Community Magazine April 2019

64 Community Magazine I am thrilled to introduce Alice Chera, a certified life coach and life stylist. Interviewing Alice was especially joyful for me, as we speak the same language as life coaches. In the last decade, Alice’s coaching skills, her positive energy, and authenticity have helped women and teens to gain clarity as to what they want to create in their lives, and to take steps toward positive change. Alice empowers her clients to discover solutions to their problems and develop a mindset that will enable them to achieve their goals. Let’s start from the very beginning, “a very good place to start!” Alice, the daughter of Esther and Sam Beyda, was born, bred, and educated in Flatbush. She attended Magen David Yeshivah (MDY) elementary school and Yeshivah of Flatbush (YOF) high school. Alice’s family is from the U.S. with the exception of her paternal grandparents who were born in Aleppo, Syria. She has one brother, Raymond, two years her junior, who she adores. Alice’s parents had what she describes as “varied interests.” “My parents’ love of art and culture inspired me to see the world as larger than what I knew it to be.” A financial advisor by profession, Sam Beyda is also a classical music enthusiast. Alice’s parents divorced when she was young and her mother, who she now calls a self-made woman, went out and became an extremely successful saleswoman, who is passionate about people and culture. Alice confided that as a child, although her mother did work, Alice always assumed she would adopt the traditional woman’s role as a stay-at-home mother and wife, which was prevalent then. One day, while in high school, an Ashkenazi friend asked, “What profession are you going to go into when you get older?” That question struck her, as it was not the norm for community women to pursue a profession at the time. That question motivated Alice to enroll in FIT when she graduated. That summer, Alice met her naseeb , Abe Chera. Today they have four grown children (two of whom are married) and four beautiful grandchildren. Abie, who for over 30 years worked with his family in a retail children’s wear business, reinvented himself in 2012 by going back to school and becoming a licensed substance abuse counselor. He is currently the intake coordinator at The Safe Foundation. Alice is in awe of Abie’s transformation and his dedication to helping others. What Defines Alice? Alice’s friends and family offered a wide range of adjectives to describe her, including warm, thoughtful, honest, insightful, strong, approachable, and a leader. After enjoying Alice’s company for three hours, I would also add modest! Alice says she feels her essence as a coach is “spaciousness,” and hopes this is evident in her sessions with clients. Creating a safe, non-judgmental space for individuals to explore their goals, get into action, and draw effective solutions to problems, are key components to Alice’s style of coaching. “My idea of coaching is giving people a space to breathe, to take a look at where they are in their lives, to where they want to go, and how best to get them there.” One of the first things Alice said to me was that she has an incredible appreciation for the women in the community and in the Jewish world. “Our women do so much - taking care of family, keeping a beautiful home, raising children, getting ready for holidays, and helping the community via charity events and hesed . Yet, our women seem to minimize their accomplishments!” The women in Alice’s life have been, and continue to be, an immense inspiration to her. Alice elegantly articulated that her mother and mother-in-law, both named Esther, reflect the two different sides of who she is as a woman, with her mom stressing the importance of being a financial contributor to the household, and her mother-in-law Esther Chera’s unwavering devotion to her home and to every member of her family. Another strong woman in Alice’s life is her maternal grandmother, Nettie Rishty (Granny), whom she calls her best friend. “She is an extraordinary cook, housewife, grandmother, and great-grandmother.” When Alice’s children were all in grade school, she went back to college. She started with one class and slowly worked her way through without any particular plan of what to do with her education. Over the years she warned each professor that since it had been so long since she had done schoolwork, she was probably going to fail. She moved through slowly, taking eight and a half years to graduate, while also planning bar mitzvahs, moving into a new Woman Woman to One on One with ELLEN GELLER KAMARAS “As a mind and life stylist, I bring awareness to the thoughts, beliefs, and habits we unconsciously carry that get in the way of enjoying our lives. Coaching isn’t about changing who you are; it’s about releasing what’s not working so the best of you can come forward every day.” AliceChera - AliceChera