J. Kent "Kenny" Friedman Oral History Interview and Transcript
Houston Jewish History Archive at Rice University Interviewee: J. Kent "Kenny" Friedman Interviewer: Dr. Joshua Furman Date: December 28, 2020 J. Kent Friedman has recently retired as the General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer of Morae Legal Corporation, an international legal consulting firm. He grew up in Biloxi, Mississippi, and received a B.B.A and a LL.B. degree from Tulane, as well as a LL.M. degree in Taxation from Boston University. Kenny has served as president of the Mickey Leland Kibbutzim Internship Foundation, president of the Southwest Region of the American Jewish Committee, and chairman of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, among many other positions in Jewish communal and Houston lay leadership. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Leon Jaworski Award from the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary and the Max Nathan Award from the American Jewish Committee. He is married to Dr. Ann Friedman, and has five children and eight grandchildren. In this interview, Kenny speaks of his childhood and family history, and the role Judaism had in each. He discusses his secondary education and career, exploring how his Jewish identity adapted to and influenced his development as a lawyer and prominent community leader. Kenny speaks of his move to Houston and his involvement with the city’s political and social organizations, especially the Harris County - Houston Sports Authority. He discusses his son Andrew Friedman’s distinguished career in baseball, including stints as the general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers, and describes what it was like to have competing rooting interests during the now-controversial 2017 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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