I sit down with  Miri Friedman, a mom, wife, and actuary to chat about her life and career. She shares how she knew she wanted to be an actuary, and how working through the actuary exams has changed her perspective on failure. We also discuss how her life was upended by a still birth and the organization she founded in her daughter’s memory, Kesser Menucha. Miri Friedman is @mom.wife.actuary. The account was created to share the struggles and successes in a seemingly unknown corporate career path while also balancing a family. Miri currently works remote as an actuary and simultaneously takes intense actuarial exams to further her actuarial accreditation. She also started Kesser Menucha - a nonprofit to support families in the Baltimore community - with her husband in memory of their daughter. @mom.wife.actuary @kesermenucha kessermenucha.org Click here to join the Impact Fashion Whatsapp Status Click here to see my collection of dresses.  Click here to get the Secrets Your Tailor Won't Tell You Click here to see my maternity friendly pieces.      To hear more episodes, subscribe and head over to Impactfashionnyc.com/blog/podcast. Be Impactful is presented by Impact Fashion, your destination for all things size inclusive modest fashion     

Life, Work and Loss with Miri Friedman

Hi, I'm Rivky Itzkowitz I’m the founder and designer at Impact Fashion and I’m the host here at Be Impactful, the show about women making an Impact in their own corners of the world. I started Impact Fashion in November of 2016 so that the modest minded women in my community could feel empowered to put their best foot forward every day, regardless of their size. In the process of growing my business I’ve been fortunate enough to connect with women of all different types and from all different fields. And the main lesson I’ve learnt is that we are all just improvising. We’re going around doing the best we can with what we’ve got, feeling self conscious about what everyone else is accomplishing. The truth is, the people who you’re looking over your shoulder at are probably doing the exact same thing to someone else.
So let’s talk about the real nitty gritty in our lives and journeys and lift each other up by being just a bit more open. Join me and my guests as we try to figure out what it means to Be Impactful.

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Rivky sits down with Nechama Birnabum, an author and fellow granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, to discuss her grandmother’s story. She shares why she saw her grandmother Rosie as a perfect character, why she felt it was important to tell the good parts of Rosie’s holocaust story, and the importance of centering a Jewish girl who saves herself.  The Redhead of Auschwitz on Amazon @theredheadofauschwitz Click here to see the Impact Fashion collection of dresses. Click here to get an Impact Fashion Gift Card Click here to get the Am Yisrael Chai crewneck. Click here to join the Impact Fashion Whatsapp Status  Click here to take a short survey about this podcast and get a 10% off coupon code as my thanks 

Intergenerational Resilience with Nechama Birnbaum (2023)

Rivky continues the conversation with Yaf Newman, Tali Wohlgelernte, and Anonymous, 3 women whose husbands are currently serving in the IDF. We discuss the financial side of living in a country at war, what they want those of us outside of Israel to understand, navigating mothering with a father on the front lines and what their own quiet moments after everyone’s asleep look like. Tali grew up in Chicago and made aliyah in 2010. She lives in Givat Shmuel with her husband and 4 daughters.  Tali and her husband serve as the directors of Mizrachi OU-JLIC in Givat Shmuel and Bar Ilan. Tali is also a professional makeup artist and kallah teacher and loves empowering women in both these areas! Yaffy Newman is a current and past army wife who hails from Hollywood, FL. She has been living in Israel for the last almost decade with her Israeli husband and sabra baby. When they arent separated due to Miluim she works with her husband for Mizrachi-OU JLIC Givat Shmuel & Bar Ilan.      Click here to see the Impact Fashion collection of dresses. Click here to get an Impact Fashion Gift Card Click here to get the Am Yisrael Chai crewneck. Click here to join the Impact Fashion Whatsapp Status  Click here to take a short survey about this podcast and get a 10% off coupon code as my thanks 

"I didn't ask to be strong" The IDF Wives Panel with Yaf Newman, Tali Wohlgelernte, and Anonymous Part 2

Rivky sits down with Yaf Newman, Tali Wohlgelernte, and Anonymous, 3 women whose husbands are currently serving in the IDF. They share what the first days of the war were like, the mental health aspect of having a husband at war, what it’s like to reintegrate a husband temporarily into a family into that functions totally differently and some misconceptions about how to help out the IDF wives. Tali grew up in Chicago and made aliyah in 2010. She lives in Givat Shmuel with her husband and 4 daughters.  Tali and her husband serve as the directors of Mizrachi OU-JLIC in Givat Shmuel and Bar Ilan. Tali is also a professional makeup artist and kallah teacher and loves empowering women in both these areas! Yaffy Newman is a current and past army wife who hails from Hollywood, FL. She has been living in Israel for the last almost decade with her Israeli husband and sabra baby. When they arent separated due to Miluim she works with her husband for Mizrachi-OU JLIC Givat Shmuel & Bar Ilan.  Click here to see the Pop Up Tour Schedule      Click here to see the Impact Fashion collection of dresses. Click here to get an Impact Fashion Gift Card Click here to get the Am Yisrael Chai crewneck. Click here to join the Impact Fashion Whatsapp Status  Click here to take a short survey about this podcast and get a 10% off coupon code as my thanks 

"I didn't ask to be strong" The IDF Wives Panel with Yaf Newman, Tali Wohlgelernte, and Anonymous Part 1

My brother in law is in urgent need of a kidney donor. To learn more about kidney donation or to see if you are a match, email R25992@renewal.org or call 718-431-9831 Ext. 209 Rivky talks with kidney donor Aviva Breda about the journey she took towards donating a part of her body to a stranger, she shares the common misconceptions around the backup kidney and what was going through her head the morning of her surgery. Aviva Breda is a 38 year old mother of three. She lives in Teaneck NJ where she runs her own business, Aviva Breda Consulting, specializing in personal shopping  and style consulting. When not working or busy with her family, Aviva spends her time  reading, taking barre classes, and speaking about the importance of kidney donation awareness. To learn more about Aviva and her story check her out on Instagram  @avivabreda or email her at avivabreda@gmail.com   Click here to see the Impact Fashion collection of dresses. Click here to get an Impact Fashion Gift Card Click here to get the Am Yisrael Chai crewneck. Click here to join the Impact Fashion Whatsapp Status  Click here to take a short survey about this podcast and get a 10% off coupon code as my thanks 

My Brother in Law Needs a Kidney/A Piece of Me with Aviva Breda (2020)

For this International Agunah Day, Rivky revisits her conversation with Nechama Wasserman, a woman who has been trying to get a Jewish divorce for over 9 years. She shares her first impressions of her husband David when they were dating, what happened when she told him she was leaving, the support he’s been receiving from his family for the past 9 years and why she believes David needs mental health support and is not acting out of malice. Nechama Wasserman is a mom to 3 beautiful children and is currently an agunah, a woman chained to a dead marriage, because her husband refuses to give her a get. Click here to see the petition. Sign it and share.  @questioningtheanswers on instagram           Click here to see the Impact Fashion collection of dresses. Click here to get an Impact Fashion Gift Card Click here to get the Am Yisrael Chai crewneck. Click here to join the Impact Fashion Whatsapp Status  Click here to take a short survey about this podcast and get a 10% off coupon code as my thanks 

Life, Work and Loss with Miri Friedman

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