Jews in the News: October, 2014

Jean Millner has been appointed café manager at Crown Center for Senior Living. Her responsibilities include managing the daily operations of the new Circle@Crown Café, a program of Crown Center. The kosher dairy café is scheduled to be completed this year. Millner is an instructor at Kitchen Conservatory in Clayton and is the cooking specialist for the religious school at Congregation Shaare Emeth, where she is a member.

Laurie Burstein has joined the Miriam: The Learning Disability Experts as the new marketing communications manager. She is responsible for communicating the mission of Miriam School and Learning Center through media relations, social media and various publications. Burstein is a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth.

Miriam: The Learning Disability Experts will host a fundraiser from 6-11 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Chase Park Plaza where Honey and Larry Langsam and Miki (z”l) and Morrie Zimring will be honored for their support of Miriam and its students.

Tony Westbrook has been selected to participate in the 2014 Inside Israel, JDC Entwine’s Insider Trip for young professionals through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Entwine is a movement for young Jewish leaders, influencers and advocates hoping to make a positive impact on global Jewish needs and international humanitarian issues. Westbrook, a member of Congregation B’nai Amoona, is a 2014 Millstone Fellow and a graduate of Class 1 of Cultural Leadership. He is the assistant food and beverage director for Aberdeen Heights, a senior living community.

Benjamin Pomerantz, a senior at University City High School, will be one of three high school students to win a Better Business Bureau Student of Ethics award at the BBB TORCH Awards luncheon Oct. 14 at the Chase Park Plaza. The award provides $2,500 toward college expenses and recognizes students who demonstrate high ethics through leadership, community service, personal integrity and academic achievement. Benjamin has volunteered as a tutor and has helped teach children with disabilities to play baseball. A member of Congregation Shaare Emeth and son of Melissa Lynn and Andy Pomerantz of University City, Benjamin would like to pursue a college degree in humanities. 

 Former St. Louisan Marjorie Flom Salvaterra has been selected by LensCulture magazine as one of the year’s top 50 emerging photographers worldwide. Thousands of photographers from 94 countries participated in the magazine’s search. Specializing in black and white photographs of women, Salvaterra’s work is being shown in a number of museums in the United States, Switzerland and Turkey.

Andrew Gross, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, San Diego, in  bioinformatics and systems biology, is the lead author of a study published in the August edition of Nature Genetics. He presented his research, titled “Multi-Tiered Genomic Analysis of Head and Neck Cancer Ties TP53 Mutation to 3p Loss,” at the Cancer Genome Atlas Conference hosted by the National Institutes of Health. Gross is the son of Barry and Jackie Gross.

Dr. Emily Kahn Gray has received her medical degree from the University of Missouri -Kansas City School of Medicine. She is beginning her residency at Truman Medical Center, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. Gray is the daughter of Marci and Rob Kahn of Chesterfield.

Gerald Cohen has published his first book, “Find Jobs on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Myspace, Google+ and Other Social Media Websites.” It is available on Amazon in   print and digital formats, and on Barnes and Noble and other popular digital booksellers. Cohen’s second book, “How Computers Have Changed our World and Caused Unemployment,” will be published in February. 

Social worker Michelle Goldstein recently opened an office in the Creve Coeur area. She specializes in individual and couples therapy with a specialty in mood disorders and holistic/nutritional counseling. A member of Congregation B’nai Amoona, Goldstein writes for two holistic health news sites, Natural News and Vac Truth, as well as her own blog, Holistic Health to Go.

Evan Waldman was recently promoted to senior vice president of business development at Essex Industries, a supplier to the aerospace and defense, first response, safety and medical markets. A member of Congregation Shaare Emeth, Waldman is responsible for directing the company’s long-range strategy and business development activities. 

Adam Birenbaum, CEO of Buckingham Asset Management and BAM Advisor Services, was recently named to the inaugural Investment News “40 Under 40” list. Investment News is a national provider of news data, research and events for financial advisers. Birenbaum is a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth.

The Tesson Ferry location of Esse Health has welcomed Dr. Abigail Schachter as a pediatrician. She attends Traditional Congregation.

Freelance writer and author Meg Crane’s new book, “The Kitchen Bible: Designing the Perfect Culinary Space” (Images Publishing; $45), will be available at the bookstore during the upcoming St. Louis Jewish Book Festival. The book, co-authored with Barbara Ballinger and Jennifer Gilmer, has been reviewed in The New York Times and is going into a second printing. Crane attends Congregation Shaare Emeth.

Kenneth D. Makovsky, founder of the communications firm Makovsky, recently received a Distinguished Alumni Award during Washington University’s 16th annual Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony. Arts & Sciences annually recognizes graduates who exemplify the ideals of a liberal arts education and bring honor to Washington University through their lives, work and service.

Stuart and Susie Zimmerman and Megan and Jake Zimmerman have received the 23rd annual Netzach Award from the St. Louis chapter of the American Jewish Committee. The Zimmerman family was chosen in recognition of their leadership and commitment to tikkun olam, repairing the world, and enriching the Jewish and greater communies.

Mark and Neil Gellman of Coldwell Banker’s the Gellman Team, received a prime-time television endorsement by Barbara Corcoran of “Shark Tank”during the season premiere of the show Sept. 26.

Area lawyers included in the 2015 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” include Alvin Wolff, Lenny Frankel, Alan Freed, Richard Sher, Bradley Winters, Alan C. Kohn, Leonard Vines, Thomas Lewin, Gerald P. Greiman and Bob Kaiser. Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review group in the legal profession.

Washington University graduate Hayley M. Levy has been named co-chair of the university’s Class of 2014 reunion committee. Levy is employed by Community Counseling Service as an associate director of development. A member of Congregation B’nai Amoona, she is the daughter of Joel and Marcia Evers Levy. Marcia Levy created Meet Me St. Louis, a not-for-profit arts and speakers series for the St. Louis area. In late 2013, Levy retired  as director of the St. Louis Jewish Book Festival.