One day in 2012, UNLV student Lyn Robinson spied a posting on the bulletin board for a photographer for the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center. She was an art major with a concentration on photography. She was also had a deep appreciation of the horror of the Holocaust and what the survivors she would take photos of had endured. Thus began a two year project, during which she took photos of over sixty survivors. Her images are preserved at UNLV Special Collections & Archives. Prints are displayed at the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center. On September 18, 2014, Lyn shared her work for this oral history recording. She is a native of Florida, daughter of a horticulturist father and pianist mother.

For nearly two decades between 1950 and 1970, only one dentist of Jewish ancestry was known to be licensed to practice in Nevada. That was Dr. Joe Chenin. Finally, in 1971, the steadfast and easy mannered Dr. David R. Wasserman (1944 - ) broke through the barrier to become the second Jewish dentist serving the Las Vegas community. Over the following years, Dr. Wasserman built a sizeable following and immersed himself in the Jewish community of Las Vegas. Among his achievements is his participation and leadership in the formation of Las Vegas’ first Reform Jewish synagogue, Congregation Ner Tamid. He also would be active in the Jewish Federation. In 1992, as the HIV-AIDS epidemic affected dental offices throughout the nation, Dr. Wasserman saw an opportunity to get ahead of the infection. With the help of his wife Juanita Davis-Wasserman and his father-in-law Warren Davis, he developed, patented, manufactured and distributed a disposable tip for a treatment instrument commonly found in dental offices called a tri-syringe. This disposable tip brought sanitary options and great financial fortune to Dr. Wasserman and his family. In this oral history, Dr. Wasserman reflects on his joy of living in Las Vegas. He is a highly regarded dentist and leader in the Jewish community.

Ellen Barre Spiegel grew up in Jericho NY, a predominantly Jewish town in Long Island. Her ancestors had migrated to the United Sates prior to the outbreak of World War II. And for much of life her exposure to cultural diversity was limited. Ellen was born in 1962. She attended Cornell University, located in upstate New York, and graduated in 1984. Though the student population was 30% Jewish, the university expanded her knowledge of the world: her Protestant roommate explained that she had never met a Jew and Ellen replied, I have never met a WASP. Her college studies centered on consumer economics and she was a public policy major. Ellen was an early adopter of technology and her career path included positions at American Express, Prodigy (a joint venture of IBM and Sears), the Weather Channel, and Manufacturers Hanover Trust. Each company used her increasing experience with using technologies to improve connections with consumers. Ellen describes her Jewish identity as conservative and is a member of Midbar Kodesh Temple in Henderson. She talks about her bat mitzvah and her move back to New York to recite the mourner’s Kaddish for the year following the passing of her father. Later, she moved to Santa Monica, where she met Bill, her husband, using a new dating site called Luvitt AOL. After marriage, the couple saw financial advantages to living in Las Vegas and relocated their business and home to the valley in 2001. Soon Ellen noted that there was no active Democratic Club in Henderson and it became her mission to reignite the club. This launched a long list of political and civic accomplishments for Ellen. She has been an assemblyperson in the Nevada legislature (2008, 2013-2017). Her list of accomplishments and affiliations are on pages 46-47.

Oral history interviews with Michael Green conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 26, 2018 and April 04, 2018 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In the first interview, Green discusses his family background and growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He talks about his Jewish ancestry and the significance of religious communities in Las Vegas. In the second interview, Green discusses the growth of the Jewish community in Las Vegas, and the history of the Jewish heritage in Southern Nevada.