Michelle Kahn
Michelle Kahn Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Michelle Kahn has been involved with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation for nearly 15 years. She attributes her involvement and commitment to Tzedakah to her late parents, Dr. Guinter Kahn z”l and Carol Kahn z”l. “Both my parents were very philanthropic, although they expressed their giving in different ways. My father supported big projects and programs. My mother was more grassroots and very hands-on.” Dr. Guinter Kahn was born near Trier, Germany. In 1938, he and his family fled from the Nazis and settled in Omaha, Nebraska. Guinter graduated from Omaha University in 1954 and its medical school in 1958, where he later received an honorary doctorate. After a stint in the US Army and his residency at the University of Miami, he became the acting head of the dermatology department at the University of Colorado until 1973, where his research led to the discovery of Minoxidil (Rogaine) for hair growth. Guinter subsequently moved back to Miami and maintained a private dermatology practice in North Miami Beach for more than 30 years. Guinter left a legacy of philanthropy through his support of many Jewish and educational organizations, including: Miami Jewish Health, where he was a Founder; Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, where he helped rebuild the dermatology department;
the Anti-Defamation League, where he underwrote programs to combat antisemitism; and the University of Nebraska Omaha, where two library additions bear his name. He also is a member of The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Heritage Society. Carol Kahn was born in Kansas City, Kansas to parents who were politically and socially active in various causes. The example they set led Carol to embrace the Jewish philosophy of Tikkun Olam , repair the world. Despite earning a Ph.D. in Statistics and doing her post-doctoral fellowship in Biophysics and Genetics in the 1960/70’s, at a time when women in science, especially at such an advanced level, were outliers, she eschewed the honorific “Dr. Kahn”, instead preferring that everyone call her Carol. In addition to Carol’s continuous quest for knowledge, throughout her life she tirelessly worked to make the world a better place for those less fortunate. Carol was a founding member of the Miami Beach JCC in the 1980s. In the 1990s, she was a founding member of the People with AIDS Coalition. At Miami-Dade College’s Working Solutions Program, she worked one-on-one with marginalized and indigent people to help them develop job skills and obtain employment. Carol quietly gave food, clothing, and shelter to countless homeless and others in need throughout her life. Her charitable heart was impossible to miss. With her parents as role models, Michelle Kahn grew up in Miami Beach with a strong Jewish identity. She was a student at Hebrew Academy through sixth grade, attended Shabbat services every Saturday morning with her father, and celebrated her Bat Mitzvah in Israel. “I was surrounded by a thriving Jewish community,” Michelle recalls. “Every week we had Shabbat
dinner with the same group of family friends. Thirty years later, we still have Shabbat dinner together weekly, and now my children love participating in the tradition with their bonus ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’.” “Initially I was peripherally involved with Federation, but my involvement deepened when my mom was diagnosed with cancer. She insisted on setting up a Lion of Judah Endowment fund in my name to ensure that I would forever be a Lion of Judah and involved in the Miami Jewish community. But she didn’t stop there. She made me promise I would wear the Lion pin and actively participate on a committee!” In 2013, the Kahn Family Foundation/Michelle Kahn Lion of Judah Endowment Fund was established through a distribution from Carol Kahn’s donor-advised fund. The following year, the fund increased via a distribution from the estate of Dr. Guinter Kahn. An Emerald Lion, Forever Lion and Forever Pacesetter, Michelle became involved in the GMJF Women’s Amutot Committee. Later, she joined National Young Leadership Cabinet, which she credits with meeting two of her closest friends. She is now the proud mother of two beautiful children, Celine and Gabriel, both of whom attend Temple Beth Sholom’s preschool. “I am so blessed to be part of this vibrant Jewish community. As a single mother, it gives me great comfort knowing that my children will always have the Miami Jewish community to support them. I wear my Lion pin with pride knowing that my family’s gift represents my values and my parents’ values, and that those values will live on forever.”
“Carol” – Dr. Carol Kahn
“Guinter” – Dr. Guinter Kahn
Michelle (middle), Celine and Gabriel with their Shabbat dinner group
Michelle (middle) and her National Young Leadership Cabinet friends on a Federation mission in Morocco
Temple Beth Am AND Rambam Day School
Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
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