ELLUMINATE NAMES TEN JEWISH WOMEN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS TO ITS FIFTH COLLECTIVE
Each Will Receive Funding, Mentorship, and a Support Network to Grow and Elevate Their Impact and Leadership
New York – May 24, 2023 – Ten Jewish women social entrepreneurs in the United States and Israel — each driving innovative approaches to complex community and global challenges — were named today to the fifth Collective of Elluminate.
The Collective — established in 2019 — is a dynamic incubator for Jewish women who are using their Jewish values and a gender lens to create meaningful and enduring systemic and societal change. The issues tackled by the members of The Collective range from gun violence and human trafficking, to reproductive choice and urban renewal.
Each member of The Collective will receive two years of unrestricted support; professional development funding; and a robust curriculum focused on leadership and organizational growth.
In addition, they will have the opportunity to forge relationships with Elluminate’s dynamic network of Jewish women philanthropists and activists for idea exchanges, networking, and collaboration, and be given a prominent platform to raise awareness of their issue areas and impact.
“Elluminate is exceptionally honored to shine a light on these visionary, forward-thinking leaders, to help to fuel their trajectories, and to accelerate their impact,” said Rachel Weinstein, Board President of Elluminate. “We hope that the greater philanthropic community will take notice and help us eliminate the disparity in funding that is channeled to Jewish women social entrepreneurs.”
The new cohort will bring the total number of Jewish women changemakers in The Collective to 50, increasing the opportunity to deepen synergistic collaborations and increase impact.
The ten will be welcomed on May 24 during Elluminate’s 2023 Gala luncheon in New York as the newest cohort of “JEWELs“ — Jewish Entrepreneurial Women Executives and Leaders.
“We are excited to introduce our new JEWELs to the Elluminate family of visionary changemakers,” said Rachel Siegel, Director of Strategic Programs at Elluminate. “Each is inspiring in her passionate pursuit of social justice.”
Members of Elluminate’s fifth cohort of The Collective were selected from a pool of nearly 175 social entrepreneurs following a rigorous vetting and interview process by Elluminate’s philanthropists and activists.
Elluminate’s fifth cohort of The Collective:
Rina Ayalin-Gorelik (Adv), Executive Director, Association of Ethiopian Jews (Ramla, Israel). Ayalin-Gorelik is an attorney specializing in civil law. As Executive Director of AEJ, she advocates for equal opportunities, civil and human rights, and policies to ensure optimal inclusion and a better quality of life for Ethiopian Israelis.
Jamie Beck, Founder, President and Managing Attorney, Free to Thrive (San Diego, CA). Beck is a former civil litigator who provided pro bono legal services to human trafficking survivors and discovered a lack of providers available to them. She founded Free to Thrive to offer legal help to survivors, advocate for a more survivor-centered and trauma-informed legal system, and educate communities and stakeholders about the scourge and toll of human trafficking.
Avital Blonder, Founder and CEO, Jindas – Social Urban Vitalization (Lod, Israel). Blonder is devoted to entrepreneurism and social activism to raise disadvantaged youth, underprivileged families and under-resourced communities in Israel. She founded Jindas in 2012 to advance social and economic mobility through innovative urban renewal projects in Israel’s social and geographic periphery.
Wendy Goldberg, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Tri-Faith Initiative (Omaha, NE). Goldberg is a thought leader on bridging differences, religious pluralism and inclusive environments. She co-founded and now directs Tri-Faith Initiative as a social laboratory modeling the power and potential of interfaith partnerships to build and sustain strong communities.
Kimberly Novod, Founder and Executive Director, Saul’s Light Foundation (New Orleans, LA). Novod and her husband, Aaron, lost their son, Saul, in 2014 after he spent 20 days in a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) as a result of complications from his premature birth. They founded Saul’s Light Foundation to provide NICU and bereaved families with the comprehensive resources and community support they need through the ordeal and its aftermath, and advocate for family-centered and culturally responsive care and equitable healthcare policies.
Jessica Sager, Co-Founder and CEO, All Our Kin, Inc. (New Haven, CT). Sager is an attorney and a leading voice in the field of family child care. As Co-Founder and CEO of All Our Kin, Inc., Sager leads an organization that trains, supports and sustains family child care providers primarily in under-resourced communities in Connecticut and New York City, advocates for child care providers, and partners with adjacent organizations across the country to strengthen the early childhood landscape.
Dina Shalev, Executive Director and Head of Advocacy, Lada’at – Choose Well (Jerusalem, Israel). With a background in psychology, social work and crisis intervention, Shalev leads Lada’at, working to ensure that Israelis have full access to information and services to make their own sexual and reproductive choices.
Keshet Starr, CEO, Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (New York, NY). Starr is an attorney and advocate for individuals seeking a Jewish divorce. As CEO of ORA, she spearheads efforts to eliminate abuses in the Jewish divorce process, advocate for timely and unconditional issuance of gets (a bill of Jewish divorce), and offer educational programs to raise awareness of the plight of agunot (women unable to obtain a get).
Orit Sulitzeanu, Executive Director, The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (Jerusalem, Israel). Sulitzeanu has dedicated her professional career to advancing the rights and status of women in Israel and ending violence against them. Since 2013, she has served as Executive Director of ARCCI, working to combat sexual violence and harassment by raising awareness and providing services and support for victims.
Ruth Zakarin, Executive Director, Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence (Boston, MA). After 25 years working with youth and adult survivors of domestic and sexual violence, Zakarin became the inaugural Executive Director of MCPGV, which seeks to prevent gun violence through education, advocacy and community organizing. She actively creates and promotes models of trauma-informed advocacy and policy making.
Full bios of each member of The Collective are posted here.
About Elluminate: Elluminate (formerly the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York) empowers trailblazing Jewish entrepreneurial women and visionary feminist philanthropists in their pursuit of systemic social change in the U.S. and beyond. Bringing together a diverse coalition of bold women, we address the unique challenges faced by female leaders, ensuring that they are supported and elevated as they battle to change the world. Together, we work as a force multiplier for vital social change, fostering collaboration, strengthening leadership capabilities, magnifying voices, and accelerating transformational influence and impact.