In reply to by Esther Ann Asch

Esther-Ann AschÌ¢‰â‰۝Thank you so much for posting, but youÌ¢‰â‰ã¢re being entirely too modest!

Esther made headlines when she was just a three-month-old baby. Her mother, a New York City school teacher, adopted Esther and applied to the Board of Education for maternity leave. Up until that time, it was unheard of for an adoptive mother to take maternity leave.

The case went to court where EstherÌ¢‰â‰ã¢s mom argued that she should have the same rights as any other new mother. The law was eventually changed, and EstherÌ¢‰â‰ã¢s mom was granted maternity leave.

Thirty-eight years later, Esther was elected to the board of Louise Wise Services, then the preeminent Jewish adoption agency in the countryÌ¢‰â‰۝the same one which handled her own adoption. She has led a life committed to Jewish and womenÌ¢‰â‰ã¢s causes. She has served as Westchester Area Chair of the New Leadership Division of UJA-Federation of New York and the chair of the organizationÌ¢‰â‰ã¢s Jewish womenÌ¢‰â‰ã¢s task force. Since 1982, she has been Vice President of Community and Foundation relations at FEGS Health and Human Services.

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