Please join Bonai Shalom for a unique First Friday with Charna Rosenholtz and Karen Zeid. Karen, the mother of a transgender child and a child with autism, will talk about her family’s journey of integrating into the community.  Charna, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a cab accident, will discuss the challenges of having an invisible disability. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Alan Megibow, MD, a child psychiatrist, and will explore ways in which the Jewish community can enhance inclusion of individuals with special needs.

Charna Rosenholtz, MA, has a degree in Religious Studies from Naropa University, and maggidic smichah from Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Reb Tirzah Firestone.  Charna’s background in healing arts and psycho-spiritual growth came to an abrupt halt in 2005 when she sustained a traumatic brain injury in a cab accident. She has spent the last thirteen years healing and learning the lessons from this crash course! Charna currently teaches middle-schoolers and adults along the Front Range.

Karen Zeid and her husband Nigel adopted two children from China, switched careers, and moved to Boulder within the first four years of marriage! Their older child, 16-year-old Olivia, has autism. Tyler, who is 13 and a recent bar mitzvah, is transgender. Karen has become an active advocate for children who don’t fit in to society’s norms and has served on numerous BVSD parent committees, the advisory council of Boulder County Early Childhood Council, and the board of the Association for Community Living.

Friday, February 1, 2019, at Congregation Bonai Shalom, 1527 Cherryvale Rd. Boulder, CO 80303. Services at 6 pm, Dinner at 7:15 pm & talk around 8 pm. BYOB Kosher wine or beer.  Dinner is $18 per member, $21 per non-member. $54 max per family. Please RSVP by 1/31 at bonaishalom.org  or by calling the office at 303-442-6605.