Allie Wielansky has joined the staff of The Missouri Valley Conference as the director of media & administration. In addition to serving as the primary communications liaison for cross country and track & field, she provides operations assistance at many league championships, assists with ticketing for the league’s two basketball tournaments, and provides various administrative support as needed. Wielansky attends Congregation Temple Israel.

Rabbi Susan Talve was one of six honorees at the Missouri Health Care for All’s Health Care Champion Awards Reception. The event recognizes legislators, volunteers and community partners who have made an impact in Missourians’ access to quality, affordable health care. 

Crown Center has welcomed Yoram Hanin to its facilities and program staff. He is responsible for maintaining quality housing and community spaces as well as group transportation to essential destinations and community events. Hanin is a member of Congregation B’nai Amoona.

Ron Zetcher will be honored on Nov. 11 at The St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame 12th Enshrinement Dinner at the LiUNA Event Center in Sunset Hills. Since 1968, Zetcher has officiated baseball, basketball and football, and he has worked 17 NCAA tournaments and 20 National Invitational Tournaments during his career. A member of United Hebrew Congregation, he is also a substitute coach at Spoede Elementary School.

Lisa Deutsch has assumed the role of assistant director of Camp Sabra, charged with community care. For the past three years, she served as the camp social worker, helping campers and staff with social, emotional and behavior adjustments at camp. Deutsch is a member of B’nai Amoona.

Gail Wechsler has been elected to the board of the Mid-America Association of Law Libraries. She serves as treasurer on its executive board. A member of Central Reform Congregation, Wechsler is the library director at the Law Library Association of St. Louis.

Helene J. Sherman co-authored her fifth book, “Learning Mathematics Successfully, Raising Self-Efficacy in Students, Teachers and Parents,” published by Information Age Publishing. This book is an important resource for pre-service and in-service teachers, as well as families, to support learners in becoming confident and assured in their ability to understand and apply mathematical principles and procedures. It can be found on Amazon. Sherman teaches a STEM doctoral course in partnership with the UMSL College of Education faculty. A member of United Hebrew and a Jewish Light trustee, she is also a mathematics coach for teachers and students in area school districts at the K-12 level.

Dr. Jill Mirowitz Mogil, an optometrist, recently expanded her Low Vision of Eastern Missouri practice and now shares office space with retina specialist Dr. Eric Mann in Town and Country. Mogil provides specialty optical devices to help patients who have decreased vision due to macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy or other eye diseases. A member of Young Israel, she is also a part-time documentary filmmaker.

Claudia Hearst started the nonprofit organization Medinexo Telehealth Mission. It provides an online platform and financial support, allowing doctors from around the world to connect with healthcare professionals close to patients in need, such as children affected by malnutrition in rural Colombia, South America. Hearst attends B’nai Amoona. For more information about the organization, visit www.medinexocares.org.  

Kyla Gersten is the new director of B’nai Amoona’s Camp Ramot Amoona. She has been involved with the camp for 13 years, as a camper, counselor and part of the senior staff. Gersten will graduate from Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education in May. She plans to teach in an elementary school in the St. Louis area upon graduation.

At the Mayor’s Business Celebration last month, GiftAMeal, Crispy Edge and STL-Style were honored for their unique commitment or achievements in the City of St. Louis. Andrew Glantz, founder and CEO of GiftAMeal received one of the four Innovations Awards. GiftAMeal is a mobile app that helps provide meals to those in need each time a user takes a photo through the app at a participating restaurant and shares it on social media. GiftAMeal has provided 346,747 meals to people in need. Crispy Edge and STL-Style were recognized as the 15^th and 9^th Ward (respectively) Neighborhood Businesses of the Year for their success in growing commerce. David Dresner is the founder of Crispy Edge, a restaurant located at 4168 Juniata St. in the Tower Grove South neighborhood. Jeff and Randy Vines, owners of STL-Style, which is located at 3159 Cherokee St., also received the 2019 Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis awards for Best Clothing Boutique and the Readers Choice award for Best Gift Shop.

Peggy Musen has been named executive director of Duo Dogs, a nonprofit that provides highly-skilled service dogs and uniquely-trained touch therapy teams to individuals, families and the community. Musen attends United Hebrew. 

Rust in Bloom can be found in and around Kirkwood, offering single stem flowers, pre-made seasonal bouquets and vintage vases. Started by Ari Moore and her husband, Dave, this mobile flower shop is housed in a vintage Volkswagen bus called Big Blue. Moore encourages her customers to assemble their own creations according to their own tastes. She hopes to make Big Blue available for bar and bat mitzvah parties, showers and other special events.

Family consultant and relationship therapist, author and speaker Evonne Weinhaus received a 2019 Author Academy Award in the category of Advice for her book, “Stop Struggling with your Teen: A Complete, Easy-to-Use Guide to Reconnect & Rebuild Your Relationship with Your Child.” The awards are bestowed for literary merit and publishing excellence in the writing and publishing industry. She is a member of United Hebrew. 

Two former St. Louisans, Josh Aronson and Brad Schiff, will be honored at the St. Louis International Film Festival for their contributions to the art of film. Through Aronson Films, Aronson makes documentaries on a wide array of topics. Schiff is an animation supervisor at LAIKA Studios, which specializes in stop-motion animation. 

Area lawyers who have been chosen for inclusion in the 2020 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” publication include Sanford Boxerman, David Capes, Jeffrey Cohen, Mark Goodman, Michael Kahn, Gary Sarachan and Michelle Schwerin, all from Capes Sokol. Leonard Frankel from Frankel, Rubin, Klein, Siegel, Payne & Pudlowski, P.C., was chosen as well.

Jews in the News is compiled monthly by Editorial & Development Associate Elise Krug. Contact Elise at: 314-743-3671 or [email protected].