Friends and colleagues:

I’ve been wearing hearing aids since I was five years old, which made me different from everyone else growing up. It also helped me develop great empathy for people who are a little different or face challenges. 

 

Three areas of focus are particularly important to me in my volunteer work:

 

1. Disadvantaged children with hearing loss.  I co-lead missions to several orphanages in Mexico and Israel, to test childrens' hearing. This is an eye-opening experience to interact with children who lack parental figures in their lives due to death, drugs, or simply abandonment. I give tremendous credit to the orphanages I visit as they raise the children to be productive leaders in society. 
    

2. Muslim/Jewish coexistence. The turmoil in the Middle East has dominated world headlines for decades: I recently undertook a yearlong fellowship with NewGround to promote positive interactions among Jews and Muslims. My Muslim and Jewish cohorts have become close friends.
    

3. Promoting tolerance. I recently attended an international social justice conference in Budapest addressing issues such as food justice, social justice, overcoming bigotry and other important topics.

Here are some terrific organizations working to address these issues.  

Corazon de Vida
New Ground
Moishe House

Repair the World

Schusterman Foundation
Yemin Orde