Olympian Aly Raisman To Speak At Hannah Senesh Community Day School In Carroll Gardens

Hannah Senesh Community Day School at 342 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens will resume its Steinhardt Speaker Series on Tuesday, October 24th at 7:30 pm, by featuring Aly Raisman.

Raisman, a two-time Olympian and six-time medalist, will be speaking about t"he drivers of her success, the challenges of growing up as an elite gymnast, and the values that have fueled her gymnastics career and her advocacy work around positive self-image."

The conversation will be moderated by Virginia Heffernan, a Brooklyn journalist and Senesh parent.
Tickets are $36 per person and can be bought here.

From Hannah Senesh:
Aly Raisman is a two-time captain of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics gold medal-winning Olympic teams in 2012 and 2016. She is the second-most-decorated American female gymnast in the history of the sport, having earned six total medals during her Olympic career.

A Massachusetts native, born in 1994, Raisman discovered gymnastics not long after she began walking. In an interview with USA Gymnastics, she said, "I was two years old when my mom put me in mommy and me classes. I always had a lot of energy so it was the perfect fit!" The oldest of four children, Raisman is the daughter of two athletic parents. Her mother was a gymnast in high school and her father played hockey.

She quickly became a strong competitor, winning the gold in the vault event at the 2009 American Classic and in the all-around category at the 2011 CoverGirl Classic. Raisman also helped the U.S. gymnastics team win the 2011 World Championships. The following year, she won two gold medals—one in the gymnastics team competition and the other in the individual floor exercise—and a bronze medal for the beam at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In 2016, Raisman returned to the Olympics in Rio, winning silver medals in the women's individual all-around final and floor exercise and a gold medal in the women's gymnastics team competition.

It is bound to be an interesting conversation. Tickets will go fast, so don't wait to buy yours now.

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An Inspiring Evening With Gloria Steinem At Hannah Senesh Community School In Carroll Gardens

Gloria Steinem and moderator Virginia Heffernan at Hannah Senesh

(photo courtesy of Hannah Senesh)

When Carroll Garden's Hannah Senesh Community Day School announced the inaugural guest of its new Steinhardt Speaker Series a few weeks ago, tickets were sold out almost immediately. No surprise! The speaker was Gloria Steinem, writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer.

This past Monday, March 27th in Senesh's auditorium, Gloria Steinem spoke on a variety of topics that included her Jewish heritage, the women who inspired and mentored her, and the importance of staying involved to bring about a more equal and just society.
Her casual conversation with moderator Virginia Heffernan was an absolute delight.

Steinem is inspiring, dynamic, and very funny. She credits her mother, a journalist, and her Suffragette paternal grand-mother, Pauline Perlmutter Steinem,. for paving the way to her becoming a feminist and reporter herself.
She also spoke of the influence early feminist like Bella Abzug and Esther M. Broner had on her early on. "I was lucky enough to be included in their circle," she told the audience.

Regarding the current political climate in this country, Steinem sees hopeful signs in many movements coming together in opposition to the Trump presidency. "I have never seen such energy in all my life. And it is not going away, she said."What we are seeing is a majority response to a perfect storm." She referred to the Women's March on the day after the inauguration in January "the biggest march in history and unabashedly feminist."

Asked by Virginia Heffernan to give one piece of advice, Steinem said without hesitation: "Don't listen to me. Every one of us can be effective in ways no one else can be effective. Listen to your own knowledge."

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