Join us for the second webinar in our ICONS series, in partnership with the America-Israel Friendship League, to meet three remarkable businesswomen who run social impact enterprises.
This webinar will feature Tal Zur of iota, Kerry Brodie of Emma’s Torch, and Anya Cole of Hania New York, and will be moderated by JWI CEO Meredith Jacobs.
We will explore the motivations behind of each of these three micro-enterprises and learn how they leverage consumer markets to provide livable wages to other women facing economic hardship. Each of the three will share their own personal and family narratives that influenced their ventures and that still contribute to their brand identity.
The panel will share stories of perseverance and success as reflected in these social enterprises:
iota's hand work is carried out by women working from their homes. iota teaches them the skill of crochet knitting and supplies work for them. They believe in women's empowerment and giving back to society. iota is a social-business, both ecologically and socially conscious, with a commitment to sustainability and community support.
Emma’s Torch empowers refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking through culinary education.
Hania New York is a luxury knitwear collection founded by Anya Cole in 2012 and knit by hand by craftswomen in New York City, infusing contemporary style into a centuries-old tradition. Hania’s dedication to sustainability and female empowerment translates into a fair price for the crafting of all pieces to the brand’s makers, which can be earned on a schedule that benefits them and their families.
JWI CEO Meredith Jacobs moderates; hosted by Ruby Shamir, executive director of AIFL’s Israel office and director of international operations.
ICONS is a partnership of JWI and AIFL. Registration is free.
PANELISTS
Anya Cole spent much of her down time in between ballet performances knitting garments she could only imagine. “If you need it, you make it,” her mother had taught her, and it was only natural that eventually the designer would establish her own brand, featuring imaginative, one-of-a-kind pieces she was unable to find anywhere else on the market. “If you need it, you make it,” her mother taught her. Born in Poland, Anya pursued the creative arts from a young age, beginning with a classical training in ballet, ultimately allowing her to perform with the Metropolitan Opera in Poland. In addition to dance, her inspired mind propelled her to take up knitting in order to produce the garments that her mother so keenly suggest she make for herself. Anya’s passion for knitting has continued throughout her life and was brought with her to New York City when she moved there in the late 1980s after years spent in West Germany, where she knitted to support herself and her young daughter. Upon launching HANIA, Anya made hand knitting the heart of the brand, staying true to her background and indulging her personal passion. Today, HANIA garments are all hand knit by a community of women across New York City. Anya and her dad, in her handmade sweater, 45 years ago. What does this sentence mean? Anya continues to bring a dancer’s sensibility to all of her creations under the HANIA mark, ensuring that a natural ease of movement and an elegant drape are central to all designs. The brand frequently explores collaboration with the ballet community. She has worked on various projects ranging from short films to photo shoots with world-renowned ballet dancers, including former ABT (American Ballet Theater) principal dancers Lisa Reinhart and Julie Kent, one of America’s most celebrated ballet dancers and the current Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet. Anya’s strong commitment to an authentic and uncompromised luxury, her sense of sharing with genuine generosity and her attachment to the talented ladies who help realize her unique, artistic expression are at the heart of HANIA New York.
Kerry Brodie founded Emma’s Torch in 2016 but had dreamed of it long before that. Cooking has always been her passion: at the age of five, she started training under the watchful eyes of her grandmother, a former caterer and event planner. Working in media -- as the Global Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign and the Director of Communications at the Israeli Embassy -- the daily headlines about the refugee crisis screamed in her face. The time to act is now, she decided. After all, as Anne Frank once said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Isn’t it though? Kerry is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education, where she won the Wusthof Award for Leadership and was named ACCSC Graduate of the Year. She holds a Master’s Degree in Government from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. She was named one of City & State’s 40 Under 40 in 2018.
Tal Zur is Creative Director and Head of Design in iota. Tal is an alumna of the HIT Design Academy and today a junior professor at the school. She is also an alumna of the Museology and Curator program at the Tel Aviv University. Tal finds interest in working with crafts and with combining industrial and textile designs. In iota she brings her ideas and visions into creative designs and products.
Meredith Jacobs (moderator), JWI's CEO, is an award-winning journalist and former editor-in-chief of Washington Jewish Week. She is the author of The Modern Jewish Mom’s Guide to Shabbat: Connect and Celebrate—Bring Your Family Together with the Friday Night Meal (HarperCollins) and co-author, with her children Sofie and Jules, of the bestselling series of interactive journals, Just Between Us (Chronicle Books). Meredith assumed the role of CEO after serving as JWI’s chief operating officer for six years. Before joining JWI, she was the founder of ModernJewishMom.com (now part of Kveller.com), host of the radio shows "Connecting Family" and “Modern Jewish Mom,” director of family programming for Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, and facilitator for the Washington, D.C. Mother’s Circle (for non-Jewish women raising Jewish children).
For the past 30 years, Ruby Shamir has served as Executive Director of the Israel Office of the America-Israel Friendship League, an organization dedicated to strengthening the ties between the United States and Israel through its people-to-people programs. Formerly, Ruby was the Director of Public Events in the Public Affairs Division of Tel Aviv University. She is also an active partner in her family’s real estate projects. Ruby is one of the founders of International Women’s Forum (IWF) in Israel and the former international secretary of IWF. She was the Co-Chair of the Spring conference of IWF 2000 and a member of the Israeli organizing committee of IWF Spring 2016 conference in Tel Aviv. Among her various public activities, Ruby has been serving for many years as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Schneider's Children at Schneider Children Medical Center of Israel.
