Janis Ruth Coulter, a Boston native, lived in Brooklyn NY. Although she had a Jewish grandmother, she was raised as an Episcopalian but chose to live her life as a Jew, converting officially in 1996. She was Senior Program Officer in the New York office of the Hebrew University's Rothberg International School. She had arrived in Israel the day before the terrorist attack in which she was killed, after escorting a group of U.S. students to Jerusalem to begin their studies at Hebrew University.
The next day, July 31, 2002, she was among the victims of the terrorist's bomb planted in the Frank Sinatra Cafeteria on Mt. Scopus.
Janis had graduated in History and Judaic Studies from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1991. In 1996, she converted to Judaism. As a Master's candidate in Judaic Studies at the University of Denver, she was a visiting graduate student at Hebrew University in 1996-1997, during which time she also worked at the University's School of Education. In 1999, she moved to New York and began working for the Rothberg International School's Office of Academic Affairs. As assistant director, she was responsible for all Rothberg International School graduate programs and scholarships, liaising with American institutions of education and actively recruiting students. As a student, she received numerous scholarships, including a travel grant from the Dorot Foundation.
Her friend Laura. "Janise was my friend. She had endured a lot but always tried to meet life with a smile."
Today, the stretch of East 69th, between 5th and Madison near the New York office of Hebrew U, has been renamed Janis Coulter Place.
Janis was my friend. She had endured a lot but she always tried to meet life with a smile.