Who are the Kleinrock / Schulers?

Stella (Schuler) and Len Kleinrock are longtime members of Temple Isaiah. Their generous lead gift of $250,000 enabled us to formally launch the Kleinrock Schuler Center for Innovation. Stella and Len have both led fulfilling lives as dedicated professionals. Stella’s career started out as a teacher and then, after further UCLA graduate work, she became a psychotherapist working initially at Jewish Family Services with Holocaust survivors and later in her own private practice in analytic therapy for many years. She is now retired. Len’s career has been as a researcher and professor of Computer Science at UCLA. His lifelong interest began with his MIT mathematical networking research which led, in 1969, to his UCLA laboratory launching what we now know as The Internet. He hoped this would enhance understanding and innovation through connectivity and enable the world’s population to communicate and interact effectively and easily. One of the common themes in Stella and Len’s professional and personal lives has always been a commitment to education, innovation and improvement in people’s communication skills and opportunities. Communication still remains a vehicle for positive interactions and exchange of information.

When the Temple Isaiah clergy expressed a desire to create a “digital community center,” the Kleinrocks felt it was an opportunity for them to provide the means by which they could help realize this mutual dream. It very much resonated with both of their interests and life’s work. It would offer opportunities for members of all ages with their varied communication skills and personal histories to share, learn and communicate and to teach and learn from each other and to extend that to the larger Los Angeles community. In such a center, young digital natives could experiment, expand and hone digital and communication skills. Less tech-savvy folks could learn to navigate the digital world while providing the wisdom of their lifelong experiences.

Altogether the Kleinrock Schuler Center for Innovation has become an opportunity to learn, innovate, create, communicate and enjoy together. As Len and Stella know, people who work and play together tend to understand and appreciate each other even more. That is the hope and dream the Kleinrocks offer through their support of the Center.