Amy Mallinger loves speaking to students, journalists, and other groups about her grandmother, antisemitism, and Judaism. She was born and raised in Squirrel Hill and the Tree of Life synagogue, and grew up within walking distance to her aunts, uncles, and grandparents. 

After her first speaking engagements after Oct. 27th, Amy realized how healing and important it was for her and her family to speak to students at schools. She helped establish REACH in order to make this opportunity accessible and comfortable for all families and survivors of Oct. 27th.  

“Being around students is intoxicating,” says Amy. “They always have something new to say that you wouldn’t have thought of, and they ask questions that make you think.” She approaches her speaking engagements by trying to see through students’ eyes, and she appreciates the bravery and perspectives of the students she gets to meet. Amy also enjoys working with journalists and finds their insightful questions a good route for her to open up and feel confident to speak about her grandmother, Rose. 

“My bubbe was very special to my family,” says Amy. “She was 97, but you’d never believe that.” Amy wants to share with the world who her grandmother really was. “When people read her name and age, they often just see her as an old lady. But she had a young spirit. Talking about her and keeping her memory alive makes it feel in some ways like she’s still here. I would see her almost every day. We would sit on the porch, and she would know everyone and they would know her because of how kind she was. She loved spending time with her family and listening to whatever was going on. If something was wrong, she’d always make your favorite meal.” 

By educating high school students about antisemitism through REACH, Amy hopes that they will spread the message as they go off into college or their adult lives. “They can be that educator,” Amy says, “they can pass on that wealth of knowledge so that people outside of the Pittsburgh area know a little more about Jewish people and antisemitism. One student can talk to two people, and those two people can talk to others, and it spreads from there.” 

Amy Mallinger lives in Squirrel Hill with her fiancé and dog. Her father, Alan Mallinger, her uncle, Stanley Mallinger, her aunt, Andrea Wedner, her aunt’s husband, Ron Wedner, and her mother, Lauren Mallinger, are all REACH Speakers. 

Stanley Mallinger is humble and enjoys routine and predictability, and he doesn’t generally see himself as a public speaker. However, when it comes to students he says, “it’s different, and I look forward to doing it.” From the first showing of the Repair the World film where he and his family came up to answer questions from students afterwards, Stanley hoped that speaking out about Oct. 27th would continue and grow.

Alan Mallinger stayed local to Pittsburgh his entire life and twenty-five years ago moved back into the Squirrel Hill neighborhood where he was born. His family weaves their roots deep into the local Jewish community; he has attended Tree of Life with his family since he was born, and all three of his children became bar and bat mitzvah in the synagogue. His family has also been a longtime staple at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh. As a kid he participated in clubs and basketball, and as an adult he worked at the JCC for 27 years, running physical education, coaching, and fitness. His kids attended JCC preschool and camp and coached youth sports. His daughter Amy Mallinger, who still lives locally, has continued the tradition of working at the JCC in various roles over the years. 

Through REACH Alan wants to bring awareness to antisemitism and to “show students the light” by speaking about Pittsburgh’s response to Oct. 27th. He wants to showcase the local and international community that rallied around his family after the shooting, and to use that as an example of how to eradicate hate. Alan also shares the story of his mother, Rose Mallinger, so that the world can see her as more than just a number. “Despite being 97 years old,” said Alan, “she died too young.” 

“You see things on TV and they’re terrible, but when they’re far away they seem like they’d never happen here,” said Alan. “When it happens here it feels unbelievable. Then when it happens to you, you realize it can happen to anybody. We aren’t a remarkable family, and it happened to us. I hope the audience gets that message.” 

Alan particularly likes speaking to high schoolers, noting that once the floodgates open, they often have a lot of stories around their own experiences of being excluded or facing bullying, hate, or racism. He enjoys that teenagers will come and chat even after the panels are over about the ways they’ve seen these issues in their own lives. 

Alan hopes that over time REACH can continue its mission and spread outside of Pittsburgh to impact more and more school districts. He hopes that REACH speakers can speak to students who may not have experienced a lot of diversity in their lives before and help to open their minds up to more possibilities. 

Alan also frequently talks at REACH engagements about the trial of the synagogue shooting perpetrator. From the jury selection to the outcome, Alan shares his unique perspective on a federal trial that so few had access to. Even though he’d been able to go inside the Tree of Life building post-shooting, Alan emphasized that there was so much they did not know about what happened on October 27th that they were only able to learn about during the trial. It was important to him that they were able to clarify what happened during the shooting through the trial’s duration, which was an important part of his personal journey. Alan wants to share with audiences about the extraordinary prosecution team, their victim advocates, and the way they supported the families and survivors inside and outside of court.  

Alan is married to Lauren Mallinger and they have three children Andrew, Amy and Eric. Andrew and Eric live out of town but Lauren and Amy, along with Alan’s brother Stanley and sister Andrea, are all involved in REACH. Alan is enjoying the freedom of retirement through playing pickleball, golf, traveling, exercising at the JCC and spending time with his family. 

Audrey Glickman has lived in Pittsburgh since she was born. She attended Allderdice High School and the University of Pittsburgh, where she majored in theatrical production and minored in English writing. Audrey has been an artist and an activist all of her life. 

On October 27, 2018, Audrey was present in the chapel when the perpetrator began shooting, and she had to run and hide within the building until it was safe to exit. “The shooter killed my friends,” Audrey says simply. “The minute the shooting happened I wanted to shout about it. This is hate.” 

Audrey believes that if being a survivor of the shooting means that people will listen, it is her duty to make sure that people pay attention to the ways we can come together against antisemitism and violence in this country. 

Audrey first spoke about Oct. 27th in February 2019 at an interfaith service against gun violence coordinated by Tim Stevens, founder and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project.  She spoke alongside others who had different experiences of violence, including women who had lost children to gun violence and police officers. “When they put photos of [fellow survivor] Joe Charny and me in the newspaper the next day,” Audrey reflects, “it made me realize that people were listening and we needed to continue to use our voices. We needed to speak in a way that would help others to come alongside us.” 

Audrey believes in solidarity, in everyone coming together under a shared goal. She believes in consensus building and civility, and she wants to build a future where we can bridge divides and get stuff done. She began her activism journey in high school advocating for LGBTQIA+ people, and since then she has bonded with neighbors over many issues, including women’s rights, voting rights, the separation of church and state, gun violence and gun laws, and civil rights. During her varied career she has been a rabbi’s assistant, Chief of Staff for Pittsburgh City Council President, a managing director and director of finance and operations for nonprofits, a legal secretary, and an advertising production assistant, and she has served on many volunteer boards. 

“If you’re not standing up for your neighbors,” Audrey muses, “What is life worth?” 

However, she is often uncomfortable advocating for herself. She believes that no one should have to advocate on issues that affect them directly, since it can be both more emotionally difficult and less effective. However, she believes in the case of Oct. 27th families and survivors can make a difference that no one else can. 

“Our stories can speak to other people who have had very different experiences of hatred,” says Audrey. “On October 27th, as the shooter came into the building during Kaddish I was thinking of Antwon Rose, Jr., who had been killed that June. His death was wrong. At Tree of Life we were shot at for being Jewish. It was a very different situation, but both were motivated by prejudice. All of this violence in civil society is impossibly wrong, and if we don’t get past this kind of war, right inside our community, then we are failing.” 

Audrey hopes REACH will help to unify people who are impacted by hate and bias. “If we’re working together, we’re covering much more ground than staying in our silos,” she says.  

Outside of REACH and her activism, Audrey continues to be an active writer, artist, mother, and shofar player. 

Sharyn grew up an only child in a small town outside of Pittsburgh where she was part of a small Jewish population. While she and her family did attend synagogue, she remembers most of her friends being non-Jewish and sometimes feeling uncomfortable about being in the minority. 

“The antisemitism where I grew up was subtle; it wasn’t blatant,” says Sharyn. “We didn’t have education around antisemitism or about Judaism. I hope REACH can be that kind of education.” 

When Sharyn was a child her family visited her aunts in the Pittsburgh Squirrel Hill neighborhood every single week. Sharyn moved to Pittsburgh in 1968, and now lives in a house around the corner from where her aunts used to live. She and her husband Dan had two children, who are now adults and who both still live in Pittsburgh. Her son has a 6 and ½ year old son and her daughter works at Community Day School, a local Jewish school for pre-k through eighth grade.  

Sharyn and Dan Stein met in 1971 and married in 1972 at B’nai Israel, where they attended until it merged with Adat Shalom. They then joined New Light Congregation and followed the congregation when it moved into the Tree of Life building.  

Sharyn worked as a preschool teacher at the Early Childhood Education Center (ECDC) at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh for 28 years. Her husband Dan is fondly remembered by ECDC staff and students alike; after exercising at the JCC gym Dan would visit the preschool to talk and play with the kids every day. “They knew him really well. They called him Mr. Dan,” said Sharyn. 

Sharyn’s career working with children is a key part of her motivation to be a REACH speaker. “I was on the fence for a long time,” says Sharyn. “Last year I attended a program at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit where the LIGHT Initiative brought together students from different schools to learn about antisemitism and hate-based violence and brainstorm together. I found watching their conversations really impactful and it convinced me that maybe this is my calling after 10/27. Young people are the answer to the future.” 

Sharyn believes that we can fight antisemitism with education and awareness. “Antisemitism has been around for a very, very long time,” says Sharyn. “We can’t get rid of it easily or quickly, but one person can make a difference in how one other person sees things. Kindness is the way to go.”  

Beyond REACH, Sharyn likes to take walks and is a dedicated member of two book clubs. She has been attending and cooking for her twelve-person gourmet club, where rotating hosts make homemade meals from different countries each month from scratch, since her son and daughter were young children.  

Peg Durachko grew up in Snow Shoe, PA, a tiny town that was first powered by logging and later by coal mining. Her grandparents immigrated to Snow Shoe from Czechoslovakia. After graduating from high school Peg completed her undergraduate at Penn State before graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in dentistry.  

Peg and Richard Gottfried met while they were both in dental school and got married a few years later. They purchased a property and renovated it together, opening the doors of their combined dentistry practice in 1984. They would practice together for over thirty years, until Rich was murdered on Oct. 27, 2018.  

Beyond their practice, Rich and Peg volunteered their dentistry services at Catholic Charities and would work part-time at the Squirrel Hill Health Center when they were needed. “We wanted to give back to our community through our practice,” says Peg. 

Peg has been Catholic since birth, and she and Rich spent a lot of time talking and thinking about their interfaith marriage. They found a Catholic Marriage Encounter Weekend meaningful in order to accept that they both had beautiful religions and would continue to practice them alongside one another. They would remain active in Worldwide Marriage Encounter for many years helping to mentor new couples about faith and marriage. Peg is interested in talking to audiences about her faith, as well as the role spirituality and religion played in her marriage. 

“I want to be a part of REACH to tell people about Rich and who he was,” says Peg. “My message to audiences is that getting along with one another and not hating each other is paramount. I want to reach people who are at risk of hating and show them that there are better ways to live than that.”  

“My hope for REACH,” Peg continues, “is to reduce division. I want people to love thy neighbor tangibly, by listening to one another with a spirit of open dialogue and cooperation.”  

Outside of REACH, Peg is always on the go. Over the last several years Peg has retired and she has remarried. Peg and her husband like to spend their time with friends, family, and traveling. 

Andrea hopes that by participating in REACH she can encourage students and schools to become more inclusive and kinder. She’s continuously inspired by the students she meets who are developing clubs against hate and participating in LIGHT Initiative events, classes and programs. She likes to focus in her speaking engagements on what people can do to make the world a better place, whether it’s raising awareness of bullying or advocating for acceptance of other people, no matter what religion they are or where they came from. 

Andrea’s family has always been very active in Tree of Life. She and her husband, Ron Wedner, were married in the Pervin Chapel of the synagogue, the same location where the shooting would eventually take place. Andrea remembers helping out on Sunday mornings with men’s club breakfasts and spending a lot of time in the synagogue with her parents, children, and extended family. “There were so many occasions and happy memories there,” she said, remembering the synagogue that used to be so hustling and bustling that they required two services on High Holidays to fit the number of congregants. “It was just a wonderful place to be.” 

Andrea works to keep her mother’s memory alive in many ways. “My mother was a phenomenal woman, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, who was an all-around loving person to everyone who met her,” she remembers. “Everything I went through myself,” said Andrea about her own serious injuries, “the hardest part for me is living with the memory of how she died.”  

The Mallingers were in the process of planning Rose’s 100th birthday when she was killed. Andrea remembers that “she surrounded herself with family and friends, and she loved the social aspect of synagogue. Any chance she could get to go out, she would go. She would keep her mind sharp, and she did everything she could to stay alive and give herself a good life.” 

Andrea was born in Pittsburgh and never left Squirrel Hill. She attended the Wightman School, Allderdice, and the University of Pittsburgh, and when she and her husband Ron married in 1982, she told him that living in Squirrel Hill was an absolute must. She continues to live in the neighborhood within walking distance from her extended family. 

“Family has always been important, but for some reason, maybe because I almost died, it makes it even more,” said Andrea. “Everything I do, I enjoy. I love to bake. I love to walk. I love to just be home and just do nothing. I appreciate the kindness of others more now. Everything that I do is just meaningful.” 

Ron and the extended Mallinger-Wedner family began speaking at schools after Oct. 27th, and Ron quickly realized that speaking to students was something that really appealed to him. “After the shooting some people became involved with gun legislation or voting rights,” said Ron. “We went to schools. After going a few times and feeling comfortable and seeing the results of what we were doing, it became our niche and our way of remembering. I feel like we’re making a difference.” Ron not only participates in REACH speaking engagements but also acts as a liaison between local schools and the annual commemoration of the shooting. He helps to coordinate students and teachers as they learn about Oct. 27th and participate in volunteering and commemorative activities. 

“These kids are doing amazing things. It’s very gratifying to see what they’re doing to make a difference, and that we can impact that. If one young person who is going down the wrong path can have their minds changed by what we’ve said, then REACH has been successful,” said Ron. He hopes as REACH grows that there will be more events where whole families can attend, and that the speaking engagements can foster intergenerational healing and connection between kids and their parents.  

Ron asks students to reflect on the bigotry or hate that they’ve seen or experienced in their lives and the roots of that hate. Ron believes that ending intolerance and anti-Semitism starts with families at home at the kitchen table and in our own living rooms. Ron hopes that students who have attended REACH meetings can notice if a friend or someone they know is acting in a hateful way, that they can ask questions and offer help. “We have to get to them one at a time,” he said. 

Ron hopes that over time REACH can visit as many schools as possible, and he would like to encourage every school to establish an anti-hate club that continues their learning and commitment to these ideas. “Eventually the REACH program will run its course, either in two years or twenty years,” said Ron. “Let’s make as much impact as soon as we can, as much as we can.” 

Ron joined REACH to help spread these ideals of anti-hate and to continue the memory of his mother-in-law, Rose Mallinger. “When you reach 97 years old, you should be able to leave this earth peacefully and respectfully, on your own terms,” said Ron. “To be murdered in your place of worship—that wasn’t fair. It is not the way you’re supposed to go.”  

Ron loves spending time with his grandchildren, family, and wife Andrea. 

“We’ve always appreciated life, but even more so now,” says Ron, reflecting on how he and Andrea have changed since the shooting. “You can’t sweat the small stuff. Being angry and holding onto hate is not worth it, it’s wasted emotions. We need to live life to the fullest. Some days living life to the fullest for Andrea and me can be simply relaxing and reading books, and that’s fine. We both work to remain active and healthy and stay sharp. I want to be able to run around with my grandchildren and play golf with my son as long as I can.” 

Carol Black was born in Uniontown, PA. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, becoming a licensed clinical audiologist, and has stayed committed to the Pittsburgh area ever since. 

Carol Black finds participating in REACH very cathartic, and she’s been motivated to talk to a variety of audiences, from rotaries to schools to Jewish Federations, since before REACH began in earnest. 

“I want to help anybody else who has gone through some kind of trauma, from bullying to the prevalence of hate that exists today,” says Carol. “I want to use my perspective to contribute something to someone else and pay it forward.” 

Carol grew up in an area with a decently sized Jewish population, and she went to shul in her childhood. One day when she was in third or fourth grade, she remembers coming home from school and asking her mother “What’s a dirty k*ke?” She didn’t know what it meant at the time, but quickly learned that being Jewish was something that set her apart, and not something that she should flaunt. Not wanting to stand out, she began a pattern of mostly avoiding synagogue and Jewish involvement. 

Much later in adulthood, Carol’s brother Richard Gottfried had returned to shul at New Light Congregation. One Saturday, mostly on a whim, Carol joined him and found that she really enjoyed going to services. She chose to continue going on Saturdays because she liked learning and reading from the Torah. She and Richard became gabbaim, or people who assist the Rabbi by checking that the Torah is being read correctly. Carol committed to the shul and had an adult bat mitzvah. “Rich and my mother were so proud,” Carol says. After Rich’s murder, Carol continues to fill the role of gabbai and to live a life involved in the congregation and proud of her Jewishness.  

Carol is a REACH speaker because she wants to prevent further victimization and wants to support others who have been bullied or experienced violence. “I want to share an optimistic message of positivity that comes from surviving what I survived and thriving, from living the kind of joyous life that I intend to lead.” 

Carol is married with two stepchildren and three grandchildren. She lives in Cranberry township and is taking advantage of her retirement through reading for fun and exercising. She serves on the 10.27 Healing Partnership steering committee and Families Bridging Kindness, a group of family members from Oct. 27th who reach out in solidarity to other impacted communities. 

Jodi was born in Pittsburgh and moved around extensively (including to Michigan, Lancaster, Milwaukee, and Cincinatti), before, like many other Pittsburghers, returning home. 

From the time she was old enough to drive her grandparents to healthcare appointments, Jodi saw herself as a caregiver. Her parents, who were frequent volunteers and caretakers, helped to instill in her a motivation to choose a life where she could help others. 

“My dad, Melvin Wax, was a down to earth person,” says Jodi. “There wasn’t a superficial bone in his body. He was always active in the New Light Congregation, where he was president of the synagogue and then of the men’s club, and still always had time to volunteer in other ways. He got up early every morning and worked hard, but he never said no to anyone who needed something, including me. Whenever I needed something growing up he was always there to help. I think I got my sense of caregiving and was motivated to join social services as a career because of him.” 

Jodi went to high school in Pittsburgh and then went to the Indiana University of Pittsburgh to get a degree in psychology, which she followed up with a degree in business from Robert Morris University. Since she frequently moved around as an adult she found herself in many different careers, but always with social services at the heart of them. She worked at JFCS, then as a volunteer coordinator for a senior companion program, then as a supervisor of group homes for those with mental illness, and then as a human resources manager at Allegheny Valley Schools. Like her parents, Jodi continues to volunteer in many ways outside of work.  

After her father’s death in 2018, Jodi thought a lot about how she could honor his memory. She found herself thinking about her son, who was a sophomore in college at the time. “My dad was an integral part of my son’s life,” says Jodi. “They spent a lot of time together; they were best buds.” She thought about students like her son in college or at high schools and middle schools, and how she could talk to them about her father and the effects of antisemitism, hate crimes and gun violence. When she realized REACH could connect her with students, Jodi says it was a no-brainer, even though she would have to overcome her fear of public speaking. Since joining REACH Jodi has successfully spoken in front of large audiences, including high schoolers and the Global Eradicate Hate Summit.  

Lauren grew up in Butler, where being Jewish meant she was very much in the minority. Since then she’s lived in various places, including Israel for four and a half years, before settling down in Pittsburgh. Her career includes a variety of roles in the Jewish community, from teaching at the Jewish Community Center to catering food at Beth Shalom. 

Lauren and her husband Alan Mallinger married in 1983; they now have three adult children. Lauren and Alan eventually moved into the adjoining house to Rose Mallinger, Alan’s mother.  

“I helped take care of Rose in those years,” says Lauren. “And I was always deeply honored by the relationship she had with my children.” She describes a life full of connection and care, from vacations with both Lauren and Alan’s parents to how Rose’s door was always open to her family. “She loved celebration and closeness,” Lauren says. “I remember our movie days together; she’d sit in a big comfy chair, I’d make popcorn, and we’d watch Disney. We were so different, but we got along. Her house was bubbe’s house—it was simple, but she helped us realize what was most important, which was love.” 

Lauren’s daughter, Amy Mallinger, began spearheading REACH in early 2024. “I want to support Rose’s children and grandchildren through participating in REACH,” Lauren says. “I’m here to showcase their stories in whatever ways I can.” 

From her years as a physical education instructor and swimming teacher at the JCC, Lauren feels very comfortable speaking to children and students. “REACH can be a phoenix rising from the ashes, blossoming into a wonderful educational possibility,” she says. Lauren believes that in “today’s fragmented world, we need to find common ground and talk to one another.” She’s been inspired by meeting the different groups and clubs at local schools that have formed to combat racism. “A lot of our world is kind of ugly right now, and the young people see that and try and change it,” she says.  

Lauren hopes that REACH can expand beyond the limits of Pittsburgh’s classrooms. “We can reach out to communities who might not have actively considered the effects of racism or antisemitism at all before.” She hopes that REACH can eventually push outside of Pittsburgh’s urban cores and suburbs to reach more rural schools, like the ones in Butler where she grew up.  

“I want to show the world what we’re about,” Lauren says. “I want to give people an authentic experience with Jewish people and our long history. I want to educate people about what happened on Oct. 27th and show that we are people with feelings. I want to show our love for our religion, our communities, and our families.” 

Lauren is on the board and the program committee of Tree of Life Congregation. She’s also an accomplished gardener and likes to explore the world, visit her children, and spend time with family and friends. 

Martin was born in Cleveland to a close Jewish family and grew up in Jewish communities, learning Yiddish from his family members. Since then, he’s lived in a variety of places, including Schenectady, Chicago, LA, and Baltimore before settling in Pittsburgh, where he and his wife have lived now for nearly thirty years. “For us, this really is home now,” says Marty. “We are embedded here and part of the community.”

Martin wants to use his perspective as a survivor to spread messages of kindness, understanding, and neighborliness through REACH. “Being a good neighbor means to try to think of anyone you encounter, whether next door or traveling a thousand miles away, to be someone you would look out for,” says Martin. “I think Pittsburghers do take Mr. Rogers’ lessons about being a neighbor to heart.”

Part of this neighborly message is to remind audiences not to let themselves fall into traps of allowing bigotry into their spaces. “When people make antisemitic or racist jokes and they get a laugh, they’re being rewarded,” says Martin, “and that can be a slippery slope. They don’t all graduate into wanting to hurt people, but it creates an environment where hate can find a home there. 10/27/18 didn’t come out of nowhere. It included a ramping up and an unleashing of expressions of prejudice, bigotry, and hatred that had been unacceptable in certain environments before.”

“Plus, bigotry doesn’t have to end in violence to be unacceptable,” Martin adds. “Having to go to work or school where intolerance exists shouldn’t have to happen. It’s easy to succumb to this feeling, to be mistrustful or hostile to people who dress, eat, live differently than you. It’s something we need to work on, or it will make our communities and neighborhoods places that are not welcoming or supportive environments.” Martin hopes to reach a variety of audiences through REACH, but is especially interested in having interfaith conversations around these topics of bigotry and welcoming communities.

The response to the shooting from the city and the world was a deeply meaningful part of Martin’s journey of healing. When diverse and interfaith groups from across Pittsburgh made their support known, from churches to the Steelers, Martin felt that not only did the local Jewish Pittsburgh community care, but everyone in Pittsburgh had come together as a whole against antisemitism. “It demonstrated that they felt the synagogue shooting was an attack against them, the whole city, and not just the Jewish people,” said Martin. He and other survivors and family members received notes of kindness from people from all over the country and the world. “The overwhelming majority of people are kind and decent, and that helped prove it to me,” said Martin. “It really helped with my faith after the shooting and to not end in a place of despair.”

Through REACH, Martin hopes to impress upon others the importance of supporting others the way he felt supported after the shooting. He knows that people often hesitate before extending a hand to someone who is going through something difficult, worried that they may do something wrong, and he hopes sharing his story will help them to err on the side of reaching out to show some kindness.

Martin is an economist and has been a professor at Carnegie Melon University for almost thirty years. He finds both the intellectual puzzles of research and the teaching side of his job very rewarding. He is also currently serving as the Special Advisor to the Assistant Attorney General, Head of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He finds it very meaningful and rewarding to have the opportunity to serve the country and give something back.

Dan Leger is a survivor of the Oct. 27, 2018 Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting.  Dan sustained life-threatening gunshot injuries requiring multiple surgeries, long hospital admissions, and extensive rehabilitation.

Dan is now retired from nursing; for nearly fifty years he provided care at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, The Children’s Institute, and Forbes Hospice. He also provided services as a non-denominational chaplain at Family Hospice and the Palliative and Supportive Institute at UPMC. His friend, Jerry Rabinowitz, who was killed on October 27^th, was a well-loved family doctor. The ideals and values that guided their respective professions are ones that Dan hopes to continue through his participation in REACH.

“The way we looked at the world and made our living was through service,” reflects Dan. “To honor Jerry’s memory is to continue that legacy. The service that a nurse renders is one of nurturing and accompanying people through their journey. Now I try to do as much as I can to midwife people through experiences where they may need some comfort along the way, as well as some level of understanding. My experience on October 27^th is one that gives me some credibility with people who are diverse enough that we might not have had another reason to be meeting one another, except that we share an experience of trauma or are both concerned about preventing these experiences of violence from occurring again.”

Being a nurse, shares Dan, is a profession that has changed him profoundly, both in ways he is consciously aware of and in ways he is not. He carries his instincts towards nurturance, listening and care to REACH speaking engagements, especially when he talks about polarization.

“It may seem like the easiest way to solve a problem is to not accept what another person has to say, and to cling onto your own position,” says Dan. “That’s seldom helpful. If we don’t really listen to people and make it clear that we’re hearing them, we’re just stuck on two polarities. I want to talk to young folks about not getting pulled into that vortex of people who only want to take a stand of ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ and never hear anyone else. October 27^th was perpetrated by someone who was deeply sucked into and contributed to that vortex. I wish I’d been able to talk to him, to share our commonalities as human beings, rather than having him do what he did.”

Speaking to youth and students is an essential part of Dan’s philosophy of nonviolence and of pushing back on polarization. Dan, formerly a pediatric nurse, believes that young people in particular have the opportunity to change and be dynamic. He’s also come to find it very meaningful to speak with law enforcement personnel, among whom he has formed bonds of friendship.

Whoever the audience is, Dan seeks to bring attention to the needs of each unique person and group. “Anyone who comes to one of these REACH gatherings has some need or emotion related to this topic,” he says. “I want to listen carefully to what the audience is interested in and attend to those aspects, especially those that lie underneath the surface.”

Dan’s hope is that REACH’s messages spread beyond the groups that they speak to directly. He hopes that those who are affected by his experience can then influence others who may be struggling. “It isn’t just about what happens in the room; it’s about what happens afterwards. I hope the people who hear us speak can then interact with other people who might be making destructive decisions and influence them to take another road with a better outcome.”

In his private life Dan spends a lot of time making music, particularly as a cellist in a string quartet with friends, something he has done ever since he was a teenager. “Playing in a string quartet is very special,” says Dan. “You get to play beautiful music with other people and nothing can intrude. You are in your own universe. It’s a safe, comforting, healing place, much like the psalms, where you can bring any emotion to it and it will be okay.

Dan also loves to spend time with his wife and his two sons, as well as studying, reading, volunteering, and engaging with the rhythms of Jewish life.

Debi grew up in Uniontown, a small town approximately fifty miles south of Pittsburgh, in a thriving Jewish community. While many of her and her family’s friends were Jewish, at school she remembers hearing some snide remarks. At the time, nothing they said made her feel too uncomfortable or frightened. At her victim impact statement at the synagogue shooting trial in 2023 Debi said that she had always known antisemitism existed, but it wasn’t until the shooting on October 27th that she felt afraid. 

“Antisemitism is pervasive,” Debi says, “and I don’t understand it. We were supposed to progress as a society, but now I feel we’ve regressed.” 

After attending dental assistant school, Debi was married and had her son, Brian. After her first marriage ended, she worked at the dental schools in West Virginia University and University of Pittsburgh. After a short stint at a private dentist’s office, in 1995 she asked her brother, Richard Gottfried, to hire her to work in his dental practice. She worked with Rich and his wife, Peg Durachko, at the dental office the couple co-owned for 28 years, until they closed the practice after Rich’s death. 

Rich and Debi usually spent their birthday together, often at surprise parties organized by their spouses. On their 65th birthday Rich was in the hospital, recovering from a leg injury, and Debi spent much of the day with him in the hospital. “Little did I know,” Debi remembers, “that that would be the last time we spent our birthdays together.” 

After the shooting, Rich’s wife Peg was responsible for figuring out what to do with their dental practice and clients, all while mourning the death of her husband. Debi tried to be helpful in any way she could. “I still consider her a sister, and that she’s part of the family as much as she ever wants to be. I will always be there, and that’s another way that I honor my brother’s memory. He loved her, and I will always maintain that kind of relationship to Peg.” 

Rich’s death was not Debi’s first experience with loss. In 2011 Debi’s only son, Brian, died. Since then, Debi has found great comfort in her daughter-in-law, her grandkids, and in connecting with others who have also lost their children. She hopes to extend that same empathy through REACH. 

“The type of person that Brian was, just loved life,” says Debi. “He would not like it if I wallowed in the loss. To honor his memory, I decided I would just live my life so at the end I don’t need to hear for eternity ‘that’s the best you could do? Really ma, I’m so embarrassed!’ When Rich died, I wanted to honor his memory as well. When you think about it, nobody that dies would ever really want their loved ones to wallow. They want you to be happy and live a full life, because they didn’t always get a chance.” 

She hopes REACH reduces antisemitism and hate. “Hate is a learned behavior and taught at home,” says Debi. “I hope when students see the films about October 27th or meet people who were victims and survivors of something that horrific, they can see that Jews are just like everyone else. Rather than be afraid of someone who is different from you, get to know them. Diversity can be very rewarding; you don’t even have to necessarily understand completely or have any desire to change who you are, but they’re human beings just trying to get by in this world just like you are. For me to not like somebody for any particular reason other than lack of character, would probably just be denying myself getting to know somebody else who was different from me and learning about different things.” 

Howard Fienberg is son of Joyce Fienberg (z”l), one of the 11 Jews murdered in the antisemitic terrorist attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018. Howard grew up in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh and frequented Tree of Life (including Hebrew School and his bar mitzvah). He now lives in the greater Washington, DC area with his wife and daughter where they are members of Congregation Olam Tikvah. Howard is a lobbyist for the market research, analytics and insights industry, and codirector of a coalition supporting the census. He received his undergraduate degree from Trent University in Canada and MA from the University of Essex in the UK. 

Howard is passionately connected to his Judaism and the Jewish community, and he hopes to speak with audiences, from students to adults, about the central role that Jewishness played in the shooting. Through REACH engagements he shares “details about my mom and the aspects of Jewish life that brought all of the different people to be there on October 27th and that put themselves, unknowingly, in harm’s way. It wasn’t a coincidence that my mom was there. I knew she was going to be there because she was always there every morning, Shabbat or otherwise. And the reasons why, her practice and belief and her commitment to that community and the community in general, is not entirely different from everybody else that brought them there. That’s something that matters, and I think that’s worth shining more light on. It’s the human aspect. More than just human suffering, it’s about human things that matter, that carry on after someone’s gone.” 

Howard’s own relationship with his shul and his faith deepened after 10/27. Before, when he observed Shabbat or went to synagogue it often felt like a self-care ritual or social event. But now, he feels a more profound understanding of what he is reading, singing, and participating in. He feels proud to be an active member of Congregation Olam Tikvah, and hopes to educate non-Jewish audiences on the specifics of Judaism when learning about Oct. 27th.  
 

“What does it mean for the shooting to have happened on Shabbat?” he asks. “What is the significance? I think interacting with real people about these things puts an emotional and person-to-person feel on something that would otherwise be very abstract.” 

Howard also has experience speaking to synagogues and security professionals about the ways in which the Jewish world can practically respond to the shooting and antisemitism through infrastructure and hardening safety protocols. Through both speaking and logistical action, Howard hopes not just to respond to hate speech, but to “hateful action, and the antisemitism that motivates it.” 

Michele Rosenthal is the sister of Cecil and David Rosenthal. Her brothers, who were members of the Tree of Life Congregation, were brutally murdered on October 27, 2018.  

Michele’s family have been members of Tree of Life for generations. Michele went to Hebrew school, Sunday school, and made bat mitzvah in the synagogue. “I knew the ins and outs of that building since I was a kid,” says Michele.   

Through REACH she seeks to honor the memory of her brothers. “Cecil and David were full of kindness, love, and they didn’t judge. I think our world is lacking in those qualities tremendously, and Cecil and David exhibited them flawlessly.” Those who learn more about her brothers, Michele says, can help to spread their legacy through ongoing acts of caring. “It’s as simple as being kind to people every day,” she says. “It’s wonderful how it makes somebody feel just to get a compliment or a thank you or by calling somebody by their name. Kindness goes a long way. It goes much further than hate.”  

Family is a priority to Michele, and she hopes to share both the life her brothers led and the ways in which her parents raised their family. Both Cecil and David had developmental disabilities, and Michele’s parents were committed to raising them at home instead of within an institution.  “Since my brothers were two special needs individuals they might have been seen as within a group of people to hate because they were different. I want people to understand the people Cecil and David were and that they were far better than most of us in their everyday lives.” 

Michele combines her career in community relations with the Steelers and in Pennsylvanian politics with her lived experience to speak to professionals, politicians, and the general public about communicating after a mass violence event, particularly around centering the voices of the families and survivors. She remembers both how painful missteps in the wake of the shooting were and how much the Pittsburgh community’s support meant to her, and she hopes to guide others towards a victim-centered approach. 

Leigh is a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.  Her strong family roots, close-knit community and deep ties to her hometown led her to remain in Pittsburgh, where she earned her master’s degree in elementary education from Duquesne University.

Leigh spent 22 years teaching in the Pittsburgh Public School district plus an additional two years teaching at Community Day School in Squirrel Hill.

“The kids are our future!  It is important for them to understand how to combat hate and work together—to stand up for what’s right and lead with kindness,” says Leigh.  “That’s why REACH and speaking up are so important—to tell the story of that unfathomable day.”  From her very first day in the classroom, Leigh emphasizes kindness, good deeds, being a mensch and performing mitzvot. “Even the smallest acts matter,” she explains. “You don’t need money to make a difference. I encourage spreading kindness through notes and letters, painting rocks—simple things.  It’s like a kindness boomerang: when you put something good out into the world, it comes back to you!”

Through REACH panels and talks, Leigh hopes that students will return to their schools inspired to act. “I hope that the kids take what they’ve learned and create committees or organizations that make a difference—starting in their own schools and then expanding outward.”

Leigh joined REACH to share her story and to honor the remarkable person her father was. Leigh describes her dad as modest, warm-hearted and deeply committed to doing good and being with his family.  “He loved his family, his faith, sports, a good meal and a good deal,” Leigh says with a smile.

Leigh refers to her father as her “business partner,” as he was her trusted confidant when discussing the future, finances and her extensive fundraising efforts for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. She has been involved with the foundation for over 27 years and has traveled across the country to run half-marathons and marathons in places such as Hawaii, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Napa Valley and Chicago. “It always meant so much to have my parents there, cheering me on,” she reflects.

Having experienced firsthand the profound impact of support from other communities affected by gun violence, Leigh hopes that REACH can offer that same sense of connection and comfort to others. “The Parkland community showed up for us in an incredible way,” she says. “Having people you can turn to—people who truly understand and who will listen—makes all the difference. I hope that through REACH, we can be that source of support for others.”