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Liesl M. Blockstein Memorial Lecture and Brunch

“Working Toward Criminal Justice Reform in Wisconsin”
featuring Carousel Bayrd, attorney and lobbyist

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Jewish Social Services is pleased to continue to co-sponsor, with Temple Beth El, the annual Liesl Blockstein Memorial Lecture. The event honors Liesl Blockstein, a woman who escaped from Hitler’s Austria in the 1930s and was a well-known force for justice and a leader in both the Jewish community and the wider community. The lecture always features a woman who embodies Liesel’s commitment to social justice and Jewish life. We are pleased to announce that this year’s lecture features Carousel Bayrd.

Carousel will talk about the different facets of the criminal justice system– from policing to the courts to incarceration– and how we can make changes in every area and address the root causes of racism within the systems. She will also talk about alternatives to incarceration and programs that are already working in Wisconsin that keep us safer and stop incarceration.

Like Liesl, Carousel serves on the Dane County Board of Supervisors. Since 2006, she has focused on criminal reform, racial justice, immigrant’s rights, mental health services, and alternatives to incarceration, along with housing and women’s rights.

Carousel is currently a partner at the law firm Herrick and Kasdorf where she focuses on landlord/ tenant law and employment and housing discrimination. She also taught Legal Research and Writing at UW Madison Law School.

Carousel grew up in Los Angeles and attended the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel. She lives in Madison with her husband Tim Sobota, and her two daughters Cassandra and Mari.

Liesl M. Blockstein Memorial Lecture and Brunch

Maha Mohamed, MD is the featured speaker at the 2018 Leisl Blockstein Lecture on Sunday, February 11, beginning at 9:45 am. Dr Mohamed’s presentation, The history of women in leadership: the past, present and future, will reflect on the current diversified background of humanity and past common geographic existence.

Dr. Mohamed earned her medical degree from the University of Khartoum School of Medicine, Sudan. She completed her residency at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital and Clinics, Cooperstown, NY, and completed her geriatrics fellowships at George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D.C.; Nephrology fellowship at University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD; and Transplant Nephrology fellowship at University of California San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, CA. Dr. Mohamed is board certified in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. Currently Dr. Mohamed is an assistant professor of Medicine at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and she is the Director of the Transplant Nephrology Fellowship Program.

The Leisl Blockstein annual lecture is a joint program of Temple Beth El and Jewish Social Services. Liesl M. Blockstein was a beloved member of the Beth El community and deeply involved in Jewish Social Services. Her husband, William L. Blockstein, also of blessed memory, established this lecture and scholarship fund to celebrate the achievements of Wisconsin women in politics, public service, religion, arts, literature, and music, as well as in other areas of endeavor. Beneficiaries of this fund also include Wisconsin residents (women) who are admitted to an accredited course of study at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in the rabbinate, the cantorate, Jewish education, and Jewish communal service.

There is no charge for the brunch.  However, we ask that if you plan on attending, that you register no later than
Wednesday, February 7, 2018.

Levy Summer Series – Cantor Sharon Brown-Levy

“Jews on Broadway and in Hollywood: Part II” – Cantor Sharon Brown-Levy

Love a great Broadway show or musical film?  Learn about the backgrounds and achievements of the Jewish talents who have dominated the stage and screen:  actors, singers, dancers, directors, producers, and composers. Featured actors include but are not limited to: Barbra Streisand, Yul Brynner; featured composers and lyricists include Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Lionel Bart, Bock and Harnick, Schonberg and Boublil, and the Gershwins. A multimedia presentation – Cantor Sharon is honored to be accompanied by pianist Ted Reinke and violinist Philip Tietze.

Before coming to Temple Beth El in Madison, Sharon served as Cantor at Congregation B’nai Israel of the Somerset Hills, in Basking Ridge, NJ. She had also served at Temple Emanu-El of West Essex, in Livingston, NJ and Temple Beth-El, in Saint Petersburg, FL for over 20 years. Cantor Brown-Levy is a member of both the American Conference of Cantors (Reform) and the Cantors Assembly (Conservative).