Message from Our CEO 

When I joined Elluminate nearly two years ago, I was deeply taken by the powerful community of bold, visionary Jewish women at the heart of our flagship program, The Collective. These leaders are shaping a better future — guided by Jewish values and a deep belief in justice, equity, and possibility.

One moment I’ll never forget came from a donor after she made her first major gift to Elluminate this year. She said: “I have given for most of my life to social justice organizations, but this year, no matter how much they shared their support of Israel and the Jewish people, I couldn’t provide any further support. I was glad there was a Jewish space like Elluminate committed to and holding up social justice issues through a gender lens.”

We are living through profoundly complex and challenging times. I’m proud to lead this organization at a time when the world so clearly needs what Elluminate offers: bold leadership, a strong sense of community, and an unwavering commitment to elevating women who are building a better world. 

This was the feeling that undergirded our recent Annual Luncheon. The feeling of community and unity in the room was palpable. 

To support this vision, we are working to transform philanthropy itself — a field still deeply shaped by gender bias — by strategically directing funding to women leading social change. According to 2024 research from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, only 2% of U.S. philanthropic dollars go toward organizations focused on women's rights, education, health, and other related causes. Think about what that means, especially at a time when women’s rights are under threat around the world.

These times demand more. Cuts in U.S. aid are disproportionately affecting women and girls. Workplace equity, healthcare, and basic protections are left to the whims of shifting political winds.

Elluminate is a community of changemakers and philanthropists who care. As we close our fiscal year please consider making a generous gift to Elluminate to support women leaders when the world needs them most. 

Warmly, 

Melanie Roth Gorelick

Elluminate CEO

It’s A Wrap: Elluminate’s Annual Luncheon 

More than 400 visionary Jewish women nonprofit leaders, feminist philanthropists and advocates gathered at Elluminate’s 2025 Annual Luncheon on May 13 at Cipriani in New York City. The program honored Carol Becker, CEO of William Greenberg Desserts, and Barbara Hope Zuckerberg, Feminist Philanthropist and cherished Elluminate Board Member.

Elluminate launched its Global Jewish Women’s Network at the event, which featured Sivan Yaari — Founder & CEO, Innovation: Africa — one of the first visionary Jewish women CEOs supported by Elluminate in 2012. The program also featured members of Elluminate’s Collective Leadership Advancement program, Cohorts 5 & 6, represented by Julie F. Kay, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, and Moran Zer Katzenstein, Founder and CEO of Bonot Alternativa, which protects women’s rights in Israel.

Thank you to all who attended. Elluminate’s work is more important than ever as we create a safe and dynamic space for nonprofit women leaders working on today’s most critical and emergent issues in the US, Israel and around the world.

To read the eJewish Philanthropy article on the Luncheon, click here.

Highlights

Luncheon Co-chairs Aela Morgan, Linda Yarden, and Madelyn Bucksbaum Adamson

Sivan Yaari, Featured Guest Speaker

Elluminate Board of Directors

Luncheon Honoree Carol Becker

Elluminate Luncheon guests

Luncheon Honoree Barbara Hope Zuckerberg

To watch the Impact video from the Luncheon, click here.

Elluminate Is Making an Impact

The Collective 5-Year Impact Report: Elluminate’s Leadership Advancement Program captures the findings of an independent evaluation of the first five years of The Collective, our signature leadership program designed to strengthen, connect, and elevate Jewish entrepreneurial women and their organizations — all working for social change through a Jewish and gender lens.  

• The report underscores the significant impact of The Collective. To read or download a copy of The Collective 5-Year Impact Report, click here.
• To read Melanie Roth Gorelick’s Times of Israel thought piece on the report, click here.

Collective In-Person Retreat

Elluminate’s Collective Leadership Program brought together cohorts 5 and 6 — made up of visionary Jewish women nonprofit CEOs from the US, Israel and Africa — for a three-day in-person immersive experience. Facilitated by Collective Educator Ruth Messinger and Israel Representative Liron Peleg Hadomi, the retreat provided an opportunity for leaders to discuss world events and their impact on the leaders' social change work, as well as a workshop on how to move forward in a challenging and ever-changing environment. They also focused on leading with and applying a gender lens to their cause.

Elluminate hosted a President’s dinner, which included presentations from Nancy Kaufman, senior advisor and facilitator of Women in the C-Suite, and Liron Peleg Hadomi, Elluminate’s Israel Representative, and held a Siyum (graduation), to recognize the two years of participation of cohort 5 of the Collective. 

Safe Homes: Safe Haven with UJA

Elluminate was proud to be a sponsor of the UJA-Federation of New York Safe Homes: Safe Spaces Summit on May 20, which brought together over 100 attendees focusing on domestic violence in the Jewish community. The program featured several Elluminate Collective members working in the women’s safety space. Elluminate CEO Melanie Roth Gorelick moderated a special conversation on the state of domestic violence and trauma in Israel since October 7th with speakers Tamar Shwartz of Women's Spirit and Orit Sulitzeanu of The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. Congratulations to Alexandra Roth-Kahn at UJA!

Crown Jewel Conversations

Meet Dina Shalev, Executive Director of Lada’at - Choose Well, our featured guest for our June Crown JEWEL Conversation webcast on Monday, June 9 from noon to 1 pm ET. Dina, who is in Cohort 5 of Elluminate’s Collective, is a powerful advocate for sexual and reproductive health for Jews and Arabs in Israel, and will discuss policies and practices around their access to contraception and abortions.  

To register, click here. 

Watch our most recent Crown JEWEL Conversations below:

Kimberly Novod, Founder and Executive Director of Saul’s Light — and member of Elluminate Collective Cohort 5 — click here. 

Jamie Beck, Founder and President of Free to Thrive — and member of Elluminate Collective Cohort 5 — click here.

Keshet Starr, CEO of Shalom Task Force and former CEO of the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot — and member of Elluminate Collective Cohort 5 — click here.

Elluminate’s monthly Crown JEWEL Conversations webcast highlights members of our Collective — visionary women leaders creating social change on today’s emerging, pressing issues through a Jewish and gender lens. 

Please consider making a generous gift to support Elluminate’s work and programming during this critical and challenging time.

Elluminate

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