Growing up Jewish 

Leah attended a Modern Orthodox Jewish Day School until middle school, and afterwards went to an all-girls school, where she found herself one of only three Jewish girls in her grade. She spent most of her summers at both the JCC day camp and then Emma Kaufman Camp, a Jewish overnight camp in West Virginia. Growing up surrounded by a large, close-knit family meant so much to Leah. She loved spending Jewish holidays and vacations with her cousins and relatives.  

How she landed in Baltimore 

After college, Leah wanted to experience life living in a big city and moved to New York. Not wanting to live where everyone else was, she rented an apartment in Chelsea – when many of her peers were moving to Murray Hill. 

Ironically, it turned out that her neighbors down the hall were two guys whom she had traveled abroad with to Australia. They had a third roommate, Jon Schulman, a Baltimore native and University of Michigan graduate. “I had met him once in college when he visited Indiana for a football game. We had tons of mutual friends and hung out all of the time. We quickly realized we were more than just friends.” The couple married in 2011 and moved to Baltimore in 2012. 

Getting involved in the Jewish community is in her DNA. 

Leah’s family is very involved within different Jewish organizations, and she has observed firsthand their leadership and devotion to the Jewish community.  

“I have had a lot of wonderful role models, including my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings – who not only participate in Jewish philanthropy, but also have leadership positions within various synagogues, Jewish Federation and JUF.”   

Leah feels strongly about volunteering and engaging philanthropically, “I believe in the idea of L’Dor V’Dor (from generation to generation) and hope to instill these same values in my own daughters.” 

Shortly after the pandemic ended, Leah applied to be part of The Associated’s Inspired Women’s Project (IWP). IWP is a 10-month program for women that explores Israel, Jewish learning and community service and includes a trip to Israel.  

October 7 changed her. 

When Leah first signed up for IWP pre-October 7th, she saw it as an opportunity to connect with her Jewish roots and develop as a Jewish woman. 

“It had been a while since I traveled to Israel, and I was excited about traveling with a group of women. It just felt like the right time. After October 7th, my goals changed somewhat. It was less about me and more about giving back. I developed this desire to be around people who felt the same way I did, and I wanted to participate in more meaningful experiences in the spirit of tikkun olam (repair the world). I also wanted to visit Israel to show my daughters how important my Jewish commitment and identity is to me.” 

What’s next on her Associated journey. 

“Being part of IWP opened my eyes to the many amazing programs The Associated offers  to help the Jewish community both locally and in Israel.  For me, though, after being in Israel and seeing some of the programs we fund – like the early childhood center in Ashkelon that helps young mothers dealing with PTSD and other challenges —I realized that I am passionate about supporting Israel and the people in our partner city of Ashkelon.” 

She sat next to superstar Sting on the New York subway once. 

“It was my last day living in New York City. I had just dropped off my cable box to Verizon and was returning home to my apartment when Sting got on the subway and sat next to me. I can’t remember what we talked about except that he had just finished moving his daughter into the NYU dorms.”  

For someone who doesn’t like to take risks… 

“People who know me, know I am scared of everything.  For example, I don’t like roller coasters, I don’t love flying. What they don’t know, and will be surprised to learn, is that when I studied abroad in Australia, I actually went skydiving over the Great Barrier Reef.”