The Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York Elects New Officers and Welcomes Seven New Board Members
July 1, 2019 – New York, NY – The Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York (JWFNY), a leading voice and presence which achieves change by providing organizations that are founded or run by exemplary women with a platform of support and guidance to help create and sustain social change, announces new leadership of its Board of Directors. The Executive Committee will be led by Rachel Weinstein as President. Madelyn Bucksbaum Adamson and Shelly Mitchell now serve as Vice Presidents, Aela Boyum Morgan as Secretary, Melody Sawyer Richardson as Treasurer, and Debbie Cosgrove as Immediate Pass President and Governance Committee Chair.
Joining them on the Board of Directors are seven new members whose extraordinary capabilities, experience, and commitment to gender equality make them valued additions:
Stephanie Garry: Ms. Garry has been Director of Community Relations for Plaza Jewish Community Chapel since 2002, and in November of 2014 became Chief Administrative Officer. Ms. Garry sits on the North American Advisory Board and Executive Committee of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Stephanie is a former member of The Commission for Social Action, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of CAJAC (Community Alliance for Jewish- Affiliated Cemeteries).
Haftam Yizhak-Heathwood: Ms. Yizhak-Heathwood was born in Gondar, Ethiopia during a time of turmoil and fled with her family to Israel in the early 1990s. She served for two years in the medical unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. She moved to the United States in 2011 and worked in childcare. In 2017, Ms. Yizhak-Heathwood joined JWFNY where she began her social advocacy work in the non-profit sector. This experience allowed her to rise as a leader within the Ethiopian Jewish community in the NYC area and become affiliated with many other organizations such as Be'chol Lashon, JCC Manhattan, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, and Repair the World. She recently left childcare to focus on non-profit work full time.
Rabbi Mira Rivera: Rabbi Rivera is the first Filipina-American woman to be ordained at The Jewish Theological Seminary in 2015 with an M.A. in Jewish Studies. She earned a B.F.A. with honors at Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Currently she serves at Romemu as the Jewish Emergent Network Rabbinic Fellow and as a Board-Certified Chaplain. She co-founded Harlem Havruta, “a brave space for Jews of Color, allies, and co-conspirators” at St. Mary’s Episcopal where she has also served as Chaplain for the Client Choice Pantry Program. Rabbi Rivera is a co-chair of the rabbinical council of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) and proud member of the first cohort of Jewish Women of Color Resilience Circle, as well as Bend the Arc’s Selah Cohort 15 for Jews of Color.
Dana Levinson Steiner: Ms. Steiner is Director of ACCESS Global at AJC, where she oversees an international program to engage young professionals through transformative leadership development. Previously, she served as Manager of Jewish Leadership & Impact at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU. Ms. Steiner holds a B.Ed. in secondary history from McGill University and an M.A. in Jewish experiential education from the Jewish Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in education and Jewish studies from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at NYU. She is an advisory board member of the Gender Equity in Hiring in the Jewish Community project, and is a gender equity consultant in the Jewish community.
Marilyn Thypin: Ms. Thypin earned a doctorate in Educational Psychology from New York University. She was a professor at William Patterson College and served as an advisor to the New York City Public School System on learning disabilities. She has also authored educational materials designed for illiterate populations. In addition, she was a working partner in her family's company, Thypin Steel, a steel distribution company. Ms. Thypin, a long-time member of JWFNY, also sits on the National Board of Directors of ORT America.
Rebecca Youngerman: Ms. Youngerman is an independent consultant who works primarily with nonprofit organizations through RGY Consulting. Her passion lies in partnering with organizations and individuals who wish to make bold change in their organizational culture. Ms. Youngerman serves on the advisory council for the Center for Jewish Living at the Marlene Meyerson JCC in Manhattan. She earned an MPA and BA in Political Science from American University’s School of Public Affairs. She also completed a Certificate in Facilitation from Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership and recently earned a nonprofit executive education certificate from the Kellogg School of Management Board Member Institute for Jewish nonprofits. She is part of the inaugural cohort of the Schusterman Fellowship and is a member of the ROI Community.
Barbara Zuckerberg: Ms. Zuckerberg is a long-time supporter of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York. She is a Trustee at myFace, a non-profit organization founded to address the all-too-visible plight of those with facial differences by assuring them access to the comprehensive and highly personalized team care at The myFace Center at the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center. As the Director of the Barbara Hope Foundation, she is active in supporting films such as Pray the Devil Back to Hell and PBS’s Women, War and Peace. Ms. Zuckerberg has been a member of NCJW for over 50 years; she held many positions, including serving as past president of her section and on the national board. She represented NCJW at the United Nations for a number of years. She also served on the Board of Directors of UJA Federation of New York.
Jamie Allen Black, CEO of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York, said, “As JWFNY continues to develop our new direction – supporting innovative women who use a gender lens to solve intractable problems facing women and girls throughout the world – adding these impressive and accomplished new board members provides more depth and breadth to our work. This outstanding group of women, who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the women who came before them, will bring a commitment to gender justice and social innovation through entrepreneurship, diversity, and sisterhood. I thank them for their time and passion and look forward to working with them along with Rachel Weinstein, our new President, and a powerful Executive Committee to ensure a world where women and girls have access to all they need to fulfill their potential – in the United States and globally.”
The new board members join Ms. Weinstein, Ms. Bucksbaum Adamson, Ms. Mitchell, Ms. Boyum Morgan, Ms. Sawyer Richardson, Ms. Cosgrove, Loren Averick, Rachel Bluth, Kathryn Weg Brandt, Emily Gindi, Avra Gordis, Roberta Gordon, Elise Hahn Rubin, Julie Sisman, Diane Stern, as well as honorary members Frances Brandt, Madeline Caslow, Miriam Caslow, Marilyn Gottlieb, Madeleine R. Grant, Fern Hurst, Betsy Landis, Klara Silverstein, Peggy Tishman z’’l, Lynn Tobias, and Arlene Wittels.
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About the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York
The Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York’s leading voice and presence raises the consciousness of a broad-based community to the issues affecting women and girls. To achieve change, we provide organizations that are founded and/or run by exemplary women with a platform of support and guidance to help create and sustain social change programs with missions aligned with the goals of the Foundation. To supplement our grantmaking, JWFNY educates the community and advocates for policies that positively impact women and girls at the local, federal, and international level. JWFNY is uniquely positioned to create long lasting, systemic and impactful change. Members of JWFNY have the opportunity to hone and share their philanthropic voice to affect change in New York, Israel, and around the globe.