Previous Winners

2014 & 2015	JGS of Illinois’ Newsletter, Morasha. Marcia Hirsch from JGS of Illinois. Learn how Marcia Hirsch came to design the winning poster for 2014 through her story in JGS of Illinois’ Newsletter, Morasha. Marcia Hirsch provides the creative design and layout for Morasha, the newsletter of The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois, their monthly online enews, and other JGSI projects. She enjoys mentoring others, and, as part of the Help Desk at JGSI monthly meetings, assists new, veteran, and prospective members find Internet resources to help in their research. She has also contributed to several JewishGen Projects, converting digital images from Chicago synagogues for the Memorial Plaque Project and scanning pages for the Yizkor Book Project. Before retirement, Marcia worked with her husband, David, in their Chicago design firm. Her involvement in genealogy was motivated by her curiosity to find some of their missing family. Marcia has created a Hirsch Family Book and yearly family Haggadahs for her children and grandchildren. The Box on the Closet Shelf, an article that appeared in Morasha, explains how she created her family tree history puzzle for the IAJGS poster  — to remind her of those she knew, and to honor those she never met.
2012 & 2013	Lynn Teichman and Tuvia Natkin are active members of The Jewish Genealogical Society of Southwest Florida, who is the proud sponsoring IAJGS member organization. Lynn comes from a background of the arts and education creating logos and graphics for non-profits, teaching as Artist-in-Residence and volunteering as a mentor in public schools. Tuvia's career in Jewish Education includes many years as a writer and translator. His career in music led to journalism and advertising and a move to Israel for further studies.Looking back to his family roots in Russia and finding rabbis and Yiddish novelists sparked his interest in genealogy and a realization that discovering one's past plays a vital role in educating a new generation.
2011	Jillian Beroza (Brzoza): Both an amateur genealogist and artist, Jillian Beroza is the Art Director at HJMT, a public relations, social media, event planning, and graphic design agency. She is responsible for the creation and overall layout of designs, monitors the traffic of orders, and supervises the creative artists at HJMT. As a ten-year graphic design veteran, Jillian has a large portfolio of experience and featured work.Striving to contribute to the local community with her graphic design talents, Jillian is currently a public relations volunteer with Central Park Medical Unit in New York City and a transcribing volunteer for Italian Genealogy. She joined the Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island (JGSLI) in 2010 and serves as a Member at Large, primarily creating design pieces and aiding in the branding of JGSLI's identity.Always having a passion for history and a love of family, Jillian developed an interest in genealogy from the frustration of a 4th-grade assignment to create her own family tree. While other students had sprawling trees dating back to the creation of their surnames, Jillian's small family tree contained mostly question marks, misspellings, and vague locations. From not even knowing the names of her great-grandparents, Jillian's research has led her to discover that she is the decedent of some of the most famous rabbis and scholars. Her roots are in Lomza, Suwalki, Ostroleka, Minsk, Riga, Krasilov, Starokostyantyniv and Sátoraljaújhely.
2010	Jen Lowe: Jen's interest in genealogy began when she was 16, after her great-uncle handed her a family tree void of women. In 1973, her father purchased the Texaco station in Cotopaxi, Colorado, and that has led to Jen's current research project—the Cotopaxi Jewish Immigrant Colony.Her roots are in Germany, Switzerland, Engand, and parts still unknown. She joined the JGS of Colorado in 2009 and serves as secretary. Married with two sons, she retired in 2002 after working 33 years as a civil servant and in business management. She is happy to have time to pursue her real love—mixed media art. Her projects have been published 154 times in books and magazines around the world. Jen earned a B.S. in business from Colorado State University, Pueblo, and an MBA from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. The poster was submitted by JGS of Colorado.