I am originally from the east coast, having spent my early childhood in a suburb of Boston and my high school years in a small rural town called Ludlow, Vermont. Now that I am an adult I can reflect on my rural living experience but as a teenager it was less than desirable. I didn’t enjoy raising animals, growing vegetables and making maple syrup as a teen. I fled Vermont as soon as I graduated to see the world.
I spent a year abroad in Israel attending university and living on a kibbutz. When I returned to the United States, I moved to Los Angeles to complete my undergraduate degree at the University of Judaism. After college, I returned to Boston. There I met and married my husband. I attended Brandeis University and received my Masters Degree in 1994 in Jewish Communal Services for Fundraising. Shortly after our marriage, we relocated to the west coast for a job opportunity.
We have discovered the humbling joys of parenthood these past 17 years raising our two children. Unfortunately, my children didn’t feel particularly close to my father when he died, so it was not something they experienced in the same way I did. I have come to feel that the mitzvah project allowed us many opportunities to talk more about my father and for me to share stories from my childhood with them.
I am an active volunteer in my community and at my children’s school. I served on the Board of Directors for Willowbrook Arts Summer Camp from 2008-2013. I worked as a Consultant for an International Health and Wellness company from 2002-2009. I have worked with several non profits over the past several years including, Dress for Success, the Girl Scouts of America, Make-A-Wish Oregon and Junior Acheivement.
For information about speaking engagements, please contact me at lindamcohen@comcast.net.
1,000 Mitzvahs 