raising funds for causes and social services in Tucson for… Read more »

ADAM BUKANI, a junior at the University of Arizona, presented his findings from the 2015 Tucson Wellbeing Survey at a community forum on Friday, May 15 at Habitat for Humanity Tucson. The forum was hosted by the UA School of Sociology; the study was part of the 2015 Poverty… Read more »

“A Beggar at the Door: Longer and Shorter Psalms” by Tucson poet and painter JOSH GOLDBERG has been published by Albion-Andalus Books. Goldberg teaches at The Drawing Studio in Tucson and his artwork can be seen at Davis Dominguez Gallery and joshgoldbergtucson.com.… Read more »

MADYSSEN ZARIN of University High School (left) and RACHAEL WEIN­STEIN of Ironwood Ridge High School were among five Arizona high school juniors chosen by the Jewish National Fund for the Schwartz-Hammer Alexander Muss High School in Israel Impact Fellowship Program. They will attend the Alexander Muss High School in… Read more »

Native Tucsonan JOSH LEDERMAN, an AP White House reporter, will receive the Merriman Smith Memorial Award from the White House Correspondents’ Association at its annual dinner on April 25. The award honors Lederman’s on-the-spot reporting of the Sept. 19 incident when an intruder jumped the White House fence. Lederman… Read more »

Former Tucsonan RUSSELL WIENER and bandmates in the Los Angeles-based The Title Trackers recently released “Lost Title Tracks.” The vinyl album (with a CD in the package) of classic album title song spoofs has received rave reviews in the L.A. Times and other publications. Wiener attended Tucson Hebrew Academy,… Read more »

LORI RIEGEL, MJEd, was selected to present her research on ethnic studies in urban school districts in the Southwest at the Harvard Graduate School of Education Student Research Conference on April 10.… Read more »