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Meet Your Neighbor: Christina Primack
By Callie Thomas
“Your work is to discover your world and then, with all your heart, give yourself to it.”
– Prince Guatama Siddharta
If there were one word that would describe 89052 resident Christina Primack, it would be dedicated. Christina is always hard at work helping others find jobs in the community.
Christina has resided in our community since childhood and has a heartfelt passion for her hometown. While her career had been primarily in the real estate industry, covering all facets from the building and lending process to sales and marketing, Christina has taken her former career skills and put them to practice by becoming the Director of Project Ezra. “When the economy made a drastic turn, I reached out to my network for employment opportunities. This is how I learned of Project Ezra, a program of the Jewish Family Service Agency (a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization.) As director, Primack assists and empowers those in need of jobs with employment opportunities. “By utilizing my extensive contacts and applying my marketing skills to create greater opportunities for the unemployed in our community, the program has reached far greater successes than anticipated,” Christina said.
The Jewish Federation of Las Vegas allocated a grant to the Jewish Family Service Agency last March to begin the Project Ezra program. Project Ezra continues to generate support through private donations, corporate sponsorship and other grant opportunities. In addition to assisting with employment, Project Ezra provides other services, including counseling and financial aid. “Our clients are dealing with extraordinary challenges that they have never faced before, including foreclosure, joblessness, loss of health care, hunger and depression,” Primack said.
Project Ezra clients encompass a wide range of individuals from age 17 to 87. Christina has been the director of the program for the last ten months and in that time has coached and mentored over 450 unemployed people. Over half have successfully secured employment by learning the techniques that Primack teaches and utilizing the resources that she provides. “We are identifying job opportunities for people educated with master’s degrees as well as those without a high school diploma. We have also assisted others with physical and mental disabilities. I coach my clients to reach out to their growing network of contacts and focus on conducting interviews with poise and confidence. I’m very determined about getting our community back to work and aiding building in self-sufficiency. Everyday I help facilitate meaningful success stories that make a difference in people’s lives and motivate me to work even harder.”
When Christina isn’t spending time with husband Brett, their two children Austin and Ashley and her toy yorkie Abbey, or expressing her creativity through her contemporary paintings which have been shown in several local galleries, she continues to actively support the community through a number of organizations. These include having served on a variety of boards and committees such as the Jewish Community Center of Las Vegas, Congregation Ner Tamid and Jewish Federation of Las Vegas. Primack is also an advocate of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), lobbying local and national legislation. “The work I do today is the most important and fulfilling work I have ever been privileged to participate in,” she said. “Mentoring those adversely impacted by the economic downturn and presenting them with viable job opportunities is a responsibility I take very seriously, and it is the most important mitzvah (blessing) one can do!”
