Collier/Lee Hadassah announces Inspiring Women honorees

By Diane Schwartz

Collier/Lee Hadassah announces and celebrates the 2022 Inspiring Women from Collier and Lee counties. Naomi Bloom, Linda Oberhaus, Robin Mintz and Susan Pittelman will be honored on Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 11 a.m. Though planned as an in-person tribute, the event will now be held virtually as a Zoom webinar due to the changing COVID-19 situation. The Lynn Wilner Award, in recognition of the chapter’s late past president, who inspired so many to join and become active in Hadassah, will be presented to the honorees.

Through its programs, training and work around the globe, Hadassah empowers women to learn and lead in their career, volunteer and community leadership roles. With this emphasis in mind, the Collier/Lee Chapter of Hadassah has created the Inspiring Women event to recognize the importance, value and impact empowered women make in our communities. The honorees have used their leadership skills, dedication, experience, generosity and time to make a difference in their organizations and the quality of our lives. Ultimately, their efforts impact our communities. Hadassah is proud to honor these Inspiring Women.

“It’s exciting to recognize Naomi, Linda, Robin and Susan, not only for their individual accomplishments but for their impact,” said Chapter President Joyce Toub. “Geared to the community as well as Hadassah members, attendees and supporters of these Inspiring Women will have an opportunity to celebrate their talents, gifts and passion for what they do through this event.”

Naomi Bloom

Naomi Bloom

Naomi Bloom was the leading independent voice, business strategy advisor, platform architect, market influencer, blogger and global speaker about enterprise class human resources management software, during her half-century career. After 20 years of corporate and consultancy experience, she established her own consultancy firm, Bloom & Wallace. She has been honored many times for her intellectual contributions and business leadership in her field.

Moving to Southwest Florida, she and her late husband, Ron Wallace, began a commitment to local charities and nonprofits. Continuing their involvement, she is vice chairman of the Board of the Florida Repertory Theatre. She provides financial support and advice to several other local arts and cultural organizations and the Jewish Federation of Lee and Charlotte Counties and Temple Judea. She was recently honored by the Pace Center for Girls.

Linda Oberhaus

Serving as CEO of The Shelter for Abused Women & Children since 2007, Linda Oberhaus has more than 30 years of professional experience in the human services field. Earning a master’s degree in social work from the University of South Florida, Linda has completed executive from Harvard Kennedy and Harvard Business schools. She is a graduate of Leadership Florida, Leadership Hillsborough and Leadership Collier. She previously served as a board member of the President’s Family Justice Center Initiative, the Harrell Center for the Study of Family Violence and on the Florida Bar 20th Judicial Grievance Committee.

Volunteering her time to serve as a state-certified auxiliary deputy with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Oberhaus responds to hundreds of calls while on patrol. Linda has received numerous awards for her efforts, including the Outstanding Community Leadership Award from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. She was named Person of the Year by Naples Daily News and was named a 2018 Leading Lady by Naples Illustrated.

Robin Mintz

Before settling in Naples, Robin Mintz lived in numerous cities around the country and, in each one, she became involved in women’s organizations, including Hadassah. Following in her mother’s Life Member of Hadassah. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for Jewish Federation of Greater Naples as well as Women’s Cultural Alliance. She is also an officer on the Executive Board of Temple Shalom. Mintz works parttime as a production editor at Atlanta Parent magazine, where she has worked for 25 years.

Mintz volunteered to work on Jewish Federation of Greater Naples’ first Jewish Book Festival in 2015. For the next four years, she and Susan Pittelman served as Book Festival Committee Co-chairs with Ted Epstein at the helm, after which, Mintz and Pittelman became the 2020-21 Book Festival Co-Chairs. The very successful Jewish Book Festival, presented by Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, which now features 18+ authors, has become a must-do event in Naples.

Susan Pittelman

Jewish Book Festival Co-chair, Pittelman notes that she is an inveterate volunteer. She became a member of the Collier/ Lee chapter of Hadassah and has served as the four-generation life member of Hadassah, Pittelman gifted each of her daughters with a life membership for their bat mitzvah. After serving as a vice president of Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), Pittelman joined the board of Temple Shalom Sisterhood and, as a director on the board, shares her extensive knowledge about WRJ.

Pittelman has been honored as one of Sisterhood’s Women of Valor. Additionally, she serves as Publicity Coordinator on the WCA Board and serves on several Federation committees, including the 2022 Campaign Cabinet. As a co-founder of the Federation’s Pomegranate Society, she is Associate Chair of the group. Pittelman is a former book publisher, which gave her additional insights into planning the Federation’s Jewish Book Festival.

You are invited to mark your calendar for the March 13, 2022 webinar at 11 a.m. to help honor these inspiring women. To register and receive the link, contact Rona Senior at ronasenior@gmail.com.