Mojgan Cohanim Lancman, a Great Neck resident and New York Supreme Court judge, was elected president of the Sephardic Heritage Alliance Inc.
The Sephardic Heritage Alliance Inc., otherwise referred to as SHAI, is a Great Neck-based organization that serves the Persian community statewide.
“A generation of Persian leaders has built SHAI into the essential organization preserving our heritage and serving the needs of our growing community, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead SHAI during this challenging time,” Lancman said. “I am convinced that our way forward continues to be our steadfast commitment to strengthening our connection to Persian culture and to serving one another.”
Lancman emigrated from Iran to New York in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution. Thousands of Iranian Jews fled the country during the revolution due to fears of religious persecution.
She resided in Queens during her youth, where she attended public and Jewish day schools. She went on to attend Queens College, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and New York Law School.
In 2014, Lancman was elected to the Civil Court of the City of New York and became the first judge in the state who was born in Iran. She was elected to her current seat as a judge in the state’s Supreme Court in 2020.
Lancman’s newest role as president of SHAI is not her first leadership position. She has also served as chair of the Brandeis Bar Association, the Queens County Jewish bar association, board member of Yashar, the Attorneys’ and Judges’ Chapter of Hadassah and as programming co-chair for Temple Israel of Great Neck, among many others.
Lancman resides in Great Neck with her husband, Rory Lancman and their three kids. She and her family moved from Fresh Meadows, Queens, to Great Neck in 2021.
