Alexandra Gerson: Radio VERA - “Russian voice” of Canada

There are media outlets that respond to the various requests of their audience. And there are such mass media that create their own audience, form the community of viewers, readers or listeners. Radio VERA - The generalized factor of Vancouver and all of British Columbia. The face and voice of this radio is Alexandra Gerson.

Sasha Gerson brought to the West Coast of Canada the experience of survival in an anti-Semitic environment, gained in an intelligent Jewish family of Leningrad, combining this experience with the energy industry of Israel and the activity of the pioneers of North America.

For 20 years now - since 1994, she has lived in Vancouver (Canada). She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in immigrant social work. In 1998, she headed the department for adaptation of Jewish immigrants to Canada at the Jewish Family Service Agency.

In 2007, Alexandra Gerson (Ainbinder) became one of the founders of the first organization of Russian-speaking Jews in Canada - the Vancouver Jewish Russian-Speaking Association (VERA). In 2008, with the support of one of the leaders of the American Forum of Russian-speaking Jewry (AFRJ), Dr. Dmitry Shchiglik, she opened Radio VERA in Vancouver, the only daily radio program in Russian in Western Canada.

Since January 2012, he has been the Executive Director of the World Forum of Russian-Speaking Jewry in Canada.

Husband Roman Gerson is a professional coach in classical wrestling. Daughter Victoria Gerson is a graduate of the Faculty of Economics at the University of British Columbia, an employee of a large financial company, is actively involved in Jewish social activities.

Over the past 7 years "Radio VERA" It became an information compass for tens of thousands of Russian-speaking residents of Vancouver and all of British Columbia. When a hurricane raged over the city, listeners called the radio station and asked one thing: “Are you there ?!” A radio tuned to 96.1 FM every morning includes motorists and housewives, businessmen and retirees.

It all started from scratch. By the beginning of the 2000s, there were no Russian-language media in Vancouver, despite the fact that almost 100 thousands of immigrants from the former USSR lived in the city. Alexandra Gerson met with city leaders, potential sponsors, experts in the field of mass communications. She had to overcome many obstacles, a lack of understanding of those around her and those in power, a lack of funding - but in the end she won: Vancouver’s Russian voice got on the air.

Now, without this radio, Vancouver is unthinkable. Alexandra Gerson rallied a young team that broadcasts VERA Radio five days a week. In fact, today it is the only radio in the world where the broadcast is in two languages ​​- in Russian and in English.

Stars of music and theater, cinema and sports, prominent politicians of Canada and Israel have become regular guests "Radio VERA". Alexander Rosenbaum and Leonid Ptashka, Viktor Shenderovich and Efim Shifrin, fellow journalists Matvey Ganapolsky and Alexey Venediktov, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman all performed on the radio at Alexandra Gerson.

These days Alexandra Gerson is one of the contenders for the title "Man of the Year Russian-speaking America" in the category "Mass Media". We wish her good luck and victory in this competition!