LAY LEADERS
KARA OLSON
Co-President
Kara grew up on the Pacific Northwest in Tacoma, Washington, where her strong Jewish identity was fostered by her parents’ involvement with the local Temple Beth El, and her summers spent at UAHC Camp Swig in California. She attended the University of Washington, where she participated in the Husky Marching Band and was an active leader in the campus Hillel. Kara works as a research scientist at Regeneron Pharmaceutical, and has served in many volunteer roles at HIWP—on the Mishloach Manot and Youth committees, and as Co-Chair of the Programming committee. Kara, her husband Jess, and their two children, Toby and Beruria, have been memebers of HIWP since moving to White Plains in 2007. In the years since then, HIWP has become an integral part of their lives, serving as their spiritual, intellectual, and social center, and their children’s religious home—truly, they consider the Hebrew Institute community to be their family.
DOUG HIRSHON
Co-President
Doug was born in Brooklyn and raised on Staten Island, attending shul at the Young Israel of Staten Island. Following a public school education, he commuted to Brooklyn to attend college. After a few years of married life in Manhattan, Doug and his wife Jerusha moved to White Plains in 2004, to be near to family and Doug’s work as a primary care internist in the Bronx. From their first Shabbat at HIWP and experiencing its special warmth, they knew they had found their shul. After being a member for little more than a year, Doug became gabbai, a role he continued to fill for more than a decade. Doug’s parents joined them in White Plains in 2015 and have also become valued members of the community. Doug, Jerusha, and their children are delighted to be part of the vibrant Hebrew Institute kehilla.
Sat, September 19 2020 1 Tishrei 5781