A first generation American with South African parents, Roben Kantor grew up in the suburbs of Chicago with one older brother. Though “not lucky enough” to inherit her parents accent, Roben always knew there was something different about their family. “My parents had the true immigrant mentality when it came to school, grades, and achievement,” she explains. Roben holds a Masters of Science degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Currently the Communications Officer at the Schusterman Family Foundation, Kantor gets to use all of her professional strengths—writing, editing, collaborating, curiosity, thoroughness, multitasking—through running the Foundation’s blog, Website, Twitter and Facebook feeds, as well as collaborating on many articles, op-eds, presentations, letters, and speeches.
The Schusterman Family Foundation was founded 1987, and is devoted to, as Kantor explains, “spreading the joy of Jewish living, giving and learning by empowering young Jewish adults to take ownership of their Jewish identity and lives.” Their most notable outreach achievements have been within the LGBTQ community, “We want to help Jews of all cultures, backgrounds, genders and upbringings find their place in our Jewish narrative, and we believe that our Jewish tapestry is stronger because of the richness and diversity of the people who compromise it,” Roben explains.
Roben’s passion for her work is very tangible, “The Jewish concept I’m more inspired and intrigued by right now is the idea that while God could have created a perfect world, he deliberately chose not to and instead to task humankind with the privilege and responsibility of helping to perfect it.”
The Schusterman Foundation is also connected with other Jewish organizations and institutions, such as the ROI Community, “There are so many exciting initiative and movements taking place in the Jewish world right now, and we want to make sure these efforts are as linked as possible,” she says.
Roben Kantor is without a doubt an inspiring Jewish woman with a passion for tikun olam and the Jewish community. But, who inspires her? “Those who actually get up and do, who lead by example, who don’t get mired in analysis paralysis but rather n’aaseh u’nishma—i.e. put deeds above words—those are the people I look to for inspiration.” It certainly sounds like Roben Kantor is one of those people.
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