Marlene Souriano-Vinikoor

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Marlene Souriano-Vinikoor is a proud descendant of Sephardic heritage, with deep roots in Seattle's community. Her parents, Rebecca Varon from Izmir, and Joseph Souriano from Istanbul, immigrated to Seattle in the 1920s. Marlene, along with her three sisters - including her identical twin - and her maternal grandmother, Madame Regina, who was born in Rhodes, was raised in a bilingual home where Ladino and English were spoken daily.

 

She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing from the University of Washington, with a minor in Romance Languages, and further enriched her studies during a summer at the University of Firenze in Italy. Marlene has long been active in preserving and celebrating the Ladino language and Sephardic culture. She was a regular participant in the original Ladineros weekly conversation group and in the University of Washington's annual Ladino Days. Today, she continues her involvement through the monthly Los Muevos Ladineros gatherings and the American Ladino League's weekly Salon de Ladino.

 

Her passions include weightlifting, painting, entertaining, and Sephardic baking - often at Congregation Ezra Bessaroth. She also enjoys auditing courses at the University of Washington's Sephardic Studies Program to stay engaged with the evolving scholarship of her heritage. Raised in the Sephardic Bikur Holim community, Marlene and her husband, Abram Vinikoor, are currently members of Congregation Ezra Bessaroth and Mercaz Seattle. She is a proud mother of three children - two daughters in Seattle and a son in Phoenix - she is a devoted "Nonni" to six beloved grandchildren.