Phyllis Z. Langsdorf (creative philanthropy), Diane Gershman Levine (health and  education) and Linda Weitzer Sher (child welfare) have been named as three of the 2014 Women of Achievement. They will be honored Thursday, May 15, during a luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton. Langsdorf is a member of Temple Emanuel and Levine is at Central Reform Congregation. The other honorees are M. Virginia Braxs, Ida H. Early, Dr. Eva Frazer, Teri Griege, DiAnne L. Mueller, JoAnn M. Shaw and Pat Whitaker. The Women of Achievement organization’s sole mission is to honor and recognize the volunteer efforts of women in St. Louis.

Thomas Felman, son of Marlon and Sarah Felman, has attained the rank of Eagle Scout. A member of Troop 803 through Shenandoah Valley PTO, Thomas led a project to build a trail around the lake at Camp DuBois in Wood River, Ill. A senior at Parkway Central High School, Thomas will be studying political science at Truman State. The Felman family is an affiliate of Congregation B’nai Amoona. 

Claudia Hearst is human resource systems coordinator at Panera Bread. Recently graduated from Webster University with a master’s degree in human resource management, Hearst is a member of Congregation B’nai Amoona. 

Joseph Dardick, son of Laurie and Jeff Dardick of St. Louis, hasreceived theStull Family Undergraduate Research Award, one of the highest awards an undergraduate at the University of Virginia can earn. Dardick is a third-year student majoring in neuroscience and global development studies/global public health. He is researching cell division and using stem cell therapies in a clinical setting.  

Parkway Central High School students Joe Goldberg, Jacob Maier and Gabby Mesnier have been elected to the international board of their respective youth organizations. Joe, a senior, is the son of Pam and Kenny Goldberg, and is the social action/tikkun olam vice president of USY (United Synagogue Youth). A member of Congregation B’nai Amoona, Joe is taking a gap year after graduation and will attend Kivunim. Upon his return, he will attend the University of Michigan. Jacob, a senior, is son of Diane and Martin Maier, and is communications vice president of the NFTY (National Federation of Temple Youth) North American Board. A member of Central Reform Congregation, Jacob will attend the University of Miami in the fall, studying political science. Gabby, a junior, is the daughter of Stacy and Phillip Mesnier, and will serve as vice president of membership of BBYO (B’nai B’rith Youth Organization). Her family attends Congregation Shaare Emeth.

David Kaslow has been selected to participate in the second Zin Fellows Leadership Development Program of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The two-year program is designed to create a community of “next generation leaders” committed to furthering David Ben-Gurion’s vision for Israel’s Negev region. As one of 21 fellows, Kaslow was selected as a result of his community involvement and his efforts on behalf of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. A member of Central Reform Congregation, he is a director and financial adviser for Oppenheimer & Co.

Roy Kramer, a tax partner with Brown Smith Wallace, has earned the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation awarded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Kramer is the only Missouri CPA to hold PFS and NSSA (National Social Security Association) certifications, the firm says.

Mark Burstein is now affiliated with First Bank Mortgage in Clayton. Previously associated with USA Mortgage, he is able to originate loans in all 50 states. Burstein is a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth.

Former St. Louis resident Shaya Rochester has joined the international law firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP in New York City. As a partner, he will be in its restructuring and insolvency practice group. 

Barry Spiegelglass and his company, Spiegelglass Construction, have been awarded a contract to build the first Bonefish Grill in St. Louis.Spiegelglass is a member of Central Reform Congregation and the Covenant Place board. Groundbreaking for the new restaurant is scheduled for later this month in front of the newly constructed Drury Inn in Brentwood, with opening planned for October.

Sanford Neuman, senior partner at Polsinelli P.C. and a member of Bais Abraham Congregation, has been elected president of the Lifelong Vision Foundation board of directors. The organization works to improve and preserve vision for people throughout the world.

Mark and Neil Gellman of the Coldwell Banker Gellman Team have earned the International President’s Premier Team award for 2013. The team ranked first in St. Louis among more than 9,000 agents with more than $75.5 million in sales and more than 200 families served. The Gellman Team also ranks in the top 10 Coldwell Banker Affiliates teams in North America. Mark Gellman is affiliated with United Hebrew Congregation. Neil Gellman attends Central Reform Congregation.

Jill A. Silverstein has joined the St. Louis Lawyers Group as a principal. A member of Congregation Temple Israel, her area of practice is employment law. 

Paige Krug and Barri Wishne have each received a Congregation B’nai Amoona Men’s Club Medallion Award. The award recognizes outstanding youth in the congregation. Paige, daughter of Elise and Mark Krug,  is a senior at Ladue Horton Watkins High School and will attend the University of Kansas in the fall pursuing religious studies and speech pathology. Barri, daughter of Lori Wishne and Joel Wishne, is a senior at Parkway West High School and will be studying elementary education at Missouri State University.

Mark A. Cantor, partner with the Cantor & Burger law firm, has been selected as a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Its membership is limited to lawyers who have won million-dollar verdicts, awards and settlements. A member of Congregation B’nai Amoona, Cantor serves as lead counsel for workers’ compensation cases.

Helene Epstein has been appointed to the Regional Arts Commission, the area’s largest annual funder of the arts in the St. Louis region. She recently moved to St. Louis from New York.

State Rep. Jill Schupp has been given a Lighting the Way award by the United 4 Children organization. She was honored for championing Nathan’s Law, a Missouri day care safety bill named after Nathan Blecha, who died in 2007 at age 3 months after accidentally suffocating in a portable crib at an unlicensed home day care facility. Schupp, a Democrat from Creve Coeur, is a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth. 

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program has awarded Simone Bernstein a grant to research age-related hearing loss at the University of Toronto. Bernstein will graduate next week from St. Bonaventure University in New York with an honors degree and a bachelor’s degree in altruism and entrepreneurship. A member of Congregation Shaare Emeth, Bernstein will attend George Washington University Medical School in fall 2015, pursuing a career focused on the health and wellness of older adults. She was granted a one-year deferment to allow her to accept the Fulbright grant.

Charles S. Elbert of Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis & Giljum, LLP, has been named “St. Louis Best Lawyers Employment Law-Management Lawyer of the Year” for 2014 by The Best Lawyers in America publication. He has also been selected for inclusion in its Labor Law-Management and Litigation-Labor and Employment Law categories. Elbert is a member of Temple Israel. 

Former St. Louisan Merle Fischlowitz and his wife, Teresa Fischlowitz, have published “From Barbed Wire to Picket Fence: A Child Holocaust Survivor’s Dreams and Adaptability.” The book is the story of Teresa Fischlowitz’s life and is available at Amazon.com.

University City Sculpture Series founder Marvin B. Levy has been posthumously honored by the University City Commission on Arts and Letters and the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art at Washington University for the impact he had on art and people. Founded in 1986, the sculpture series became an international model for public art.