Evelyn Becker

Evelyn Becker
Evelyn Becker is a writer and activist in Denver, Colorado whose work focuses on issues of importance to women and girls.

Blog Posts

Children with a Toy Gun

Guns and Jews: Stand Up for the State of Our Union

Evelyn Becker

Many gun control advocates are disappointed that President Obama’s State of the Union address last night dedicated just two sentences to preventing gun violence. Since the start of January 2014, there has been a school shooting in our country every other day. Every. Other. Day.

Mary Kobey and her Grandchildren circa 1905

Meet Miriam Kobey, “Denver’s Angel of Mercy”

Evelyn Becker

An Orthodox Jewish woman from Suwalki, Poland, Miriam (Mary) Rachofsky (Kobey) was an unlikely pioneer on the western frontier. Her passion for helping others led to a successful career as a midwife in Denver at a time when very few women ran their own businesses.   

Topics: Midwifery
Sheryl Sandberg

I’m Hitting “Like” on Leaning In

Evelyn Becker

The spotlight is on Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and her mission to change the balance of power in the United States.  Sandberg’s book Lean In hit the proverbial shelves this week and the media is buzzing.  Is Sandberg the new Gloria Steinem?  Will her message on women and leadership motivate real change? 

Stairway in the Woods

Redefine Success, Submit to Passion

Evelyn Becker

It's January 2013 in Denver, Colorado. Things are going well. My children have settled easily into the school year in second grade and pre-K. Becker Impact started a challenging and particularly meaningful new project. Then, as part of that project, I interviewed a charismatic young lawyer who mentioned what first year associates now earn at New York City law firms. Plus bonus.

Topics: Feminism, Israel, Law
"The Guilt Trip"

A Brighter Side to “Jewish Mothering”: A Review of “The Guilt Trip”

Evelyn Becker

The Guilt Trip begins by introducing Andy Brewster (Seth Rogen), a thirty— something inventor about to embark on a road trip to sell his innovative organic cleaning product. Andy makes a quick stop at his mom’s (Barbara Streisand) house, and spontaneously invites her to come along for the ride. Their journey cross-country turns into an exploration of the ties that bind (Jewish) mother and son.

Topics: Motherhood, Film
Princess Merida from Disney/Pixar's "Brave"

Braving a Botoxed World: A Mother's Tale

Evelyn Becker

In the recent Disney/Pixar film, Brave, a young princess defies an age-old custom and fights to make her mother understand that she is not ready for marriage. I know you’d rather not think of the Disney princesses at all, but we live and breathe, and shop at Target, so I contend---if forced to choose among that whole pastel-clad, sugary lot, you’d want your daughter to be more independent, courageous Merida, less Cinderella waiting for her prince to come, right?

Topics: Children, Motherhood
Lit Candles

May Their Memory Be for a Blessing

Evelyn Becker

On the front page of this morning’s Denver Post a picture of Veronique Pozner, mother of Sandy Hook Elementary School victim Noah Pozner, at Noah’s gravesite at B’nai Israel Cemetery in Monroe, Connecticut, assaults me as I sit down to drink my morning coffee. Veronique stands next to her rabbi, and my eyes are drawn to his kippah. And I’d thought, that perhaps, I was going to be able to start this day without crying.

Topics: Children, Motherhood, Law
Gertrude Weil's Ribbon at the National Suffrage Convention, 1917

Did Your Grandmother Have The Right To Vote?: With rights, comes responsibility

Evelyn Becker

According to an August USA Today/Suffolk University poll, there are 90 million Americans who “could turn a too-close-to-call race into a landslide for President Obama, but by definition they probably won’t.” The poll found that people who are eligible to vote but aren’t likely to do so “back Obama’s re-election over Republican Mitt Romney by more than 2-1.”

Donate

Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.

donate now

Get JWA in your inbox

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

sign up now

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. " Evelyn Becker ." (Viewed on November 8, 2024) <https://jwa.org/blog/author/evelyn-becker-2>.