Printer Friendly

Email to A Friend

Friday June 21, 1996

Honoree: Serving is `juggling act'

One of Ellen Kahn's earliest childhood memories is of watching her mother light the Shabbat candles that her grandmother brought
She also observed her mother's active involvement in the Jewish community, and came to appreciate it.

The Dinkelspiel Award, given annually to a federation volunteer aged 40 or under, was one of several honors presented at the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation's 86th annual meeting last week.

"Volunteering in the Jewish community is not always easy for working women. It's a juggling act and requires us to make a balance between work, home and community," said Kahn.

A principal in the law firm of Sideman & Bancroft, 40-year-old Kahn is married to Rabbi Doug Kahn, executive director of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Relations Council.

They met in Israel when she was 17 and they married two years later.

The two live in Greenbrae with their sons Daniel, 13, and Joey, 7.

Kahn said she hopes her volunteer efforts will inspire her children, just as her mother's inspired her.

A current fellow of the Wexner Heritage Foundation and member of the Jewish Bulletin's board of directors, Kahn has also served as vice-chair of the JCF's planning and allocations committee and head of its family education project.

She is a past member of both the JCF's board of directors and Congregation Rodef Sholom's school board.

Kahn's initial involvement with Jewish community work began at the federation, "mostly because they had lunch meetings and they were the only ones I could ever attend."

It turned out to be the perfect fit. Kahn describes her volunteer work as a driving passion and one of her greatest joys.

"Looking around the room I see so many wonderful friends," said Kahn as she stepped down from the podium. "I look forward to working with you all for many years."

Did you find this article interesting? Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and you'll be notified each week when "J." goes online. We'll tell you about the most important stories of the week and give you a link to each one.

This page contains a BETA version of Amazon contextual links. They are marked by the dashed underline.  Your purchases support our site. At times they point to items which are not related to the actual link. Please alert us by email if you discover objectionable links.