Class Notes Spring/Summer 2010
Mazal tov on the engagement of Tova Leibovic '99 and Austin Douglas. They were engaged July, 2010. Tova serves on the SAA Alumni Council. We wish them many years of happiness.
Sarah Gitman '02 has just graduated as part of the class of 2010 from the University of Michigan, and was lucky enough to hear President Obama speak at her commencement ceremony! She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Hebrew and Jewish Cultural Studies and was initiated into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She has returned to Los Angeles, and is working as a Teacher’s Assistant at Sinai in the 3rd and 5th grade classrooms in her efforts to eventually become an elementary school teacher herself.
Erin Spiegel '02 graduated with honors from the University of Maryland where she was a Journalism major with a minor in both Jewish and Israel Studies. She was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) a national leadership honor society. While at Maryland, Erin was Deputy Press Secretary for the Student Government Association and was managing editor of the monthly Jewish Newspaper The Mitzpeh. She has interned for AIPAC, Senator Diane Feinstein and The Washington Times where she wrote an article on International Adoptions that appeared on the front page. Erin plans to stay in the DC area.
As a special presentation for our 8th grade girls, coordinated by Mrs. Juliet Danesh, SAA alumnae Julianne Ahdout '01, Jennifer Ahdout '96, and Shabnam Eyaszadah '97 spoke about their career choices as young Jewish women. Julianne is a medical student at UCLA, Jennifer is a resident of Dermatology at UC Irvine, and Shabnam is a Pharmacist. They spoke of their wonderful experiences at SAA, making positive choices as women, choosing a career,and the importance of following one's dreams.
Aaron Aftergood '94, his wife Jenny, and big brother Josh welcomed Jonah Max Aftergood on Mother's Day, May 9th. Mazal tov to the entire Aftergood family!
Mazal tov to Sarah Zakowski '98 and Joel Weinberger on their recent marriage on Memorial Day weekend 2010. They live in Oakland, California while Sarah is busy working for Total Health Management Practice of Mercer. She graduated from Brown University in 2006.
Mazal tov to Karen Tenenblatt '97 and Yoni Blau on their recent wedding! Karen and Yoni graduated from the USC-Keck School of Medicine and are living in Ohio where they started their residencies.
Negin Mahboubi Ascher '87 is an attorney and just returned to work with her own non-profit consulting business. Negin is one of nine alumni families who are back as parents at SAA. Previously, she worked for a firm in Westwood called Roseman & Antoni, LLP for several years until she started a family. Negin is married to David Ascher and they have two children Hannah and Macabee. Her youngest child attends the Sinai preschool and her eldest attends SAA. Negin has been involved with the school as a member of the preschool ECC committee as well as a co-chair for Dor Chadash (a temple organization).
Joel Jacobs '81, a Deputy Attorney General for California. He and his wife Dr. Denise Wolf, who does research in genetics for Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, also have two daughters: Aviva will become a bat mitzvah this Fall and Talia, who is nine years of age.
Jonathan Kichaven '98 Johanna Schmitz (daughter of Martha and Stuart Schmitz of St. Paul,MN) were married on June 27, 2010 in St. Paul, MN. Jonathan and Johanna both reside in Los Angeles and met 5 years ago while both attending University of Wisconsin. Johanna is earning her masters in Public Health from UCLA two weeks before the wedding. Jonathan works in marketing. Former SAA classmate, David Kasirer '98, will be a groomsman. Siblings and also SAA alum, Briana'04 and Matthew Kichaven '02 were also in wedding (best man and bridesmaid).
Jon Ouellet ‘00 Jon graduated from UC Berkeley in 2008, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa,in his major of physics. After a stint as a Visiting Scholar on fellowship at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, he is currently enrolled in the graduate program in physics at Berkeley.However, his parents wish to travel to Stockholm with Jon to see him receive his award whenever the Nobel committee decides to recognize his coming achievements.
Daniel Weingarten ’00, graduated from Berkeley in physics in 2008 and now attends the graduate program in physics at University of Colorado at Boulder. He and Jon Ouellet ’00 had some undergrad physics classes together at Berkeley, which means that they shared classes from kindergarten at SAA, through Santa Monica High and all the way through to college.
Rabbi Margie Jacobs '84, whose most recent position was Regional Director for Northern California for The Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and Andy Seplow, an acupuncturist, now have two daughters: two year old Elana and Shoshana, born on February 23, 2010.
Ariela Schmidt ‘01 graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in May and is currently back in LA working at Maimonides Academy as a Kindergarten teacher. She is also currently training to run the LA marathon as a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. And to top it all off Ariela is currently applying for graduate school in Speech Pathology and hope to be starting that journey in the fall!
Daniel Zakowski '94, Daryoush Somekhian '94, and Ben Kotler '94 are working together in their own successful business named Darden Dental Supply.
Cary Kraft '04 received a summer scholarship to study and conduct neuroimaging research on autistic subjects at the University of Aachen in Germany. He will be spending his weekends traveling throughout Europe before he returns to Penn for his junior year.
Ethan Kraft '08 is preparing for his summer trip to Poland and Israel through the Ramah Seminar Program. In addition, to completing his sophomoe year at MCHS, Ethan recently finished his second year as a teen counselor at Teenline, a suicide prevention hotline sponsored by Cedar Sinai's Medical Center.
