By: Bayla Sheva Brenner
“NCSY changed my life,” asserts Judy Rieser. Tonight’s new inductee discovered NCSY soon after the launching of the West Hartford, CT chapter. Completely smitten, Rieser, who grew up in Bloomfield, CT, attended every chapter and regional. By her senior year, she won vice presidency of her regional board and graduated high school fully shomer Shabbat.
Her love for Judaism, the Jewish people, Eretz Yisroel, as well as her creative and intellectual talents were off and running. After a year of Torah study in Israel, she worked as an advisor for New England region while earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Dramatic Literature, History of the Theatre, and Cinema Studies, with a minor in Hebrew and Judaic Studies. She went on to further her prized Jewish studies at Nishmat: The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. Reiser also attained a Master of Arts in Educational Theatre at NYU.
Her treasured NCSY roots remain strong and vibrant. As Special Projects Coordinator at Touro College’s Lander College for Women/The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School, Rieser gives back to the program that forever changed her life by encouraging students to work as members of NCSY regions, facilitating NCSY/college event sponsorships on the regional and national levels. She lives in New York with her husband, Elan, and their sons, Meishar Shimon, Atir Zerach and Gilad Yehuda.