03/25/2026
WLI alumna and board member, Nicole Perilstein, shares this beautiful reflection on the special woman who inspires her leadership:
"Women's History Month was established in 1987 to celebrate and acknowledge contributions that women have made and are often overlooked. The woman I want to honor is unfortunately not alive anymore to be able to hear what an impact she made on my life. My grandma, Alma Guthrie, was a woman ahead of her time. She was someone who quietly and humbly lived out her values.
She was born into a society that believed women belong in the home taking care of their husbands and children, but she entered the workforce and held a job while raising her two children alone while her husband (my Grandpa) served abroad in the Navy.
She matured during a time when society believed some people were inferior because of their race, religion, or sexual orientation. But she was kind, warm, and accepting to all people. She was always seeking to understand, rather than judge, people who were different from her.
And she had a strong Christian faith that she passed down to her children and grandchildren.
When I was 25 years old, I converted from Christianity to Judaism. This must have been shocking and maybe even upsetting to her, but she never had a word of judgement or criticism about it. In fact, she enthusiastically leaned into it. She celebrated Jewish holidays with me and my husband and children. She used to ask my then-husband to make her matzo ball soup, even when it wasn't passover. After seder one year she took the Haggadah home and read it cover to cover so she could really study and absorb it. She taught me what true unconditional love looks like.
One day my children will be old enough to choose their own religion. I hope they choose Judaism, but if they don't I will follow my grandma's example. Because loving one another is the most important thing. If we choose love first, nothing else matters."
Thank you, Nicole, for embodying your Grandma Alma's love and generosity in your own leadership of our community!
