Olga Abezgauz

Born in Chelyabinsk, Russia, Olga (Shalman) Abezgauz immigrated to the U.S. right after the fall of the Soviet Union when she was 10 years old, but it was her Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel that spurred her into becoming a leader in Chicago's Russian Jewish and young adult communities.

After Birthright, Olga took on leadership roles at her college Hillel and went on to become a lay leader for Russian Hillel cross-campus programming. She helped form JUF's Russian Jewish Leadership Forum where she served as vice-chair, served on JUF's YLD Board in 2009 and currently sits on the JUF's Russian Jewish Division's (RJD) Advisory Board.

RJD Director Genia Kovelman nominated Olga and said her goals are to explore her Jewish identity while absorbing American culture and maintaining her Russian heritage. "Through this process, she hopes to create opportunities for other Jews to do the same and share their experiences."

Olga's experiences have given her a serious travel bug; she loves to immerse herself in different cultures and languages all over the world.

Name:
Olga Abezgauz

Age:
31

Pays the bills:
Healthcare Recruiter

Relationship status:
Taken (married)

Celebrity doppelganger:
Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones

How do you Jew in Chicago?
I express and discover my Jewishness in many ways, anywhere from homemade chicken soup to current volunteer work on the board of Russian Jewish Division. I have held many leadership volunteer roles through Hillel, YLD and RJD.

Passions:
I am truly committed to growing our community, providing meaningful Jewish experience for people, and gaining deeper Jewish understanding for myself.

How do you give back?
I volunteer my time to create and implement new projects and donate hard-earned dollars.

Fill in the blank: If time and money were limitless, I would:
Travel the world, learn multiple languages, and work on a project where I can impact people on an individual level. One of my ideas is to create free service for cancer patients to help them and their families with basics errands as they are going through treatment cycles.

Chicago's Jewish community in 10 years:
Our community is growing stronger, more people feel proud to be part of this community and we continue setting examples for the Jewish communities around the world through collective projects, strategies and efficiencies.

Me in 10 years:
Happily married with two kids and a dog. I am halfway there today. Being Jewish and doing Jewish things as a family.