This was a banner year for me, professionally. I received such generous support and was able to accomplish so much: I wrote three chapters, presented a paper at a major conference, conducted six oral history interviews, and did extensive archival research in New York and Cincinnati. Thank you to those who saw potential in my dissertation in 2015 and provided me with funding, resources, and time:

Department of History, Carnegie Mellon University

A.W. Mellon Foundation, Sawyer Seminar on "The Ghetto: Concept, Conditions, and Connections in Transnational Historical Perspective, from the 11th Century to the Present," particularly Profs. Wendy Z. Goldman and Joe William Trotter, Jr. who granted me one of the Seminar's pre-doctoral fellowships

Graduate Student Association, Carnegie Mellon University

American Academy for Jewish Research

The Jacob Rader Marcus Center, American Jewish Archives

Feinstein Center for American Jewish History, Temple University

Association for Jewish Studies and Knapp Family Foundation

My dissertation committee, Profs. Caroline Acker, Rachel Kranson, and Joe Trotter

I also had the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant again this fall, and it was a badly-needed reminder that teaching (if not grading) is deeply fulfilling work.

In 2016, I hope to continue building on the growth I made this year. My goals are to write at least three more chapters, earn a dissertation completion fellowship, send an article to a journal for review, and present at another conference. Ambitious objectives, but ones that I believe are realistic and achievable.

Happy New Year!