Hear O'Washington

Janice Brumer discusses her lifelong involvement with Jewish summer camps, emphasizing their role in fostering Jewish identity, community, and leadership. She shares personal experiences, from her early days as a camper to her founding of Camp Kalsman, highlighting the camp’s cultural and spiritual significance. Looking ahead, she outlines plans to expand and modernize the camp to serve future generations and strengthen its impact.

Steve Loeb, managing director of SKB family office, recounts his family's immigration history, entrepreneurial ventures, and the evolution of the Jewish community in Seattle. He shares personal experiences, including his education, travel to Israel, and leadership roles in community service and nonprofit boards. Loeb emphasizes the importance of family, community engagement, and resilience in facing societal challenges such as antisemitism.

Frankie Loeb shares her family history rooted in European origins and her upbringing in Seattle, including her involvement in her Jewish community and leadership roles. She reflects on her cultural traditions, her experiences moving due to her husband's military service, and the importance of maintaining her heritage. She emphasizes the value of community leadership and personal family joys, especially with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Elderly Jewish community member in Seattle, part of the Seattle Seniors Group, an independently organized group to bring together elderly Jewish community members. Bill Friedman reached out for us to scan his Seattle Jewish Seniors photo album in the fall of 2024, which we somewhat bungled, but he's now agreed to record an oral history to accompany the photo album. His partner, whose name I forget, is quite elderly and is a WWII survivor.

Jacquie Bayley's oral history covers her family's deep involvement in Vancouver's Jewish community, her transition to assisted living for her mother, and her moves from Vancouver to Seattle, including her support for Jewish education and organizations like Hadassah and the Hartman Institute. She describes her philanthropic efforts, the development of leadership programs for Jewish women, and her personal connections to Israel, highlighting the importance of community, tradition, and leadership. Throughout, she emphasizes the significance of family, involvement in Jewish life, and maintaining cultural and spiritual ties across generations.

Bradly (brad) Lehrer shares his lifelong connection to Jewish history, emphasizing the importance of preserving it through personal artifacts like family heirlooms and community efforts. He discusses his early activities to engage others in Jewish culture, such as organizing events with incentives, and highlights the value of physical archives over digital ones. Reflecting on community involvement, he underscores the significance of genuine human connections and recounts a philanthropic project funded through early Amazon investments that brought joy to many.

Al Maimon discusses his personal connection to Jewish history, highlighting how his family's involvement and community experiences have shaped his understanding and appreciation of traditions. He emphasizes the importance of preserving history through personal efforts, community engagement, and effective communication, especially in capturing stories and documents for future generations. Maimon underscores the role of historical societies in transmitting historical messages and maintaining a connection to heritage.

Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, a dynamic leader in the Jewish community, draws on his upbringing in a rabbinical family and transformative experiences in Israel and New York to guide his congregations with innovation and inclusivity. Known for fostering interfaith dialogue, social justice initiatives, and creative educational programs, he builds bridges between diverse communities while making Jewish life engaging and meaningful.

Seth Goldstein highlights his family's immigrant roots and longstanding involvement in the Jewish community in Seattle. He reflects on his active participation in Jewish organizations and the significance of preserving community history for future generations. Additionally, he discusses contemporary challenges faced by the Jewish community, including misconceptions and the importance of personal identity.

Rabbi Benjamin Hassan reflects on his role at the Sephardic Synagogue, highlighting his outreach to the community, his family's Sephardic and Ashkenazic heritage, and his efforts to connect members with their roots. He shares his journey from uncertainty about becoming a rabbi to his international rabbinic career, emphasizing the importance of community involvement, especially during the COVID pandemic, and his views on the future of Jewish life with a focus on Zionism. The interview concludes with gratitude from the interviewers, acknowledging his impact in Seattle and his upcoming move to Israel.

Amee Sherer, director of Hillel at the University of Washington, explores her background, career, and leadership in fostering Jewish life and inclusion amid challenges like antisemitism. She discusses strategic initiatives, community engagement, and the importance of creating a safe environment for students. Amee emphasizes the ongoing need for personal connection and community support to strengthen Hillel’s impact and address students’ diverse needs.

CONTENT WARNING: This interview discusses themes of hate speech. 

Dee Simon, who was previously the executive director of Seattle’s Holocaust Center for Humanity, has dedicated her career to education, advocacy, and combating bigotry through the power of Holocaust testimony and inclusive programs. Her journey from growing up in desegregated schools in California to leading statewide Holocaust education initiatives in Washington reflects both personal conviction and visionary leadership.

Nancy Greer, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, shares her background, career progression, and her commitment to strengthening the Jewish community through various programs and initiatives. She discusses the impact of the 2006 shooting on security and organizational culture, as well as efforts to engage younger generations and respond to global crises. Greer also addresses sensitive issues such as diversity, antisemitism, and the organization's stance on Israel, emphasizing education and community consensus.

David Altaras reflects on his childhood in a religious Jewish immigrant community in early 1900s Seattle, highlighting his strict religious education, cultural and linguistic differences, and strong community bonds. He describes observing religious rituals, participating in synagogue life, and transitioning to broader social interactions, including the impacts of Japanese internment during the war. Ultimately, he attributes his success to determination and family values, expressing a wish to be remembered as a loving and honest person who cherishes family and well-being.

CONTENT WARNING: This interview discusses themes of death, grief, racism, and discrimination. 

Iantha Sidell shares her journey from an Episcopalian upbringing in Spokane to a deep commitment to Judaism, shaped by her marriage, conversion, and decades of leadership in organizations like Hadassah and the Jewish Federation. She reflects on her pride in founding the women’s division, her strong bond with Israel, and the ongoing challenge of inspiring younger generations to stay engaged in Jewish life.

Anne Levinson has made a significant impact on Seattle's public service sector through roles such as oversight auditor for police accountability, chair of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, and social justice advocate. Her background, rooted in a reform Jewish community and shaped by mentors, influenced her lifelong commitment to equality, justice, and community service, culminating in notable efforts like saving the Seattle Storm, establishing mental health courts, and advocating for LGBTQ rights. She emphasizes coalition-building, her Jewish values, and work as a means to enact societal change, viewing her career as a reflection of her core principles and mission.

Marty Brashem, born in Los Angeles and raised in Seattle, served in World War II before attending the University of Washington and starting a family. He worked in the scrap metal industry, became involved in Tacoma's Jewish community, and played a key role in merging its conservative and reform congregations to form Temple Beth El. Reflecting on a fulfilling life with his late wife and their children, he cherishes their memories, his family, and his ongoing connections with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Jamie Margolin is a climate justice activist whose work is deeply shaped by her intersecting identities as a Latina, Jewish, and lesbian woman. Drawing inspiration from indigenous resistance, Jewish values of critical thinking, and her upbringing in Seattle, she fights against environmental destruction, corporate greed, and climate injustice through activism and legal efforts. She also uses storytelling and art, including her upcoming animated project Pellaea, to amplify marginalized voices and inspire collective action for the planet.

Rabbi Rachel Kort discusses her congregation at Temple Beth Or in Everett, WA. She describes their Mitzvah Corps, community care through grief and mourning, addressing housing insecurity through Jewish Family Services, and other work from diversity, equity and inclusion to addressing anti-semitism.

Rabbi David Fine discusses the history and growth of Temple Beth, emphasizing how community involvement and a do-it-yourself culture fostered a strong congregation and active participation. He highlights the spiritual and educational importance of Camp Kalsman, connecting nature with Jewish teachings, and reflects on his leadership's impact on the community's development. Rabbi Fine shares his hopes for the future of the Jewish community in Snohomish County, underscoring resilience and generational bonds.

Harriet Markell discusses her life in Bellingham and her involvement, eventually as vice president, in Congregation Beth Israel. She describes the scene in Bellingham from poetry to politics, including stories about COVID-19 and political challenges within Congregation Beth Israel.

Andrea Shupack reflects on the growth of Bellingham and its Jewish community, highlighting the expansion of the synagogue, evolving inclusivity, and meaningful events that strengthened communal bonds. She emphasizes the city’s beauty, the warmth of its people, and the community’s commitment to diversity, learning, and welcoming members of all backgrounds.

Paul Blum discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Jewish congregations in Washington, especially at Congregation Beth Israel where he was a member of the COVID-19 Task Force. He discusses the Task Force's formation, operation, and challenges they faced.

Mark Silver discusses his family's migration story to Spokane and his life there. We learn about Jewish businesses in Spokane, and the generational shift from agriculture to the furniture business.

Rabbi Thal, born in Bellingham in 1942, talks about his path from a small-town childhood to a career as a rabbi after studying at Princeton and Stanford. He shares memories of Bellingham’s Jewish community, how it changed over time, and the important role his family played in it. Even after retiring in 2008, he stayed connected and involved, showing his lasting commitment to the Reform Jewish community and his roots in Bellingham.

Rabbi Samuels describes his journey to become the rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel in Bellingham, WA. He discusses the challenges of managing a diverse Jewish community and includes thoughts on his future aspirations.

This interview discusses Rabbi Bruce Kadden's life in Tacoma at Temple Beth El, especially the way that he navigates merging a Reform and Conservative congregation into one. He shares observations about Tacoma and the Jewish community there.

Daniel Raas discusses his family and personal history, focusing on his life and work in Bellingham. He discusses his Jewish education and engagement with Congregation Beth Israel, the history of the city and his personal involvement in community dynamics.

Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl was born in South Korea and grew up in Tacoma. She describes her journey to become the senior rabbi at the Central Synagogue in Manhattan, NY. Rabbi Angela Buchdahl discusses the impacts of COVID-19 on her congregation, especially about virtual connectivity. She discusses her upcoming memoir.

Paula Podemski worked at the Seattle Opera for nearly thirty years by the time of this interview. She discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the opera as well as some of her personal and family history.

Roby Blecker shares his background as someone born into a Jewish family who experienced a period of alienation from his faith during college, reconnecting later through a close friend. He describes his life in Bellingham, highlighting his active role in the community, including interfaith efforts, his work as an author, and his marriage to a non-Jewish partner who converted to Judaism. Blecker emphasizes the inclusive and evolving nature of his synagogue, the importance of interfaith understanding, and the community's growth and support for diversity.

CONTENT WARNING: This interview discusses themes of death and mourning.

This interview aimed to document the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Jewish congregations and synagogues in Washington. Rabbi Malino represents Temple Beth Shalom and Congregation Emanu-El in Spokane, which are collaborative reform and conservative synagogues. Rabbi Merlino discusses her role over time and describes the impacts of COVID-19.

Dianne Arensberg shares her childhood in Tacoma, Washington, her involvement in the small Jewish community, and her family's business in plumbing. She recounts her educational choices, work experiences, and family history, including challenges like maintaining a kosher diet and the impact of a local earthquake. Dianne also talks about her fond memories of summers in Seaside, Oregon, her experiences growing up Jewish in Tacoma without a neighborhood, and the changes in the local Jewish community over the years.

Harold reflects on the deep-rooted, close-knit Jewish community in Tacoma, emphasizing the importance of mutual support, ethical values, and cultural preservation across generations. He recounts his upbringing in a family active in religious life, the communal sharing of kosher food, and the vital role of institutions like the Sinai Temple and influential figures such as Rabbi Rosenthal. Through personal memories and historical context, Harold illustrates how dispersed yet connected community members sustained their heritage and fostered a strong, resilient identity.

Daughter of the rabbi, Deborah Calderon grew up in Temple Beth El in Tacoma. She reflects on the joy and challenges of her upbringing and records the story of her family's history as well.

Richard Arensberg, with the support of his cousin Mel Freeman, shares about his family's migration from Latvia to Bellingham, and his childhood in the tight-knit Jewish community on Capitol Hill. He discusses the family shoe business, and reflects on the importance of kindness and respect.

A Seattle native, Rodney Waldbaum discusses his professional success as a lawyer, community service at Jewish organizations, and his loving family.

Julie Briskman is an actor and producer living in Seattle, WA at the time of this interview. She discusses her experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the George Floyd Uprising, and her work organizing the Seagull Project company. Julie Briskman discusses her Jewish identity in relationship to acting, and discusses her future aspirations.

Rabbi Daniel Weiner and Pastor Carey Anderson discuss their collaborative interfaith work, which includes shared services. They discuss COVID-19 and the political landscape of the time.

Leslie Ray Bernstein explores her upbringing in Seattle and her relationship to Judaism and how it changed over time. She discusses her career in the textile industry, her involvement in arts communities, activism in the world of theater, and her family.

Miriam Schwartz is a family practice doctor based in Bellingham. She is a member of Congregation Beth Israel and served as the President of its Board of Directors. This interview discusses her experience during COVID-19, the construction of a new facilities for the congregation and the uniqueness of Bellingham's Jewish community.

Kevin Donner was born in Vancouver, CA and moved several times before settling in Bellingham, WA. He describes his changing relationship to Jewish life and identity over time and the Jewish community in Bellingham as he witnessed it.

Joel Benoliel, a first-generation American from a Sephardic Jewish family, grew up in Seattle surrounded by a tight-knit community that shaped his cultural and religious identity. He pursued law and political science at the University of Washington, co-founded the Sephardic Traditions Foundation, and played a key role in establishing the university’s Sephardic studies program. His professional journey—from law to real estate to executive leadership at Costco—culminated in his appointment to the UW Board of Regents, where he championed Jewish and Sephardic academic initiatives.

Jessica was just 11 years old when, in 2006, she founded Richard’s Rwanda, inspired by Richard Kananga, a representative from the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission in Rwanda who stayed with Jessica’s family in Seattle in 2006. In addition to the history of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, Richard told sixth-grader Jessica about the difficulties Rwandan girls her age had staying in school, and Jessica was moved to create a non-profit that has gone on to fund scholarships for more than 85 girls in the East African country. As of 2017, the organization has started focusing on a metalsmithing vocational program to help young women find sustainable employment. Now an NYU 2018 graduate, Jessica is spending the next year as a JDC Entwine Global Jewish Service Corps fellow in Budapest, Hungary, where she'll be working with the local Jewish community acting as an advisor to the BBYO Hungary chapter and working in the local JCC.

One of the greatest basketball players of all time, Sue Bird has won two NCAA championships at the University of Connecticut; four Olympic Gold Medals with Team USA; and three WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm. At age 37, she’s still at it: the oldest player in the WNBA and the league’s all-time assists leader, she led the Storm to victory in the 2018 WNBA Finals despite breaking her nose for the fifth time earlier in the playoffs. Born in Syosset, New York, Sue actually has dual American and Israeli citizenship, thanks to her father, Herschel, an Italian-born Russian Jew. Sue was a dynamic athlete from an early age, and after leading UConn to a 39-0 record her senior season, winning both the Wade Trophy and the Naismith Award as the College Player of the Year, she was chosen as the first overall pick in the 2002 WNBA draft by the Storm. The rest has been history, including her decision in 2017 to come out as gay, and her joint appearance with her girlfriend, soccer star Megan Rapinoe, on the cover of ESPN Magazine’s 2018 Body Issue.

As a working mom with two kids, Tana Senn brings an important perspective to legislative issues, advocating for busy families and seeking solutions to prevent crises before they occur. Her grandparents were Holocaust survivors who relocated to Kenya before coming to the United States. Tana was raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Pacific Palisades and went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University in 1996. After graduate school, she was hired by National Hadassah, rising to the position of American Affairs/Domestic Policy Director. Moving from New York to Washington State in 2000, she worked as a communications consultant for nonprofits and as the marketing director for the Jewish Federation. In 2012, she became a Mercer Island City Councilmember and a State Representative in 2013, fighting for legislation to close the gender pay gap and working to establish common sense gun laws.

When Amy Lavin was just about 18 months old, her father’s medical residency brought her family from Chicago to Mercer Island, where she attended daycare at the Stroum Jewish Community Center. Forty-odd years later, her life came full circle when she became the SJCC’s CEO in 2017. In between those two milestones, she grew up in the Seattle area’s Jewish community before heading back to her native Chicago to get a degree in civil engineering from Northwestern, followed by an MBA from Duke. Returning to Seattle, and later Mercer Island, she settled in for a ten-year stint at Microsoft, eventually becoming Director of Marketing for the Health Solutions Group. In 2012, she joined Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to create what eventually became Obliteride, Fred Hutch’s annual bicycle ride to raise funds for cancer research, which she led for nearly five years before taking the helm at the SJCC.

Bobbe Bridge is a former Associate Justice of the Washington Supreme Court, and a dedicated volunteer and philanthropist who has been honored with numerous awards for her civic involvement and service to children and youth. Justice Bridge was appointed to the Washington State Supreme Court in 1999 after serving ten years as a King County Superior Court Judge. In 2006, she retired from her judgeship to assume the role of Founding President and CEO of the Center for Children & Youth Justice (CCYJ), a private nonprofit organization that does work with child welfare and the juvenile justice systems in Washington State.

The first librarian ever to inspire her own action figure, Nancy Pearl was born and raised in Detroit, where her love of reading was encouraged by Miss Whitehead, her local librarian. She chose her career at age ten and earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of Michigan in 1967. Following a long stopover in Oklahoma (where she earned another master’s, in history, while raising a family), she moved to Seattle in 1993, becoming executive director of the Seattle Public Library’s Washington Center for the Book and founding the much-imitated "If All Seattle Read The Same Book" program. A regular book reviewer for NPR’s Morning Edition, Nancy is also the author of the Book Lust series and published her first novel, George & Lizzie, in 2017.

Michele Rosen was born and raised in Los Angeles, where she first got a taste for political involvement from family, teachers, and the political movements in the '60s when she was growing up. Settling down in Seattle, Michele worked a number of jobs before getting involved with the Young Leadership Cabinet, which taught her how to secure resources for communities in need. This paved the way for her later work with Hillel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the Jewish Family Services of Seattle. Currently, Michele is focused on technology distribution and disaster relief work.

The granddaughter of a New England rabbi, Michelle J. Goldberg grew up in the town of Durham, New Hampshire, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a master’s degree from Harvard University, both in East Asian Studies. She and her husband moved to Seattle in 1997 to work in technology and finance and Michelle started work as an investment banker in mergers and acquisitions before joining the venture capital firm Ignition Partners in 2000. Since then, she has helped raising financing for Ignition’s investment funds and the startups it is invested in, focusing much of her attention on funding and mentoring executives with new ideas in technology. She has also served on the boards of a variety of public companies, startups and non-profits, including the public global asset management firm Legg Mason. Michelle is an active fundraiser and adviser for several non-profits in education and technology. She was a 40 under 40 honoree and has just been named a 40 under 40 All Star by the Puget Sound Business Journal. Michelle is a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

The daughter of Lithuanian refugees who arrived in New York City as the Nazis were moving across Europe, Mina Miller was born into a world irrevocably shaped by the Holocaust. But faced with that tragedy of inconceivable proportions, she has created an ongoing memorial to its victims in the form of Music of Remembrance, which pays tribute to the artists who were lost to the Holocaust and the artwork they both created and inspired. Mina’s musical journey began alongside her mother, a talented pianist in her own right, and continued at the Manhattan School of Music and New York University, where she earned her Ph.D. Thereafter, she divided her time between academia, as a tenured professor at the University of Kentucky, and performance, playing concerts across North America and Europe. Moving to Seattle in 1997, she founded Music of Remembrance the following year, and has continued to lead the organization as Artistic Director ever since.

Self-described as “the only nuclear-qualified, transgender rabbi” in the United States, Rona Matlow was born in Arcadia, California, in 1959. After serving 22 years in the Navy, she retired in 2001, at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In 2003, she entered the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York as a rabbinical student and was ordained as a rabbi in 2009. Due to injuries suffered during her military service, she has not been able to lead her own congregation, but has worked with The Soldier’s Project to provide free counseling to veterans and Trans Lifeline to help transgender people in crisis. In 2015, she became aware of her gender dysphoria and, after discussions with her wife and family, began to transition to living full time as a woman. As an expert on transgender, military, and religious issues, she has spoken about transgender/religious law intersections, and is active as an advocate for the transgender community.

Doreen Alhadeff’s family has lived in the Greater Seattle Area since 1906, when her grandmother immigrated and became the first Sephardic woman in Seattle. Growing up, her family was faithful to its Sephardic roots and spoke Ladino at home. In college, as a Spanish major, she studied in Spain, which strengthened her ties to the Sephardic culture. In 2015 she became the first American to complete the process which allows Sephardic Jews to become Spanish citizens, which has been an effort of reconciliation after the 1492 expulsion of Jews from Spain. Since then, Alhadeff has co-founded the Seattle Sephardic Network, and through that she provides a space for Sephardic Jews to celebrate and learn about their culture. She also helps other American Sephardics pursue the path to Spanish citizenship which she took.

Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, where she was one of three Jewish children in her class at an Episcopal school and often found herself explaining Judaism to her classmates. Originally planning to pursue a medical career, she was inspired in high school when she met her first female rabbi, and in college decided to pursue rabbinical studies. She moved to Seattle in 2004 shortly after being ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. In 2006, she co-founded the Kavana Cooperative, which takes its name and mission from the Hebrew word for “intention” and encourages members to fully engage in their nondenominational community. As one of seven members of the nationwide Jewish Emergent Network, Kavana, under Rachel’s leadership, is at the forefront of creating a new paradigm of communal organization for American Judaism.

A New York native, Janet Varon grew up in the Bronx before attending Harvard as both an undergraduate and a law student. Finishing law school in 1983, she accepted a job at Seattle’s Evergreen Legal Services, where she primarily represented clients who had lost their health coverage and other public benefits. After 13 years at Evergreen, she founded Northwest Health Law Advocates and has served as its Executive Director for nearly two decades. She also coordinates the statewide legal advocates' Medical Assistance Work Group; serves on the Healthy Washington Coalition Steering Committee; and is a member of the board of the Washington Medical-Legal Partnership. She previously served on the board of the National Health Law Program and chaired the state's Medical Assistance Advisory Committee, and served on the Governor's Certificate of Need Task Force and on the Low-Income Populations Advisory Group to the Joint Select Committee on Health Care Reform Implementation.

East Coast native Suzi LeVine moved to Seattle in 1993, fresh from earning degrees in Engineering and English at Brown University, the last marketing person hired to work on the MS-DOS team at Microsoft. That led to a position on the team that launched Windows 95, an executive role at Expedia, and an exciting and non-linear career working in both the private and public sector, while also volunteering for a wide variety of non-profits and political campaigns. Self-described as a “Wife, Mom, Citizen, Apprenticeship Advocate, and Catalyst,” Suzi is the co-founder of the cooperative Jewish community Kavana, was a key volunteer on the Obama For America campaign, served as the United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein from 2014 to 2017, and is now commissioner of the Employment Security Department for the State of Washington.

Born in Seattle and raised in Redmond, Carrie Brownstein was a legendary Washingtonian long before she put Portlandia on the map. She cemented her status while she was still a student at Evergreen State College, studying sociolinguistics by day and starting the seminal riot grrrl band Sleater-Kinney with classmate Corin Tucker by night. Sleater-Kinney released seven albums before going on hiatus in 2006, at which point Carrie turned her attention to writing and acting. She co-created the Emmy Award-winning comedy show Portlandia with Fred Armisen, and in 2015, she published her acclaimed memoir Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl. She has also appeared in the Amazon show Transparent and the movies Carol and Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot. Carrie is an Emmy-nominated TV director and is developing her own show.

Born in Los Angeles, Hilary Stern spent her early years in Maryland before her family moved to Seattle when she was seven years old. The daughter of a University of Washington physics professor, she spent formative years in Israel as a teenager and Nicaragua after college, and has worked her entire adult life to make a difference for underprivileged and undocumented immigrants in Seattle. Since she founded Casa Latina in 1994, the vibrant worker rights organization has helped thousands of day laborers find work, learn English, and fight for their rights, bringing them off the streets and into a three-building campus in Seattle’s Central District. In addition to directly serving the Latino community in King County, Casa Latina has also had national impact, providing programs, curricula and operations models for day worker centers throughout the country.

Eva Esfeld Deutsch was born in Pultusk, Poland. In this interview, she describes her memories of life there, including hiding from Cossack searchers and being smuggled out of the country.  Her father was a tailor who immigrated to Texas. Two years later, Eva, her siblings, Sol and Molly, and her mother traveled by boat to Galveston, where they were reunited with her father. Her early memories in Texas include reflections on Waco, Cleburne, and Dallas. The Alaska Yukon Exposition attracted her family to Seattle. She describes her involvement with the Settlement House, which inspired her love of sewing.  Deutsch describes life in Seattle, her early education, individuals she knew while growing up, her marriage to Julius Deutsch, and her memories of various Seattle-area Jewish organizations. Listen to Eva's Oral History at the UW Jewish Archives.