Leah Jacob Garrick was born in Shanghai, the fourth generation of her family to live there. She had a typical colonial upbringing – English girls’ school, servants, and afternoon tea, all incorporated into an observant Sephardic Jewish lifestyle. She lived through the war years under Japanese occupation and came to the United States in 1947. She returned to Shanghai several times since. Leah was Director of Leisure League of Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco, a senior social group. She established the Volunteers for Israel program in Northern California and served twice in the IDF, Israel Defense Forces, as a volunteer. Her first trip to Israel was on scholarship from Hadassah as a Young Judea leader. Leah resides in San Francisco and has spoken the world over – from California to New York, London, Australia, Israel and Shanghai.