Alumni Spotlight

Aidan Lisker ‘12

Aidan Lisker is a proud graduate of Brandeis. After graduation, Aidan continued her academic career at Lick Wilmerding High School and then matriculated at Washington University in St. Louis for her undergraduate and graduate degrees. Aidan continues to live the values of service and integrity that she learned at Brandeis by pursuing a career in social work. Currently, Aidan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and works with children and their families to support their holistic wellness.

Ben Linnear '15

Benjamin Lanir is a Deep Learning Architect at NVIDIA. After graduating from Brandeis he attended Lowell High School, and then UCLA for both his undergraduate and Master’s degrees. Ben’s Master’s degree focused on Artificial Intelligence. Now he studies numerics and their effect on AI model efficiency and accuracy.

Julie Esther (Bernstein) Silverstein ’94

Julie Silverstein is a messaging strategist and speechwriter who has worked with Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Foreign Minister, and Consulate in New York, as well as leading foundations and nonprofitleaders. She is the co-author of the international bestselling book Chutzpah Girls: 100 Tales of Daring Jewish Women (Koren), and the creator of the Chutzpah Girls Art Exhibit and Chutzpah Store, a social enterprise supporting Jewish feminist projects.

After graduating from Brandeis, Julie attended Lick-Wilmerding High School and earned her B.A. in Political Science and Hebrew from UCLA, summa cum laude. She later received a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School as a Presidential Scholar. She is a U.S. State Department Fulbright Fellow in Israel, a Bertelsmann Foundation Fellow, and a Wexner Heritage Fellow.

Julie grew up in the Diamond Heights neighborhood of San Francisco and now lives in Jerusalem with her husband and five children. She recently returned to Brandeis to speak with elementary and upper school students about storytelling, identity, and finding your voice.

Joseph Bien Kahn '03

Joseph Bien-Kahn is a writer and editor who lives in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood with his wife, his son, and his dog. For the last decade, he's worked as a freelance journalist, writing profiles and investigative features for GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. In 2024, he was brought on as an editor at Esses, a brand-new Formula 1 magazine that he helped to launch. He covers sports, film, and adventure.

Jenna Waldman '08

Jenna Waldman works as an attorney in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Brandeis in 2008, Jenna attended the Urban School of San Francisco and Brown University. She graduated from Berkeley Law in 2021 and became a law clerk for Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and then Judge Florence Y. Pan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Prior to clerking, Jenna worked in the Civil Rights Enforcement Section at the California Department of Justice, where she litigated civil rights cases and conducted state investigations related to police reform. In law school, Jenna was a member of the California Law Review and Berkeley Law's Death Penalty Clinic.

Alex Cohen '21

Alex Cohen is an actor, musician, and singer. Alex made her professional debut as Veronica in the Disney+ film, The Slumber Party. Additionally, she has performed in many musicals and is an expert keytar player. Alex is a proud Brandeis alumni and has two sisters who also attended Brandeis, Izzy '23 and Millie '27. She loves to draw, play Dungeons and Dragons and video games.

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