Every Friday at noon we’re joined by editors from The Forward and JTA, as well as special guest news writers and news makers, to discuss what’s happening in the world and how it affects women.
We start with a 10-minute news roundup, then take a 20-minute deep dive into a top-of-mind issue for the week.
This week, Amy Spitalnick, executive director of Integrity First for America, will join us to talk about rising antisemitism and spreading disinformation.
This event is free.
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Every Thursday evening you'll get a reminder with links to tune in on Zoom or Facebook. We’ll also send a recording every Friday afternoon.
Journalists. Activists. Feminists. Panelists.
This week’s expert:
Amy Spitalnick is the executive director of Integrity First for America, the nonpartisan civil rights nonprofit backing the landmark federal lawsuit against the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and hate groups responsible for the Charlottesville violence. Amy joins IFA with extensive experience in government, politics, and advocacy. She previously served as communications director and senior policy advisor to the New York Attorney General, leading the media and public affairs efforts on critical national legal fights. She has also served as communications advisor and spokesperson for the New York City Mayor and communications director in the New York State Senate. Amy previously worked on a number of federal, state, and local campaigns and advocacy organizations, including as J Street's first Press Secretary. She is a Truman National Security Project Partner; a New Leaders Council faculty member; and a Women in Power Fellow at the 92nd Street Y. She graduated from Tufts University.
Philissa Cramer is the Jewish Telegraphic Agency's editor in chief. Prior to joining JTA in 2020, she was a founder and editor at Chalkbeat, the nonprofit news organization covering education. She is a graduate of Brown University.
Laura E. Adkins is the opinion editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and an adjunct professor of journalism at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women. She was previously the deputy opinion editor at the Forward, the editor of Jewish Insider, and an assistant blogs editor at The Times of Israel. At the Forward, she wrote about kosher wine, orthodoxy, data and built interactive maps — though usually not all at the same time.
Laura’s writing has appeared in the Washington Post, The New York Times, SELF, Glamour, and elsewhere. Laura is an avid marathoner and makes a mean garlic za’atar challah.
Molly Boigon is an investigative reporter with The Forward and is the author of the FAHRENHEIT 411 newsletter on disinformation and the Jewish community, which is a collaborative effort between the Forward and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Before joining the Forward in 2019, Molly was an education reporter and producer at WGBH, a Boston NPR station, where she covered Boston Public Schools. She has written investigations about philanthropy tied to money laundering, school closures impacting students with Autism, environmentally costly construction projects and more.
Jodi Rudoren became editor-in-chief of The Forward, the nation's oldest independent Jewish news organization, in September 2019 after more than two decades as a reporter and editor at The New York Times. She is helping lead a transformation of the storied 123-year-old institution, a nonprofit that went digital-only in early 2019.
At The Times, Jodi served as Jerusalem bureau chief from 2012 through 2015, covering two Israeli elections and two wars in Gaza. She previously covered the 2004 American presidential campaign, and served as Chicago bureau chief, education correspondent and education editor, and deputy on both the Metropolitan and International desks, before joining the masthead as associate managing editor for audience strategy.
A longtime digital innovator, Jodi was executive producer of the multimedia series "One in 8 Million," which won NYTimes.com's first Emmy Award, in 2009, and served on the 2020 committee about the newsroom of the future. She also serves on the board of directors of the Fuller Project, a nonprofit newsroom doing groundbreaking investigative work on issues that affect women.
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 daughter Sofie, of the bestselling series of interactive journals, Just Between Us (Chronicle Books). Prior to joining JWI, she founded ModernJewishMom.com, the first Jewish parenting website (now part of Kveller), and was the host of the WYPR radio show, Connecting Family and The Jewish Channel television holiday specials, Modern Jewish Mom.
Jacobs assumed the role of CEO after serving as JWI’s chief operating officer for six years; in that role she managed communications, branding, messaging, and development. She has shepherded the development of numerous JWI leadership initiatives, including the Jewish Communal Women’s Leadership Project; Men As Allies: Leading Equitable Workplaces ; and the Young Women’s Leadership Network. Jacobs also works closely with JWI’s philanthropic partners, Sigma Delta Tau national sorority and Zeta Beta Tau national fraternity, developing initiatives like the award-winning Green Light, Go! and Girls Achieve GrΣΔΤness. A sought-after speaker, moderator and writer, her opinion pieces appear frequently in outlets such as JTA, eJewishPhilanthropy, and Washington Jewish Week.