Leah Ross of San Mateo, daughter of Sherry and Harvey Rowen of Danville, and Adam Felson of San Mateo, son of Claudia and Rick Felson of Castro Valley, have announced their engagement.

Leah is a special education teacher at Oak Grove High School in San Jose. Adam is a construction manager for Equity Office Properties in San Francisco.

The couple met on the East Bay federation’s 1996 summer Israel trip. They enjoyed the trip, but the large number of participants prevented the two from ever getting to know each other. They both happened to attend the University of Arizona and became friends. After hoping to find love somewhere among the 35,000 students at their school, they realized they were meant to be together all along. The couple admits that the persistent encouragement of their mothers, Claudia and Sherry, along with a family friend, Betsy Pottruck, were significant influences on why they are together today.

A July wedding is planned.