Rochelle Lee Shoretz

Rochelle Lee Shoretz was born in 1972 in Brooklyn, the daughter of Morris Shoretz and Sherry Tenenbaum. She attended Shulamith High School, Barnard College and Columbia Law School. During her undergraduate years at Barnard, she married, and during law school, she worked as a speech writer for David Dinkins.Sandy Eller, [http://5tjt.com/rochelle-shoretz-a-life-of-inspiration/ "Rochelle Shoretz: A Life of Inspiration"] 5 Towns Jewish Times (June 4, 2015).

Shoretz was a law clerk at the United States Supreme Court for Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1998 and 1999. She was believed to be the first Orthodox Jewish woman to clerk at the Supreme Court.[http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Rochelle-Shoretz-Sharsheret-founder-and-cancer-advocate-is-dead-at-42-404705 "Rochelle Shoretz, Sharharet Founder and Cancer Advocate, is Dead at 42"] Jerusalem Post (June 1, 2015).

In 2001, soon after her clerkship at the Supreme Court ended, at age 28, Shoretz learned that she had breast cancer. "You have these life plans at 28 years old that you don't really consider will be altered by a major medical crisis at that age", she remembered.Sydney Lupkin, [https://abcnews.go.com/Health/woman-founds-cancer-organization-waiting-room/story?id=20422965 "Woman Founds Breast Cancer Organization from Waiting Room"] ABC News (October 1, 2013). Experiencing first-hand the challenges of young motherhood with cancer, and aware that women of Ashkenazic descent had a higher risk of some cancers, she founded Sharsheret in 2001 for young Jewish women facing cancer.Jonathan Zalman, [http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/191424/remembering-rochelle-shoretz-the-founder-of-sharsheret-a-cancer-support-group "Remembering Rochelle Shoretz, the Founder of Sharsheret, a Cancer Support Group"] Tablet Magazine (June 4, 2015). The organization grew to a nationwide organization with a budget of over $2 million per year and a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand its programming.

In 2003, Shoretz was honored as a "Woman to be Watched" by Jewish Women International.Abigail Klein Leichman, [http://www.sharsheret.org/library/200311-jewishstandard-strongestlink.pdf "Strongest 'Link'"] Jewish Standard (November 28, 2003): 3.

In 2010, Shoretz was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women.Gabrielle Birkner, [http://www.timesofisrael.com/rochelle-shoretzs-cancer-battle-inspired-her-activism/ "Rochelle Shoretz’s Cancer Battle Inspired her Activism"] Times of Israel (June 5, 2015). She was one of the featured profiles in Heroes for my Daughter, a 2012 book by Brad Meltzer.Abigail Klein Leichman, [http://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/remembering-rochelle-shoretz/ "Remembering Rochelle Shoretz"] The Jewish Standard (June 2, 2015).

Shoretz married and divorced twice. She had two sons. During several years of remission, Shoretz trained for and ran triathlons and traveled widely to Peru, South Africa, and Israel.Elicia Brown, [http://www.thejewishweek.com/editorial_opinion/last_word/maybe_ill_be_able_dance_wedding "Maybe I'll Be Able to Dance at a Wedding"] The Jewish Week (October 4, 2010).

Shoretz died in Teaneck, New Jersey, in 2015, at age 42, from cancer.Sam Roberts, [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/nyregion/rochelle-shoretz-founder-of-cancer-support-group-dies-at-42.html "Rochelle Shoretz, Founder of Cancer Support Group, Dies at 42,"] New York Times (June 2, 2015).

• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 6)

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Category:1972 births

Category:2015 deaths

Category:20th-century American Jews

Category:Barnard College alumni

Category:Columbia Law School alumni

Category:Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

Category:American health activists

Category:21st-century American Jews