Feel the power of Women’s Philanthropy at our Federation’s Annual Lion of Judah Luncheon on Wednesday, February 19th, as we proudly honor Jill Namm with the Lea Rabin Award and Elisa Rubin with the Ruby Award. This year’s exclusive event will feature inspirational keynote speaker Alison Levine, Pioneering Adventurer and New York Times Bestselling Author.
Join our incredible community of women and get the latest updates on our Federation’s life-changing work in Los Angeles and around the world. Don’t miss it!
RSVP by Wednesday, February 5th.
Dietary laws observed.
For more information, please contact Sylvia Crump at (323) 761-8225 or SCrump@JewishLA.org.
Please allow extra travel time — increased traffic is anticipated due to the presidential motorcade passing through the area.
Lea Rabin Award Honoree
Jill Namm
Prior to becoming Valley Alliance Chair, Jill Namm was Valley Alliance Campaign Co-Chair, Valley Alliance Women’s Philanthropy Chair, and Valley Alliance Women’s Chair. Jill currently sits on Federation’s Executive Committee as Secretary and holds the roles of Mission Chair and Chair of the Jewish Campus Life Committee. She is also an alum of JFNA’s National Women’s Philanthropy Board (NWP).
Having traveled on many Federation missions to Israel, Poland, Ethiopia, Budapest, Greece, Russia, China and Lithuania, Jill has seen firsthand how Federation’s work impacts the lives of those in Jewish communities worldwide.
A Lion of Judah since 1998, Jill was Co-Recruitment Chair for the International Lion of Judah Conference in New York City in 2012, Co-Chair of the Heart 2 Heart mission to Israel, and Vice Chair of Communication on the NWP Board. Jill is a proud recipient of Sylvia Weisz Women’s Philanthropy’s Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award, the Golda Award, and the Rita Reznikoff Award.
Jill currently resides in Encino with her husband Steven. Together, they have three children and three grandchildren.
Ruby Award Honoree
Elisa Rubin
Elisa Rubin began volunteering with the Federation immediately upon graduation from college. She was a member of JFNA’s Young Leadership Cabinet for seven years, holding a national portfolio every year, and served on The Jewish Federation’s Board of Directors and Planning & Allocations Committee for over 10 years, chairing several committees and subcommittees along the way. She developed and chaired a coffeehouse speakers program for young adults for two years and co-chaired Federation’s L’Dor V’Dor event with her mother Sylvia Price and two other mother-daughter duos. In 1998, she received the Dorothy Handler Young Leadership Award. Elisa currently sits on the Jewish Campus Life Committee and will be co-chairing the L.A. delegation to the next International Lion of Judah Conference in 2021. She has been a Lion of Judah for over 20 years and has endowed her commitment.
While raising her children, Elisa was President of the Archer School Parent Association and chaired several Archer, Windward, and Brawerman School committees and events. She was one of the founding members of American Jewish World Service.
Elisa received an A.B. from Stanford University and a J.D. from USC, and she practiced law in Los Angeles and Tokyo. She and her husband Steve Rubin have two children, Jaymie and Darren.
Keynote Speaker
Alison Levine
Alison Levine has made a career out of breaking boundaries and inspiring others to achieve more than they ever thought possible. A history-making polar explorer and mountaineer, she served as team captain of the first American Women’s Everest Expedition, climbed the highest peak on each continent, and skied to both the North and South Poles — a feat known as the Adventure Grand Slam, which fewer than 40 people in the world have accomplished. Her success in extreme environments is noteworthy given she has had three heart surgeries and suffers from Raynaud’s disease, which leaves her at acute risk for frostbite.
Levine has also spent time climbing the corporate ladder and worked for several Fortune 500 companies including Goldman Sachs. With a focus on training others to become strong leaders, she spent four years as an adjunct professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point in the Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership and currently serves on the board and faculty of the Thayer Leader Development Group at West Point, one of the nation’s premier executive leadership development programs.
Levine is the founder of the Climb High Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of jobless women in western Uganda by training them to be trekking guides and porters in their local mountains. Her newest role is that of executive producer of the upcoming documentary film The Glass Ceiling chronicling the life of Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the first female Sherpa to summit Mt. Everest.
Levine was inducted into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame in 2018. She holds a BA from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Duke University, where she currently serves on the Board of Visitors. She is the recipient of the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
She is a sought-after consultant and keynote speaker on the subject of leadership development and the author of The New York Times bestseller On the Edge: Leadership Lessons from Mount Everest and other Extreme Environments.
$5,000 minimum gift to the 2020 Annual Campaign for Lion of Judah
$10,000 minimum gift to the 2020 Annual Campaign for Ruby
$18,000/$25,000/$50,000 minimum gift to the 2020 Annual Campaign for Chai/Emerald/Zahav
Sylvia Weisz Women’s Philanthropy is a diverse community of compassionate women connected by Jewish values and our support of the work of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.
By signing up to attend this event, you agree to irrevocably grant to The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles — and to their employees, agents, and assigns — the right to take your photograph, record you, or use your image, silhouette, and/or other reproductions of your physical likeness, as well as your voice and/or words, for all purposes related to marketing and promotion of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, across all media. These rights are granted in perpetuity. You hereby certify and represent that you are of at least 18 years of age and have read the foregoing and fully understand the meaning and effect thereof.