Jonathan and Shira met on Shavuot in 2018, and by the time they finished their first conversation, Shira knew she would marry him.

It took Jonathan a few weeks to figure it out, but in 2022 they got married at the summer camp where Shira grew up.  Jonathan is a physicist with a passion for scientific discovery and Shira has spent her career at various tech companies. More importantly, they are both deeply involved in their community and have always been excited to raise children within that supportive space. They know that children bring joy and purpose not only to their families, but to everyone in a community, and they are looking forward to taking advantage of their large village to help shape their little ones.

Shortly after they got married they decided to grow their family. However, a combination of infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss made the next few years challenging. IVF became their path forward to parenthood and they are hopeful it will eventually lead to the family they have dreamed of.

Shira and Jonathan are recipients of the Path to Parenthood Grant from the Jewish United Fund – Chicago.