After six years of supporting teen participants and adult staff of NFTY—The Reform Jewish Youth Movement, Rosie Kahan was awarded NFTY–Northeast’s highest honor: the Todd A. Markley Lifetime Membership Award. The award, given at the Regional Board’s discretion to exemplary adults in our community, recognizes the countless hours Rosie has dedicated to programs in the region, “serving with joy and humility, and greatly enriching the lives of our teens.”
“Receiving the Todd A. Markley Lifetime Membership Award was an incredible privilege, especially given that the other recipients are rabbis and other mentors of mine, including from when I was a high school student,” said Rosie (pictured, third from left). “The teen board members give this award, and to hear from them how impactful I had been on the teens and the community was a distinct honor of my life.”
From the time Rosie started at Marlboro, she volunteered during breaks to staff week-long retreats through NFTY-Northeast. Their programming takes place all over New England, with a home base in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, at URJ Eisner Camp. Rosie is currently serving as clergy administrator at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, Massachusetts, a Reform synagogue with a community of 950 families just outside of Boston.
“I’ve had the pleasure to work with hundreds of teens and dozens of adults, forming life-long friendships and relationships that have shaped the path of my career,” said Rosie. “Recently, my written communication was highlighted during a year-end review, and all I could think was ‘Thank goodness for Clear Writing!’ All of the writing courses that I took at Marlboro, which is really all of them, have provided me strong communication skills that I use constantly. Additionally, the time management skills I learned during Plan are things I’m grateful for daily.”
