Anyone who has come to my office for a meeting or just to stop by and say hi might see me in my office chair. From where I sit (which is the title of my monthly JLife SGPV column), even though I sit inside my office with only an interior window, I get the opportunity to look out at and across our vast geographic community. And I have the distinct privilege of interacting with a wide variety of people and organizations.

When I first started working at our Jewish Federation, I began working towards fulfilling a personal goal—for people to stop questioning whether there is a Jewish community east of LA and instead do everything I can to make people aware of all the incredible things our Jewish community, east of LA, is doing. I've worked hard to ensure that this personal mantra remains at the core of what I do as I meet with people and share our work's impact on our community.

A couple of years ago, I was at a security conference sponsored by the FBI. At some point during the conference, I struck up a conversation with FBI staff in hopes of making them aware of our local Jewish community. In the back of my mind, I knew this new connection would benefit our community.

A few years ago, when we developed our Comprehensive Community-wide Security Plan for our community following the hostage situation at the synagogue in Colleyville, I shared the plan with my FBI contact. My goal was to get their perspective and see if they had any suggestions on how we could improve the plan and if there was an opportunity for them to participate. They were extremely impressed with our plan and asked if they could share it with other faith communities as a model to assist them in developing their own security plans.

Then, a few months later, I was asked to give a presentation on the lessons we could learn from the Holocaust and the impact antisemitism was having on the world today as part of the FBI's Yom HaShoah commemoration. I was honored to do it, knowing full well that they could have brought in a speaker from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Shoah Foundation, or Holocaust Museum LA.

My connection with the FBI has also recently led me to be invited to be a part of the FBI's Citizens Academy. This program provides participants with an inside look at the FBI and fosters a greater understanding of the role of federal law enforcement in the community. For the last eight weeks, I have learned how the FBI does everything it can to keep our country safe. They have discussed everything from cyberterrorism, behavioral analysis, and deadly force policy to how they work closely with local law enforcement. This past week, we even saw a SWAT exercise and fire weapons at their firing range. This evening, my class and I will graduate from the program and join the ranks of 20,000+ people nationwide who have participated since it began shortly after 9/11.

I share this as an example of what the power of the relationships I have worked hard to foster on behalf of our community can do. While this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, it will enhance our community's safety and further raise awareness of our local Jewish community.