Celebrations

Gabrielle “Gabs” Baker, daughter of Janet and Bruce Baker and granddaughter of the late Ruth and Harry Baker, received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law on May 19, 2018. Gabs graduated from Blue Valley North High School in 2010 and from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish in May 2013. After working in Denver as a bilingual human relations specialist with Saunders Construction Company for a year, Gabs made the decision to return home to take her LSAT and apply to law school. She will remain in Colorado and take the state bar exam at the end of July and then start her employment with Colorado’s Office of the State Public Defender this fall.

Renée Polsky Silver and Larry Silver announce the birth March 17 of a daughter, Elaine (Lainey) Ruth Silver. Nathan Silver.
Grandparents are Ellen and Larry Polsky of Leawood, Kansas; Sarene Silver and Jack Jagoda of Golden Valley, Minnesota; and Ken Silver and Teresa Roguski of Eagen, Minnesota.

Adrian and Jennifer Salazar of Danville, Pennsylvania, announce the birth Jan. 2 of a daughter, Eliana Rose Salazar. They are also the parents of Noah Scott Salazar.
Grandparents are Ellen and Larry Polsky of Leawood, Kansas, and Roy and Odelia Salazar of Richardson, Texas. The great-grandmother is Virginia Salazar of Richardson.

David and Rachel Sosland announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Ethan Samuel, at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 30, at the Intercontinental Hotel, Kansas City.
Ethan is the grandson of Neil and Blanche Sosland and Stuart and Sharon Pase. He is the great grandson of Gertrude Epstein. Ethan’s siblings are Gabrielle, Jake and Juliet Sosland. Ethan attends the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. His hobbies include playing baseball and soccer, hanging out with his friends and family, movies and traveling. Ethan’s mitzvah project is with the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy.
Relatives and friends are invited to worship with the family and to attend the Kiddush luncheon following the service.

The APA Division 39 Awards Committee has selected Marilyn Metzl, Ph.D., to receive the APA Division 39 2019 Founders Award. The award will be presented at the annual spring meeting in Philadelphia next April.
This award honors an individual who has dedicated herself to the advancement of psychoanalysis and has made enduring contributions to psychoanalytic psychology and/or psychoanalysis influencing generations of psychoanalytic psychologists through research, scholarship, practice, supervision, and/or mentoring.

Dr. Karen Kaufman and Jon Brandon announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Alexander Joseph Brandon. He became a Bar Mitzvah May 5, 2018, where he lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Alex is the grandson of Dr. Andrew and Lynn Kaufman of Mission Hills, and Carol and Arthur Brandon of Scottsdale, Arizona.
Alex has just completed eighth grade at Louisville Middle School in Louisville, Colorado. He participates in the organization Judaism Your Way and will be spending his second summer at Camp Beber, a B’nai Brith Camp in Wisconsin. He plays soccer and enjoys skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer.
Alex volunteers at a local assisted living home, and participates in a peer mentoring group where he helps his fellow students who have physical and mental differences accomplish their goals.

Janet Kaufman and Rabbi Dan Fink announce their son, Jonah Kaufman, became a Bar Mitzvah June 2 at Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel in Boise, Idaho.
Jonah is the grandson of Dr. Andrew and Lynn Kaufman of Mission Hills.
Jonah has grown up in Salt Lake City and Boise. He loves piano and gymnastics and plays French horn in his school band. For a mitzvah project this year, he is playing piano concerts, monthly, for residents at a memory care center. While studying for his Bar Mitzvah, he has also been helping to teach an adult trope class at his synagogue.

Leah and Lenny Bassin of Mission, Kansas, announce the engagement of their daughter, Rabbi Sarah Bassin, to Jordan Reimer, son of Pessi and Asher Reimer of Hollis, New York. The future bride and groom reside in Los Angeles, California.
The bride-to-be was ordained from HUC-JIR in Los Angeles. She served as the first executive director of New Ground: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership. She presently serves as the associate rabbi of Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, California.
The future groom earned a Bachelor of Arts and an MPA from Princeton University in politics and international affairs. He is a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, focusing on national security and the Middle East conflict.
A late summer wedding is planned.

Molly Rissien and Nathaniel Rischall were married Sunday, Jan. 14, at Kehilath Israel Synagogue.
The bride is the daughter of Aaron and Shelley Rissien and the granddaughter of Tibby Rissien and the late Samuel Rissien and the late Meyer Stein and Bessie Stein Fish.
The groom is the son of Morton and Elizabette Rischall and the grandson of Youssef and Mehri Amrami and the late Maurice and Ruth Rischall.
The matron of honor was Rebecca Speier, Overland Park. Jacob Rischall, Skokie, Illinois, was the best man.
Bridal attendants were Samantha Behboudikha, Los Angeles; Leah Rischall, Chicago; Brittany Silberman Rissien, Chicago; Miriam Bovit, Chicago; Victoria Bursak, Chicago; Adina Yodler, Overland Park; and Anabella Zighelboim, Chicago.
Groom’s attendants were Pejman Behboudik, Los Angeles; Matthew Rissien, Chicago; Jason Speier, Overland Park; Eli Schwartz, Chicago; Bentzy Neiman, Chicago; Adam Soleymani, Chicago; and Ezra Soleymani, Chicago.
Derek and Cameron Speier served as ushers. Flower girls were Maayon, Matal and Malka Kohanchi and Emilia Garfinkel; ring bearers were Moshe Behboudikha and Samuel Katz.
The couple lives in West Rogers Park, Illinois.

Lori and Mitchell Gold announce the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Abby Ilana Gold, at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 16, at Kehilath Israel Synagogue.
Abby is the granddaughter of Idie and Herb Parmet of Leawood, Kansas, and Mindy and the late Stuart Gold, of La Jolla, California.
Relatives and friends are invited to worship with the family and to attend the Kiddush luncheon following the service.