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January 7, 2005/Tevet 26 5765, Vol. 57, No. 19
Risa Mallin: devoted to community
PAULA SOBOL
Special to Jewish News
Risa Mallin knows the West.
She was born in Denver, as were her parents. Her fraternal grandfather delivered milk to the home of her maternal grandmother, so Western roots and Jewish life were a given in her thinking.
She graduated from the University of Denver and taught both public and religious school in the Mile-High City. In 1973, Risa married Bruce Mallin, whose family were longtime residents of Arizona, and in 1974 the couple and their oldest daughter, Mara, moved to Phoenix.
Having been active in Hadassah in Denver, it was natural for Risa to become active in the organization's Phoenix chapter, as well as with Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix. She also taught at the religious school of Beth El Congregation.
Through all of this, Bruce and Risa began their family, which necessitated learning a tight juggling act for both of them, but they mastered the art. Both Risa and Bruce believed that service to the community was compatible with everyday family life.
When daughters Hilary and Emily had their b'nai mitzvah, Risa was in charge of the Theodore Bikel Concert for the 40th Israel Independence celebration. When Avi, their fourth child, was 2 weeks old, Risa was in charge of the Purim carnival at the Jewish Community Center. Both Risa and Bruce believed that service to the community was compatible with everyday family life.
Other jobs that Risa has undertaken include director of the Jewish National Fund; developer of the Holocaust Commission of Phoenix, which became the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors' Association; and the chaplaincy of the Maricopa Medical Society's Auxiliary. In the '80s, she served as president of Hadassah for four years. In the most recent issue of Hadassah Magazine, Risa is cited as an expert on preserving memorabilia. In the '90s, Risa spent an equal amount of time as a fund-raiser for the Alzheimer's Association.
Then she saw an ad in the Jewish News for a part-time "assistant" for Beryl Morton, then director of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society. Risa was interested in the "part-time" aspect of the position and was hired on a three-day-a-week basis. That changed when Morton became ill and Risa succeeded her as executive director.
Risa also was instrumental in realizing the creation of the Cutler_Plotkin Heritage Center, the original Temple Beth Israel building on First and Culver streets in Phoenix, a historic site for both the city and the Jewish community.
Risa is passionate about the necessity for a historical society to become the chronicler and archive for the entire Jewish community and for all Jewish organizations to realize that the AJHS is a safe place to preserve their histories and memorabilia.
The AJHS was able to provide a critically acclaimed historical display for Hadassah when the organization held their national conference in Phoenix.
Risa explains that the AJHS has members with professional display and graphic arts abilities. Others are professional curators who present the history of our area with great impact and clarity, giving the Jewish presence in Arizona the importance it deserves, as well as a sense of the people in the past who have brought us to this moment in time. She wants people to remember devoted Jewish Pioneer Anna Solomon, who, in the 1880s, made sure that her six children all married Jews at a time when there were 48 Jews in the territory. She also notes Frieda Marks, who in 1912 worked for women's suffrage, and Carrie Lewkowitz, who saw to it that soldiers met Jewish girls at the USO parities of the '40s.
And she points out that those are only three people of thousands who added to the welfare of both the Jewish and non-Jewish populace not only in Phoenix but in the entire state.
So it was natural for Risa, Rabbi Barton Lee, Janet Arnold and Pam Levin to meet together and formulate the idea of celebrating the 350th Year of Jewish Settlement in North America. Their efforts resulted in a committee headed by Irwin Harris to plan the celebration under the auspices of the AJHS.
Risa believes that it is through understanding that Jewish life in Arizona can be appreciated, and that the 350th-anniversary events present important ways we can present both the history and contributions of the Jewish people to the community at large.
As part of her legacy to her children, Risa would give them the realization that they are a link in the chain of Jewish history. And that they need to know and remember parents and grandparents for their contributions to life in Arizona, as well as for their more personal familial involvements. She also believes that leaving a good name and an admirable life is part of being a light unto all nations.
There is no question, Risa Mallin's name will be well remembered.
Paula Sobol is a long-time Phoenix resident and a regular contributor to Jewish News with her "In Our Midst" column.
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