Susie Sorkin has taken the words that God spoke to Abraham — “Lech lecha” (“go forth”) — to heart.
“I hear a similar call and believe strongly that what God wants is for us to make ourselves a blessing to the world — to make a positive difference,” she said. “I live my life, raise my family and commit to community with these goals and challenges in mind.”
Sorkin said that when she accepted the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Young Leadership on Thursday, June 15 at the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation’s annual meeting.
At 40, Sorkin, who lives in San Carlos, has already spent many years in service to the Jewish community, mostly in the Women’s Alliance of the North Peninsula division of JCF and the National Young Leadership Cabinet of the United Jewish Communities of North America (UJC).
Sorkin mentioned her parents as role models for her involvement. Growing up in Highland Park, a heavily Jewish Chicago suburb, “my parents were always very involved in the community,” she said.
Her father served as president of the federation there, while her mother was a board member and helped start its women’s division. They also were involved with Jewish Family and Children’s Services.
And her mother was the first to have a bat mitzvah at her synagogue.
Coming from Highland Park, when Sorkin first arrived at Stanford University, she thought everyone must be Jewish. But slowly, she realized that was not the case. She began attending Hillel events, where she met her husband.
They married soon after they graduated, and a few years later, Sorkin began thinking about getting involved with the Jewish community.
“Federation was something I grew up with in the family. It was the first place I looked to to get involved with, because it was what I was familiar with,” she said.
While her age made her a likely candidate to choose YAD, the Young Adults Division of JCF, she felt they were mostly single and living in the city. She was married and in the suburbs.
“So I called the North Peninsula Women’s Alliance, and they invited me to come to a meeting. They were shocked when I showed up.”
The fact that Sorkin was much younger than everyone in the room, and didn’t have children yet, meant she was at a different stage of life than the other volunteers. But that didn’t deter her.
She began with helping to plan an upcoming “Mitzvah Day,” and started doing programming for the alliance.
While Sorkin’s involvement as a volunteer grew, she also was interested in developing her spiritual and intellectual side. She participated in the two-year program for Jewish leaders sponsored by the Wexner Heritage Foundation, and her husband will soon join the program as well.
“I went to Jewish day school, and I got a very good, basic Jewish education,” she said. “But that’s nothing compared to what you can get into as an adult. Wexner really opened my eyes to the depth and breadth of Jewish education.”
So much so, that she is also serving as a volunteer at the Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School, which her two children attend.
Said Sorkin: “I stand here as another link in the chain which started with Abraham and Sarah. I work to make that chain stronger and to inspire others to do the same.”
The other JCF winners are Sandy Tandowsky, volunteer of the year; Michael Kamler of Congregation Rodef Sholom, agency staff person of the year; Donald Seiler, Sinton award for distinguished leader of the year; Maxine Epstein, JCF Marin regional director, JCF staff person of the rear; and Jewish Vocational Services’ Kohn summer intern program, program of the year.