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, Susan W. Turnbull, 2018 Democratic candidate for Maryland lieutenant governor and a long-time national Democratic Party leader, will join us for an election recap.
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:
Susan W. Turnbull has dedicated more than 35 years to community activism through both political and philanthropic efforts. The 2018 Democratic nominee for Maryland lieutenant governor, she is a spirited advocate committed to furthering Jewish and feminist values to pursue social justice. Turnbull served two terms as chair of JWI's board of trustees after joining the JWI board in 2006, and followed her JWI tenure as the chair of The Jewish Council for Public Affairs. A long-time national Democratic Party leader, she served as vice chair and deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, and chair of the DNC Women’s Leadership Forum and Women’s Caucus. Turnbull currently serves on the board of Integrity First for America.
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.
Batya Ungar-Sargon is the opinion editor of the Forward. She has written for The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Foreign Policy. She tweets @bungarsargon.
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.