Dr. Debra Josephson Abrams, Seattle, Washington

Some of Dr. Debra Josephson Abrams’ earliest memories are listening to Ed Cunningham and watching the Philly Pops on WHYY New Jersey. As an adult, her career as an academic and English language educator took her all over the world–Washington, DC, Russia, South Korea, Colorado–and she always found a connection to home by listening to and watching WHYY. When reflecting on why she decided to include WHYY in her legacy, Dr. Josephson Abrams said: “I decided to support WHYY through a gift in my will because of the service it provided and continues to provide my hometown area. In the next 40 years, I want some other little girl growing up in New Jersey to be captivated by WHYY just as I was. In Judaism, we are committed to passing along traditions from generation to generation. This is what I want to pass on to the next generation. I want WHYY to be that option that my community can always go to as a stable force in the midst of any chaos. “