Hadassah News

A Pipeline for Future Leaders

Meet the inaugural class of Evolve fellows By Libby Barnea

At a time when a number of establishment Jewish groups struggle to recruit and engage younger members, Hadassah is also asking, “What will our next several decades look like? And who will be responsible for leading our 110-yearold organization in the near future?” Now, a new initiative from Evolve Hadassah: The Next Generation aims to answer those questions through a two-year pilot fellowship involving virtual learning sessions and trips to Israel and Chicago to witness Hadassah’s peerless brand of practical Zionism in action.

The three-year-old Evolve, which caters to members under 55, already offers two signature virtual events per year as well as trips to Israel through a collaboration with the outreach organization Momentum. In 2022, the spring event featured Israeli chef Einat Admony, while an art therapist led the fall one, which explored the role that resilience plays in promoting health and well-being. Evolve makes all virtual programs available for watch parties and for in-person gatherings hosted by Hadassah groups, be they young women’s chapters or others with a sizable number of younger members.

But from its earliest days, said Randi Richmond, the group’s director, a primary goal of Evolve has been establishing a pipeline for new leaders.

“In Hadassah’s current structure, we’re struggling to recruit young members,” said Richmond. “If we start by bringing in strong women to serve as leaders, they will then bring in new women who are friends, or who they know from their local communities. We first need those leaders to build a foundation.”

The 10 women who comprise the first class of fellows are all under the age of 45, hail from around the country and bring with them varying levels of past Hadassah involvement and knowledge of Israel. Some, like attorney Amy Sapeika of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Jewish school administrator Leah Felner of Jersey City, N.J., have strong family roots in Hadassah. Others, including Houston speech pathologist Sandye Fertman and health coach Pam Brode of Porter Ranch, Calif., were active in Young Judaea before ramping up their involvement in Hadassah.

For Stephanie Malka, who lived in Israel for eight years, her attachment to Hadassah is deeply personal.

“My two eldest sons were born in Israel in Hadassah hospitals, one in Ein Kerem and one in Mount Scopus,” said Malka, who manages several moving companies in the Las Vegas area. “I benefitted immensely from the hospitals in Jerusalem when I lived there, and I am happy to continue to support their efforts to serve the community.”

Still other fellows see their commitment to Evolve as a means to cultivate leadership experience that will empower their own lives while at the

A STORY PREFACED BY HADASSAH

Twenty-eight-year-old children’s book author Elana Rubinstein

credits her mother’s Hadassah involvement in Howard County, Md., for contributing to her career choice.

“I’ve found that so much of my identity is informed by the strong Jewish values my mom instilled in me,” said Rubinstein, who was made a life member by her mother, Karen Rubinstein, when she was in elementary school. “Hadassah had a huge role in the woman, and writer, I am today!”

Who she is today is the successful author of a chapter book series featuring 10-year-old Saralee Siegel and her tight-knit Jewish family. The third title in the series, A Donut in Time: A Hanukkah Story, which was released by Apples & Honey Press in October, features Saralee traveling back in time to meet a girlhood version of her beloved great-grandmother Gigi. Looking ahead to next year, Rubinstein’s hero will return in the Purim caper The Royal Recipe.

Back in 2019, Rubinstein’s debut Saralee Siegel book, Once Upon an Apple Cake, was a PJ Library selection.

Elana Rubinstein

Evolve fellows (clockwise from top left) Amy Sapeika, Emily Godsey, Emily Shrode, Leah Felner, Nicky Colley, Stephanie Malka, Shoshana Simones, Sandye Fertman, Robin Katcoff and Pam Brode

same time bolstering Hadassah.

“I am intrigued by the idea of getting more involved in Hadassah and gaining leadership skills that I can use in Hadassah as well as in my health and wellness coaching business,” said Pikesville, Md., resident Robin Katcoff.

Shoshana Simones, a content marketing specialist in Phoenix, said that she hopes to build connections to help grow and strengthen the network of young Jewish women in her area. “I have been looking for an opportunity to engage more in the Jewish community and advocate for things I believe in—namely, women’s rights and access to health care,” she said. “I’ve spent the last several years focusing inward, caring for my young family, and I am now ready to start giving back to my community at large.”

During the first year of the fellowship, which kicked off in July, fellows will participate in five educational and training sessions, beginning with a leadership seminar that featured Hadassah National President Rhoda Smolow and CEO/Executive Director Naomi Adler. Other sessions plan to provide an overview of Hadassah’s Israel programs, philanthropy goals, advocacy and Zionism priorities and a bootcamp on public speaking and communication.

Two fellows—Emily Shrode, who works in the entertainment industry in Austin, Texas, and Jacksonville, Fla.-based health care administrator Emily Godsey—will experience Israel for the first time when the entire cohort travels to Israel for Hadassah’s 100th Convention in November. In July 2023, the 10 women will attend the organization’s national business meeting in Chicago.

In the second year, fellows are expected either to create and lead a project in their local area or assume a leadership position in their Hadassah community.

“I hope that by seeing Hadassah projects firsthand, the Evolve fellows will feel even more passionate about Hadassah’s mission and committed to becoming leaders,” said Debbie Knight, Evolve’s chair. “I love that Hadassah is a sisterhood of women who, like me, value the importance of supporting Israel and advocating for causes important to women and to the Jewish community.”

Fellow Nicky Colley of Irvine, Calif., shares Knight’s vision of Hadassah as a network linking likeminded women.

“Being a part of the Irvine Jewish community for the last 10 years, I have made some wonderful friendships and connections,” said Colley, who has a background in event coordination. “I would love to be able to share the incredible work of Hadassah and gather my community’s support for the organization. I would love to see Hadassah as a home for all women, of all Jewish denominations, to come together.”

To learn more about Evolve, including how to nominate a member for a planned second round of fellowships, email evolve@hadassah.org.

Libby Barnea is the deputy editor of Hadassah Magazine.

ZIONISM…DID YOU KNOW?

Israel has one of the highest number

of museums—over 200!—per capita in the world. Fill in the blanks to test your knowledge of some of Israel’s smaller, less well-known cultural institutions.

Visit the Tikotin Museum of ______ Art in Haifa.

There is a Museum of Underground Prisoners in both Jerusalem and

Tour the Tel Aviv home of Haim Nahman ______ , the first great modern Hebrew poet.

The ______ Museum of Contemporary Art is just north of Tel Aviv.

The onetime home of the ______ family in Zichron Ya’akov is now a museum.

In Ramat Aviv, Zionists can visit the ______ Israel Museum.

The Negev Museum of Art is located in ______ .

The National Maritime Museum is also an ______ institution.

Next to the zoo in Jerusalem is the Gottesman Family Israel______ .

The Ayalon Institute, aka the ______ Factory, is located in Rehovot.

NOW YOU KNOW… MORE ABOUT SOME OF ISRAEL’S SINGULAR MUSEUMS