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We are living in a moment that demands courageous, connected leadership. Across the Jewish community and beyond, women leaders are stepping forward to meet extraordinary challenges — strengthening civil society, defending democracy, addressing violence and inequity, and building pathways toward a more just future. Every day at Elluminate, we see what becomes possible when women are resourced, connected, and supported to lead through a gender lens.
This spring offers powerful opportunities to witness that leadership in action.
Through The Collective and the Global Jewish Women’s Leadership Network, we are not only strengthening individual leaders — we are building an ecosystem of collaboration, mentorship, and shared strategy at a time when it is needed most.
The moment calls for sustained investment in women’s leadership.
Please join us at our Luncheon to celebrate our impact and to fuel our future.
With gratitude,
Melanie Roth Gorelick
CEO, Elluminate
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Israel Women on the Frontlines:
U.S.-Israel Women's Leadership Roundtable
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Status of Women's Leadership and Gender Equity in Israel
Tuesday, March 17: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET on Zoom
Includes invitation to April 28 NYC Leadership Lunch
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Elluminate is proud to launch The Elluminate Roundtable: U.S.–Israel Women’s Leadership — a multi-part journey connecting our community with extraordinary Israeli women leaders from the Elluminate Collective, the network of nonprofit CEOs advancing gender equity and social change that Elluminate supports in Israel.
We begin with a powerful virtual conversation on the Status of Women's Leadership and Gender Equity in Israel. This special webinar will explore the issues shaping women’s leadership and Israeli society, featuring several Elluminate Collective members who are leading some of Israel’s most impactful nonprofit organizations. The program will focus on the status of women, preventing violence against women, reproductive rights, and health. As Israel enters a new phase focused on recovery and rebuilding, it will offer a timely and meaningful update for those committed to advancing gender equity.
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Registration for the webinar also includes an invitation to an in-person lunch in New York City on April 28, offering the opportunity for deeper dialogue and relationship-building with Israeli Collective members. Join us to learn, connect, and engage directly with the women shaping Israel’s future.
This conversation marks the first steps in a broader roundtable experience culminating in a Fall 2026 Israel trip.
Join us to learn, connect, and engage directly with the women shaping Israel’s future.
| 3 Takeaways from Our Conversation on Child Trafficking with Lori Cohen | | |
In a recent Elluminating Conversation Webinar, Lori Cohen, CEO of PACT (Protect All Children from Trafficking) and a member of The Collective, shared urgent insights about the realities of child sex trafficking — and what prevention truly requires.
Among the key takeaways:
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Trafficking is local and often involves the exploitation of vulnerability by someone known to the child.
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Online grooming, sextortion, and AI-generated images are rapidly increasing risks, with boys increasingly targeted.
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Prevention works, but only through coordinated systemic change — including education, policy reform, and private-sector accountability.
| | | Elluminating Conversation Webinars - Register Today | | | | |
Advancing Gender Equity and Supporting Women in the Rabbinate
Thursday, March 5, 12:00 PM ET
Featuring: Rabbi Mary Zamore, Executive Director of Women's Rabbinic Network
Click Here to Register
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The Women’s Rabbinic Network is a vibrant and visionary community dedicated to supporting and advancing women in the rabbinate. Through education, advocacy, leadership development, and deep communal care, WRN works to shape a more just and equitable future within Reform Judaism and beyond. Join us for a special webinar with their CEO, Rabbi Mary Zamore, a member of The Collective Cohort 6.
Join us to explore:
- How the Women’s Rabbinic Network has advanced gender equity since the #MeToo movement — and the priority issues shaping its work today.
- WRN’s advocacy to address pay inequity, inadequate family leave, and workplace safety in Jewish communal spaces — and what sustainable change requires.
- Rabbi Mary Zamore’s lessons learned as a transformative leader for women in the rabbinate — and her vision for the future of WRN and women rabbis across all streams.
| | Don’t Miss it — Elluminate hosts a monthly webinar to highlight members of The Collective, our signature leadership advancement program for Jewish women leaders who focus on today’s intractable issues and innovative solutions. | | Register Today for Elluminate Annual Luncheon 2026! | | |
This year’s Luncheon is more than a celebration. It is a gathering of community leaders, advocates, and philanthropists who believe in showing up, leading with purpose, and investing in a stronger future. It is also a special milestone as we celebrate Elluminate’s 30th Anniversary.
Join us to celebrate, connect, and be inspired.
| | We are proud to announce our 2026 Annual Luncheon honorees, Marcy Syms and Andrea Baumann Lustig — two extraordinary leaders whose vision, generosity, and commitment to impact exemplify the values at the heart of Elluminate’s work. | | |
Andrea Baumann Lustig
Mission-Driven Philanthropist &
Strategic Business Leader
Managing Partner, Fischer Stralem Advisors
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Marcy Syms
Philanthropist, Independent Director, Activist, & Longtime Champion of Social Justice
Former CEO and President, Syms Corp.
| | To secure a table, buy tickets, or join the Host Committee, contact Pamela S. Goldstein, Chief Development Officer, at Pamela@elluminatewomen.org. | | Building a Leadership Ecosystem for Lasting Change | | |
On February 9, our Collective-In-Action Site Visit celebrated the relationships that sustain New York’s Jewish social justice ecosystem.
The program featured Cheryl Cook, CEO of Avodah — which mobilizes Jews in service and justice work through its Service Corps and lifelong engagement programs — and Lori Cohen, CEO of PACT (Protect All Children from Trafficking). Both women are members of The Collective, our cohort-based leadership advancement program for Jewish women nonprofit CEOs.
They were joined by partners from Comprehensive Youth Development (CYD), which provides critical services and advocacy for immigrant and vulnerable youth in New York City. Together, the speakers illustrated how investing in leadership at every stage — from emerging changemakers to seasoned CEOs — strengthens the entire field.
A central theme of the program was collaboration. From PACT’s survivor-informed trafficking prevention work in schools to CYD’s frontline support for youth navigating immigration and systemic barriers, to Avodah’s role in developing and sustaining a pipeline of justice-driven leaders, the discussion underscored that lasting social change requires coordinated, cross-sector partnerships.
Through The Collective, Elluminate advances and connects women CEOs who are building these relationships across organizations — fostering the trust, strategic alignment, and shared purpose necessary to meet complex challenges. At a time of significant social strain, the message was clear: collective leadership is not only sustaining this work — it is accelerating it.
| | Jewish Women's Leadership | |
Building a Global Network of Jewish Women Leaders
Driving Equity and Social Change
The Global Jewish Women’s Leadership Network aims to strengthen Jewish women’s collective leadership, power, potential, and impact by weaving a global network of Jewish women changemakers dedicated to advancing equity, justice, and social change. Our inaugural Global Summit this spring will bring Jewish women leaders across our Network together to connect, collaborate, and shape a shared strategy for collective impact through a gender lens.
The Summit is an invite-only event.
| | Collective Connections:
Three Organizations Partner Together for a Day of Service in Israel | |
One of the most powerful outcomes of The Collective cohort program is the way relationships and collaborations continue to grow long after the formal gatherings conclude.
During OLAM’s recent staff retreat in Israel, those connections tangibly came to life. In partnership with Dana Talmi (Cohort 4) of Yahel, Dyonna Ginsburg (Cohort 7) joined her staff for a day of service in Jerusalem. Their work even included a visit to JLM Food Rescuers, led by Daniella Seltzer (Cohort 7).
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Elluminate empowers feminist Jewish women leaders and philanthropists to advance equity and social change.
elluminatewomen.org
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