![Profile of person sitting at a microphone.](/sites/default/files/styles/small/public/2022-09/interview_with_gradient.jpg?itok=40-TjAYy)
Oral History Cards
![headshot photograph of Rabbi Elisar Admon](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Copy%20of%20Rabbi%20Elisar%20Admon.jpeg?itok=v1GZ03dE)
Rabbi Elisar Admon
Rabbi Elisar Admon was a teacher at the Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh and a member of the Gesher Chaim Shel Emes chevra kadisha (burial society) at the time of the October 27 attack.
![headshot photograph of Meryl Ainsman](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Copy%20of%20Meryl%20Ainsman.jpeg?itok=RBwxYl8n)
Meryl Ainsman
Meryl Kirshner Ainsman (b. 1954) was chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh board of directors at the time of the October 27 attack.
![headshot photograph of Leslie Aizenman](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/crop%20of%20Leslie%20Aizenman%20copy.jpg?itok=aWAMoxw9)
Leslie Aizenman
Leslie Aizenman was director of refugee services at JFCS-Pittsburgh, also known as Jewish Family and Community Services, at the time of the October 27, 2018 attack.
![Flowers (1)](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Copy%20of%20Lauren%20Bairnsfather_1.jpg?itok=OCi88w-n)
Lauren Bairnsfather
Lauren Apter Bairnsfather, Ph.D. is the director at the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh.
![headshot photograph of Liddy Barlow](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Copy%20of%20Liddy%20Barlow.jpg?itok=hcIOcKSJ)
Liddy Barlow
Rev. Liddy Barlow was the executive minister of Christian Associates of Southwestern Pennsylvania and a pastor in the United Church of Christ at the time of the October 27 attack.
![Carol Black portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-03/Carol%20Black%20portrait.jpeg?itok=y5iixWr7)
Carol Black
Carol Black is a member of New Light Congregation, a survivor of the October 27 attack, and a sister of Richard Gottfried, who was one of the 11 people killed in the attack.
![headshot photograph of Kathy Blee.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Copy%20of%20Kathy%20Blee.jpg?itok=Qm_-ZzRY)
Kathleen Blee
Kathleen Blee is the Bettye J. and Ralph E. Bailey Dean in the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh and a member of Congregation Dor Hadash.
![headshot photograph of Zack Block](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Copy%20of%20Zack%20Block_0.jpg?itok=3pHLgJkC)
Zack Block
Zack Block was executive director of Repair the World Pittsburgh at the time of the October 27 attack.
![headshot photograph of Shawn Brokos.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Copy%20of%20Shawn%20Brokos.jpg?itok=Q97u369U)
Shawn Brokos
Shawn Brokos is the Director of Jewish Community Security at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and was a Crisis Management Coordinator at Federal Bureau of Investigations Pittsburgh’s field office during the October 27 attack.
![headshot photograph of Victoria Butch](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Copy%20of%20Victoria%20Butch.jpg?itok=4WCZX3b5)
Victoria Butch
Victoria Butch is a Community Resource Officer for Pittsburgh Police Department Zone 4 and was one of the first responders at the October 27 attack.
![headshot photograph of Nina Butler](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Copy%20of%20Nina%20Butler_0.jpeg?itok=FwRTyQ4g)
Nina Butler
Nina Butler is an educator who is active in several Jewish community organizations called upon to address local needs in the immediate aftermath of the October 27 attack.
![Darryl Canady portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-11/Canady_Darryl_portrait_cropped.jpg?itok=dEzqA1Qj)
Darryl Canady
Rev. Dr. Darryl Canady is the senior pastor of Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church, a predominantly Black church in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
![headshot photograph of Walter Caplan](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Wally%20Caplan.jpeg?itok=IP_qw_R5)
Walter Caplan
Walter Daniel “Wally” Caplan was raised in Jeannette, PA. in Westmoreland County and has lived most of his life in Greenberg, PA. aside from his college years at Penn State University.
![headshot photograph of Rosalind Chow](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Rosalind%20Chow.jpg?itok=XL5llLn6)
Rosalind Chow
Rosalind Chow is a professor of Organizational Behavior at Carnegie Mellon University and was director of its Executive Leadership Academy at the time of the October 27 attack.
![Anna Coufal headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Anna%20Coufal_0.jpg?itok=ImZyMeJa)
Anna Coufal
Anna Coufal is a lifelong member of Congregation Dor Hadash and was a teacher in the Dor Hadash Religious School at the time of the October 27 attack.
![headshot photograph of Tim Crossen](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Tim%20Crossen%20copy.jpg?itok=YR0cI-Ks)
Tim Crossen
Tim Crosson is a religion teacher at Serra Catholic High School in McKeesport, PA and a participant in the Catholic-Jewish Education Enrichment Program in Western Pennsylvania.
![Dahal_Upendra_cropped](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-08/Dahal_Upendra_cropped.jpg?itok=fJ-NTaVh)
Upendra Dahal
Upendra Dahal is a political refugee from Bhutan and was project director for the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh at the time of the October 27 attack.
![Del_Duca_Gemma_2.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-08/Del_Duca_Gemma_2.jpg?itok=A-Xsi8nw)
Gemma Del Duca (1)
Sister Gemma Del Duca is founder of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education and was a Sister of Charity at Seton HIll University at the time of the October 27 attack.
![Del_Duca_Gemma_2.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-08/Del_Duca_Gemma_2.jpg?itok=A-Xsi8nw)
Gemma Del Duca (2)
Sister Gemma Del Duca is founder of the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education and was a Sister of Charity at Seton HIll University at the time of the October 27 attack.
![Lee Dingus portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-03/Lee%20Dingus%201%20.jpg?itok=0io_Irei)
Lenora Dingus
Lenora “Lee” Dingus is an artist based in Western Pennsylvania, an advocate for Native American affairs, and co-founder of the cultural resource “Echoes of the Four Directions.”
![Dugan_Hershey_cropped](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-08/Dugan_Hershey_cropped.jpg?itok=RrPvisSs)
Hershey Dugan
Harry “Hershey” Dugan is a businessman with experience in various fields, including sales, small businesses, real estate, and the law. He is a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh.
![Rabbi Doris Dyen portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-03/Rabbi%20Doris%20Dyen%20portrait.png?itok=Jl54Y8Qy)
Rabbi Doris Dyen
Rabbi Doris Dyen is a rabbi and chaplain, a member of Congregation Dor Hadash, and spiritual leader of the independent havurah (prayer group) Makom HaLev. She was one of the people on the grounds of the Tree of Life synagogue at the time of the October 27 attack.
![Fleisher_Kathryn.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-08/Fleisher_Kathryn.jpg?itok=wbRSTfKc)
Kathryn Fleisher
Kathryn Fleisher is executive director of the non-profit Not My Generation, which she founded as a University of Pittsburgh student in response to the October 27 attack.
![Charlene Foggie-Barnett portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-03/Charlene%20Foggie-Barnett%20portrait.jpeg?itok=Ay0NfR6A)
Charlene Foggie-Barnett
Charlene Foggie-Barnett is community archivist for the Teenie Harris Archive at the Carnegie Museum of Art and daughter of a prominent Civil Rights family in Pittsburgh.
![Ira Frank portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-03/Ira%20Frank%20portrait.jpg?itok=Eedg2hmr)
Ira Frank
Ira Frank is the owner of a family business selling linens to institutional customers and a communal worker active in many Jewish organizations throughout Pittsburgh.
![Martin Gaynor portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-03/Martin%20Gaynor%20portrait.jpg?itok=GO7VbhU3)
Marty Gaynor
Martin S. “Marty” Gaynor is the E. J. Barone University Professor Of Economics And Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and a survivor of the October 27 attack.
![Gilliam_Josiah_cropped](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-08/Gilliam_Josiah_cropped.jpeg?itok=kU8CyC1h)
Josiah Gilliam
Josiah Gilliam is a Special Initiatives Coordinator for the City of Pittsburgh.
Gilliam previously served as the coordinator of My Brother's Keeper. He was also a program manager for My Brother's Keeper through his role at the Homewood Children's Village, where he served as the web and digital communications manager and special assistant to the CEO.
![Audrey Glickman portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-05/Glickman_Audrey_cropped.jpeg?itok=jfHbMA9O)
Audrey Glickman
Audrey Glickman is a member of Tree of Life Congregation and survivor of the October 27 attack.
![Cindy Goodman-Leib](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-08/Goodman-Leib_Cindy.jpg?itok=QWq_LBTG)
Cindy Goodman-Leib
Cindy Goodman-Leib was the executive director of the Jewish Assistance Fund and chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Pittsburgh at the time of the October 27 attack.
![Keren Gorban portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-02/Keren%20Gorban%20portrait.jpg?itok=EQFcvgxs)
Rabbi Keren Gorban
Rabbi Keren Gorban was Associate Rabbi of Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh at the time of the October 27 attack and led a “Honeymoon Israel” trip in the weeks after the attack.
![Clara Gourley](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-08/Gourley_Clara.jpg?itok=X-TpfI3S)
Clara Gourley
Clara Joy Gourley was a student at Redbank Valley High School in New Bethlehem, Pa. at the time of the October 27 attack and had recently taken an elective course on the Holocaust.
![Rabbi Amy Greenbaum portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-02/Rabbi%20Amy%20Greenbaum%20portrait.jpeg?itok=f-Ukyjmt)
Rabbi Amy Greenbaum
Rabbi Amy Greenbaum was associate rabbi and education director at Beth El Congregation of the South Hills in suburban Pittsburgh at the time of the October 27 attack.
![Merris Groff portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-02/Merris%20Groff%20portrait.jpeg?itok=R8GdZPMY)
Merris Groff
Merris Groff was a Jewish community worker at the time of the October 27 attack.
Groff grew up in a large family in Tiberias, Israel. In her oral history, she describes her upbringing as secular but infused with the culture and traditions of Jewish life, including keeping a kosher home and regularly attending synagogue. She came to Pittsburgh in 1990 when her husband started a residency program in the city.
![Natalie Hall portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-03/Natalie%20Hall%20portrait.jpg?itok=lj0RpFbx)
Natalie Hall
Reverend Natalie Hall is Canon for Faith Formation and Evangelism with the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Natalie Hall was ordained a Lutheran pastor in September 2009 after receiving a dual Masters degrees in Systematic Theology and Divinity from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, MN. Upon graduating from seminary, she was assigned to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of Pittsburgh, where she has served two congregations. At the time of her interview, she resided in Edgewood with her husband and three children.
![Marlene Haus](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-08/Haus_Marlene.jpg?itok=d2_jCu65)
Marlene Haus
Marlene Haus is a longtime member of Tree of Life Congregation and, at the time of the October 27 attack, had been one of the regular “Morning Minyanaires” who attend the daily prayer service each morning, as well as on the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays.
Dan Leger
Dan Leger is a nurse, chaplain, and survivor of the October 27 attack.
Leger received his nursing degree from the Community College of Allegheny County. He worked at the Children’s Institute as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and was later a Pediatric Nurse at the Neurosurgical Department of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Later in his career, he became a hospital chaplain.
![Alan Mallinger portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-03/Alan%20Mallinger%20portrait.png?itok=gh3UYKad)
Alan Mallinger
Alan Mallinger is a son of Rose Mallinger, who was killed in the October 27 attack, a brother of Andrea Wedner, who was injured in the attack, and a member of Tree of Life Congregation.
![Rabbi Jeremy Markiz portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/Jeremy%20Markiz%20headshot%20-%20Jeremy%20Markiz.jpeg?itok=Rz1CXPE-)
Rabbi Jeremy Markiz
Rabbi Jermey Markiz was a spiritual leader at Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill and was celebrating his wedding in Los Angeles at the time of the October 27 attack.
![Rabbi Jeffrey Myers portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-05/Myers_Rabbi_Jeffrey_cropped.jpg?itok=kX3Voejq)
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers
Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers is spiritual leader of Tree of Life Congregation and a survivor of the October 27 attack.
![Augie Siriano portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-01/MO27_SIRIANO_A_20210808_PHOTO.jpeg?itok=pmfzkl-_)
Augie Siriano
August “Augie” Siriano is a life-long resident of the Pittsburgh area. He is the longtime custodian at Tree of Life Congregation and a survivor of the October 27 attack.
![Andrea Wedner portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-02/Andrea%20Wedner%20portrait.jpg?itok=7MqhuA7n)
Andrea Wedner
Andrea Wedner is a lifelong member of Tree of Life Congregation, a survivor of the October 27 attack, and the daughter of Rose Mallinger, who was killed in the attack.
![Steve Weiss portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-03/Steve%20Weiss%20portrait.jpeg?itok=jv-CMMUM)
Steve Weiss
Steve Weiss was the ritual director at Tree of Life and a science teacher in Pittsburgh Public Schools at the time of the October 27 attack.
Barry Werber
Barry Werber is a member of New Light Congregation and survivor of the October 27 attack.