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Miriam Waltzer, a retired judge who had spent her career working to improve the lives of others, found it difficult to be on the receiving end as a refugee in need of aid.

Roselle Ungar used new technologies to keep her scattered community together during the evacuation, and her wry humor to keep herself sane despite the upheaval.

Sara Stone was ninety years old at the time of Hurricane Katrina, and her experience of the storm was tempered by a lifetime of helping the city weather hard times.

Donna Sternberg, who had helped found the first local Federation in Baton Rouge after the Six Day War, used her fundraising experience to quickly mobilize national aid efforts to save her community after Hurricane Katrina.

As director of New Orleans’s Parks and Parkways Department, Florence Shornstein mobilized the community to replant the lush greenery that helped define the city.

An education reformer who helped spearhead preschool programs for NCJW and United Way, Schenk focused her attention after Katrina on rebuilding schools.

When leadership squabbles threatened to shut down her synagogue after Katrina, Lonnie Zarum Schaffer stepped up and turned the disaster into an opportunity for change and growth.

Bluma Rivkin’s experiences of the devastation of Katrina and the struggles to rebuild were profoundly shaped by her humor, her compassion, and her work as a shlucha (Chabad emissary).

A fifth-generation New Orleans native, Julie Wise Oreck struggled to accept her community scattering in the wake of Katrina.

Having fought for decades to preserve the architecture of New Orleans, Sandy Levy was uniquely suited to help the city rebuild after the storm.

As a folklorist, Susan Levitas had a special appreciation for the unique beauty of New Orleans culture.

As president of Touro Synagogue, Ruth Kullman focused on keeping her community together after Katrina.

A Danish immigrant, Lis Kahn lost many of her keepsakes from her first life in the storm.

A third-generation New Orleans native and the first female president of Congregation Beth Israel, Jackie Gothard worked tirelessly to restore the synagogue and bring the community back together.

As executive director of the Jewish Family Service, Deena Gerber helped survivors navigate New Orleans’s shattered infrastructure and access social services after the storm.

A high school freshman, Sally Bronston had to grow up fast, taking on new responsibilities for her family and community.

Having just given birth days before the storm, Lainie Breaux was focused on the needs of her new baby in the chaos of evacuation.

Frustrated with Jewish organizations that geared their offerings for women’s involvement around the interests and schedules of stay-at-home mothers, Carol Wise forged a more welcoming place for professional women in the Jewish community.

As assistant executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, Roselle Ungar helped evacuees maintain community and find aid from basic necessities to scholarships for children.

Sara Stone helped New Orleans weather hard times from the Great Depression through Hurricane Katrina.

A passionate supporter of Israel with decades of experience in fundraising for others, Donna Sternberg helped raise almost half a million dollars in aid to help her own community recover from Hurricane Katrina.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Lonnie Zarum Schaffer stepped up to lead her struggling Modern Orthodox synagogue, Anshe Sfard, rebuild themselves even better than before.

Accustomed as a shlucha (Chabad emissary) to helping those in her community, Bluma Rivkin went into action after Hurricane Katrina, first with the pressing concerns of finding housing and aid for evacuees, then with the larger task of rebuilding the community.

Both before Hurricane Katrina and during the long process of rebuilding New Orleans, Julie Wise Oreck has struck a balance between leading national Jewish institutions and focusing on organizations closer to home.

Sandy Levy’s lifetime of experience in New Orleans as a fundraiser and a preservationist made her uniquely suited to help survivors of Katrina rebuild their lives and their homes.