Alex Sukhoy
Employer: American Greetings, Editorial Manager

What is the most adventurous thing you have ever done? In 2003, the week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I moved to Cleveland with a passport and my MBA in hand, to start a position with American Greetings. At the time the only people I knew in this city were the hiring managers at the company. Despite interested firms in Chicago, where I grew up, and Rochester, where I attended grad school, I wanted to move someplace new and create a different path for myself.

What is the cheesiest song on your iPod? As a music junkie and child of the 80s, this could be a very long list. I’ll narrow it down to a tune my friends Deborah and Scott recently played at their wedding: “Mr. Roboto” by STYX.

Who is your celebrity crush? Hands down, John Cusack. In 2007, I wrote a whole blog about him. I carry a copy with me every time I travel, in anticipation of meeting him.

What is your secret hobby? Not so much a secret, but my “second life” is focused on writing and photography. With travel to six different countries in the past 2 ½ years, including the life-changing Federation trip to Israel, TelAvivOne, I have been very blessed with seeing stunning places and have captured them on my camera. My hair salon recently gave me gallery space, thus providing opportunity for people who don’t know me personally to see my work. Also, I am busy working on a screenplay. The crime and love story takes place in contemporary Cleveland.

What is your favorite alcoholic beverage when no one is looking? Kaluha milk shakes. Yum!

What motivates you to support the work of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland?
As with anything important that inspires us to action, my answer is a very personal one. In late 2005, just a few months after my homecoming to Kiev, Ukraine, Jeff Resnick, who is also part of the local Simon Alumni Network and who previously invited me to join the ADL, told me about this amazing trip to Israel that his fiancée Jessica was planning. Never having been to Israel, I was immediately interested and embarked on a journey of many surprises. I traveled a country where my heritage is rooted. I met a woman who walked from Ethiopia to Israel. I saw an aunt of mine whom I had not seen since my parents brought me from Kiev to Chicago in 1978. I shook hands and thanked Matthew Bronfman whose family was fiscally responsible for my family’s migration from communism to the United States. And, most importantly, I cemented friendships with people who I still spend quality time with today, socially, contributing to the community and in creative collaboration. There is a very special and warm feeling attending the weddings of friends I met on this trip or sitting in their homes celebrating the High Holidays or hosting them in my downtown apartment. We all have a bond because of those 10 days in Israel. That entire journey in March 2006 was pivotal and anchored Cleveland as my home.

The Federation pays great detail to ensuring that the young people of Cleveland are given the proper exposure to our Jewish roots and that the fiscal contributions made here are then evidenced in results in Israel, across multiple channels, communities and purposes. Trips like TelAvivOne open doors, warm hearts, heal spirits, enlighten minds and teach a new generation the true meaning of tzedakah.