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Loren Galler Rabinowitz
Advocate for Holocaust Remembrance & Awareness
Loren Galler Rabinowitz
Advocate for Holocaust Remembrance & Awareness
Biography
Loren Galler Rabinowitz was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1986. Three weeks later, she traveled with her parents to Barbados, where her mother, a professor at Harvard Medical school, has run a center for malnourished children since the early 1970s. Growing up in Boston and Barbados, Loren has always known that she would commit her life to serving others.
Though she took her first steps on the ice at the age of two, Loren’s athletic career began in earnest at age nine, when she was discovered by Olympic and world ice dancing coach, Natalia Dubova. After teaming up with David Mitchell in 1999, the pair would go on to win ten international and four national medals over their eight-year career. Loren and David were members of the United States Figure Skating National and World Teams from 1999 to 2006, and were the 2004 United States Ice Dancing Bronze Medalists, 2002 United States Ice Dancing Junior Champions and 2000 United States Ice Dancing Novice Champions. The team represented the United States at International Skating Union Junior Grand Prix and Grand Prix events, and donated performances to many charitable organizations, including the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Jimmy Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research, the Special Olympics, Susan G. Komen Fund for Breast Cancer, the Salvation Army and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
In 2006, Loren decided to hang up her skates and focus solely on her education. Over the next four years at Harvard, she majored in English while simultaneously fulfilling the science coursework required for entrance to medical school. In her senior year, Loren completed a thesis in creative poetry under Pulitzer Prize Winner, Jorie Graham. Upon graduation, Loren was named the winner of Harvard’s Le Baron Briggs Prize, “for her work as a humanitarian and poet,” and David McCord Prize, “for depth of talent in the literary arts, and in particular, for her combination of the fields of medicine and poetry.” She was also selected as one of five “outstanding seniors of the class of 2010” by the Harvard Gazette, the official publication of Harvard University.
Just three weeks after graduating from Harvard University, in June of 2010, Loren was crowned Miss Massachusetts, winning the talent portion of the competition with her classical piano performance. Though her participation in the pageant was initially motivated by the scholarship opportunities afforded by the Miss America Organization, the title of Miss Massachusetts quickly became a platform for Loren to serve as a role model to young men and women in the state of Massachusetts and beyond.
At nearly one hundred major events during her reign, Loren shared her personal story, and spoke about her journey toward a career in medicine. As a grandchild of Holocaust survivors and the only Jewish contestant at the 2011 Miss America pageant, Loren’s mission focused on continuing her grandparents’ legacy of Holocaust education. She visited schools, nursing homes, military bases, hospitals and inner city after-school programs. She received an award for exemplary civilian service from the United States Army, and was named Scholar/Athlete of the year by the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. At the 2011 Miss America Pageant, Loren was the recipient of the Miracle Maker Award for her fundraising efforts on behalf of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
While studying medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City, Loren continued to travel across the country to speak about the Holocaust, STEM education, and her unique experiences as a student-athlete and former pageant winner. She graduated from medical school as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honors society, completed a residency in internal medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University, and is currently a fellow in gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
Her recent piece, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, entitled “Recognizing Blind Spots — A Remedy for Gender Bias in Medicine?” details the hurdles and frustrations that female medical trainees face during medical training. She has been interviewed by the NEJM’s Managing Editor and has served as a moderator on NEJM’s Resident 360, a forum for physicians-in-training.
Speaker Videos
Deadly Medicine: Reflecting on the Holocaust & Creating the Master Race
National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Speech Topics
Recognizing Blind Spots: A Remedy for Gender Bias in Medicine?
As a female physician, Loren is passionate about empathy and advocacy for women in medicine. Her personal essay on sexism in medical training, was published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, and details the hurdles and frustrations that female medical trainees face during medical training. In this talk, she outlines strategies for dealing with and overcoming gender bias in the workplace, such as: participating in amplification of female voices and ideas, introducing oneself as a doctor, using instances of sexism as learning opportunities and enlisting male allies. Through these actions, Loren advocates for improving patient care by creating a more equitable medical culture.
Confessions of an Overachiever: Striving, Thriving & Daring to Be Different
Take it from this figure-skating, piano-playing, poetry-writing doctor, and the only Jewish contestant at the 2011 Miss America Pageant: being different is not always easy. Loren Galler Rabinowitz speaks about her desire to break boundaries and defy stereotypes in her athletic and academic careers as well as in her role as a pageant winner. Loren believes that we are each given a unique voice, and it is our responsibility to use those voices to make positive change.
Healing by Helping: Holocaust Legacy & Lessons from My Grandmother
As a grandchild of two Holocaust survivors, Loren Galler Rabinowitz is constantly reminded that she belongs to a legacy of survivorship and resilience that has existed for thousands of years. Her grandparents' wartime stories were infused with a deep faith and a commitment to ending intolerance. Being the only Jewish person in many of the arenas she has entered—be they skating rinks or the Miss America stage—has forced Rabinowitz to confront, head-on, the positives and negatives of being different in a world where there is a high premium on fitting in. Loren speaks passionately about her grandmother's story of survival in the Holocaust, and the lessons about resilience, faith, and strength of character that were passed down to her through her mother and grandmother. By bravely taking up the work of predecessors, that is, the fight against bigotry and prejudice, her generation of Jews is redefining success on its own terms.
Growing Up, Giving Back: The Importance of Young People & Philanthropy
Loren Galler Rabinowitz made her first service trip at three weeks of age to Barbados, where her mother, a professor of medicine at Harvard, has run a center for malnourished children since the early 1970s. Growing up in Boston and Barbados, Loren has always known that she would commit her life to serving others. As an athlete, Loren donated many performances, and much of her time, to charity. While a student at Harvard, Loren volunteered at a local hospital and continued to use her love for figure skating to help causes that were important to her. Upon graduation, Loren was named the winner of Harvard's Le Baron Briggs Prize, "for her work as a humanitarian and poet." In 2010, Loren gave a year of service to her state as Miss Massachusetts, attending over one hundred charity events and speaking about the importance of giving. Loren received the Miracle Maker Award at the 2011 Miss America Pageant in recognition of raising more money for the Children's Miracle Networks than any other Miss America contestant.
She graduated from medical school and completed a residency in internal medicine at Columbia University, and is currently a fellow in gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where she is deeply committed to improving communication and empathy between doctors and patients.
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