Jewish Buffalo Archives
In a grant made possible by the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies, the Bureau is pleased to announce that Dr. Chana Revell Kotzin has joined our staff. Dr. Kotzin will continue the collection and preservation of archival materials of the entire Buffalo Jewish Community. This project is a continuance of Dr. Selig Adler's work, which is now housed at the University of Buffalo's Special Collection Library in Capen Hall.

"The project, chaired by BJE board member, Charlotte Gendler, is an exciting one," says Harold Halpern, Immediate Past President of the BJE. "Dr. Kotzin is already surveying what material is available and preparing oral history interviews with several community members."

Chana, a native of London, England, received her Ph.D. in History at the University of Southampton, UK, in 2000 and a postgraduate diploma in Hebrew and Jewish Studies from Oxford University in 1994. Before moving to Buffalo, Chana taught graduate classes for the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School on aspects of Jewish History, including Anglo-Jewish History and Environmental Judaism. She also had a fellowship and worked for the Jewish Women's Archives in Baltimore and Boston and the Jewish Museum of Maryland.

Dr. Kotzin will be developing a comprehensive and accessible collection of Buffalo Jewish community documents and artifacts for community self-understanding, self-appreciation and inspiration, as well as providing materials for the benefit of local and national researchers from a variety of disciplines, genealogists, family historians, journalists and others for publication and exhibitions. The Jewish Buffalo Archives also seeks to preserve community memory in the form of oral history.

"We look to Chana to provide professional advice to our committee and the BJE about the archival and historical process. She will oversee, manage, evaluate and organize the collections of materials from individuals and an array of Jewish organizations, groups and institutions of Jewish Buffalo," says Charlotte Gendler, chairperson of the Jewish Buffalo Archives Committee.

Below is her bio if you want any info: for her:

Chana, a native of London, England, received her Ph.D. in History at the University of Southampton, UK, in 2000 and a postgraduate diploma in Hebrew and Jewish Studies from Oxford University in 1994. Before moving to Buffalo, Chana taught graduate classes for the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School on aspects of Jewish History, including Anglo-Jewish History and Environmental Judaism. She also had a fellowship and worked for the Jewish Women's Archives in Baltimore and Boston and the Jewish Museum of Maryland.