Bella Wexler Editor’s note: The March 8 Connections event has been postponed to the fall due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus. Bella Wexler, a junior at Catalina Foothills High School, will receive the Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award March 8. The Women’s Philanthropy advisory council created the award, which recognizes… Read more »
The Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition cohort meets with Arizona Sen. Raul Grijalva in Washington, DC, at the culmination of their 2018-19 program year in April. (Courtesy Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition)
Over its 15-year history, the Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition has changed the lives of 176 teens from Southern Arizona’s Jewish and Latino communities. The nationally recognized youth leadership program fosters political advocacy and cultural awareness in both the Tucson community and the nation. The group will celebrate its 15th anniversary… Read more »
Members of the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition with U.S. Representative Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, April 3,
(L-R): Elliot Baruch, Katie Kantor. Lily Molina, Derek Contreras, Mia Martinez, Amari Lampert, Kirkpatrick,
Sofia Lyon, Bella Wexler, Shira Dubin, Noah Richter, Gavin Carmichael Photos courtesy Jewish Latino Teen Coalition)
Eleven members of the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition, a program founded by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Jewish Community Relations Council and the Office of U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, visited Washington, D.C., March 31-April 5 to lobby lawmakers on immigration reform. In addition to meeting with a dozen… Read more »
Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona volunteer Louise Good, right, is a classroom reading tutor at Homer Davis Elementary School. (Danielle Larcom)
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of four articles on how the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona allocates funds. The first, in the Oct. 12 issue, focused on youth and family education programs at synagogues. The second, in the Nov. 23 issue, focused on national and… Read more »
At the United States Capitol on April 11, (L-R): Isabella Luna, Rebecca Dubin, Sophie Holtzman, Peris Lopez, Rachel Davenport, Senator Jeff Flake, Eric Brown, Yuval Barel,
Jessica Hernandez, Rafi Zinman, Sophia Greenhill, and Manuel Barcelo (Courtesy Jewish Latino Teen Coalition)
“I don’t know what path I would be on right now without JLTC . . . everything has changed,” says Catalina Foothills High School junior and student body president Peris Lopez. The Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition is life-changing for the sophomores and juniors it brings together annually from high schools across Tucson.… Read more »
The Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition at the Newseum, a museum that promotes free expression and five freedoms of the First Amendment, in Washington, D.C., during their annual trip to Congress, April 2, 2017. Standing (L-R): Megan Ramirez, Ellie Friedman, Aliya Markowitz, Chloe Goorman, Lisa Kondrat, Aaron Green, Max Silverman, Nicolas Rios, Hannah Weisman, Lew Hamburger; kneeling: Shari Gootter with Indy, Francisco Lopez (Facebook)
Lobbying in Washington, D.C., for an increase in protections for immigrant families was an invigorating experience, says Nicolas Rios, a high school student and member of Tucson’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition. Rios, 16, a junior at BASIS Tucson North, heard about the JLTC from his college preparatory counselor. Growing up… Read more »
Members of Tucson’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition with Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) in her office on April 13, 2016. (L-R): Samantha Ybarra, Sayanna Molino (chaperone), Emma Galligan, Slaughter, Zoe Holtzman, Michael Artzi, Sophie Gootter, Joshua Cohen, Aaron Gomez, Shari Gootter (program coordinator), Alexander Senti, Daniel Vogel, David Bracamonte (Courtesy Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona)
Tucsonan Shari Gootter spends her time changing the lives of others in a wide variety of ways. Self-employed as a therapist and yoga instructor, she works daily to help people as they improve themselves emotionally and physically; however, her work as a volunteer for several organizations in Tucson is… Read more »
Zoe Holtzman
The advisory council of the Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will present the 11th annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, recognizing an outstanding Jewish teenage girl, to Zoe Holtzman on March 5 at the Women’s Philanthropy “Connections” brunch. The council, which includes past Women’s Philanthropy chairs… Read more »
On the afternoon of Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Jewish History Museum received a letter from the Consul of Mexico in Tucson, Ricardo Pineda. The letter arrived at the end of an emotionally charged 24 hours, moments prior to closing for Shabbat. To mark this commemorative date,… Read more »
Members of Tucson’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition with Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) in her office on April 13, 2016. (L-R): Samantha Ybarra, Sayanna Molino (chaperone), Emma Galligan, Slaughter, Zoe Holtzman, Michael Artzi, Sophie Gootter, Joshua Cohen, Aaron Gomez, Shari Gootter (program coordinator), Alexander Senti, Daniel Vogel, David Bracamonte (Courtesy Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona)
“For me, it all came together when we were sitting in Sen. Cruz’s office, speaking to his chief of staff, and I realize that it’s this clash of strong opinions, this is why solutions to our most pressing social problems are so hard to find.” Strong words coming from… Read more »
Members of Tucson’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition meet with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) at his office in Washington, D.C. (L-R) Zakkai Markowitz, Josh McKenna, Ryan Green, Alan Parra, Jared Friedman, Flake, Aida Flores, Itzel Herrera, Audrey Powers, Dominick Montes (Lisa Kondrat)
When a group of nine Jewish and Latino teens traveled to Washington, D.C. last month it wasn’t just to see the sights — unless that included visiting congressional offices. Members of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition made the trip cross-country to lobby for immigration reform,… Read more »
In Washington, D.C., for a 2011 lobbying trip are Jewish Latino Teen Coalition members (L-R) Maia Schneider, Rena Barber, Harrison Avigdor, Roberto Flores, Susan Keovongsa, Amanda Monroy, Brian Molina, Analiza Grabowski, Louie Sanders, Natalia Navarro and Lindsey Bressler. Many will attend the coalition’s anniversary celebration in Tucson on Jan. 5. More than 100 teens who otherwise may have never met have shared their cultures through the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition, a program founded by Rep. Raul Grijalva and the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. The purpose of the coalition, which may be the… Read more »
Building on the success of the Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition, a program founded almost 10 years ago by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the office of U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, the JCRC is seeking new ways to strengthen relations between the Jewish… Read more »
