JCA Member Tapped for Hadassah Leadership Program

February 4, 2026

Hadassah Welcomes Its Fourth Group of Future Hadassah Leaders

The 11 women from 7 states are the latest to be chosen for Hadassah’s Evolve Leadership Fellows program

NEW YORK, NY — Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is proud to announce its new class of Evolve Leadership Fellows. The 11 women comprise the fourth group chosen for the two-year leadership development program, which the organization launched in 2022 to identify and nurture the next generation of Hadassah leaders.

The fellows, a diverse group of women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s from California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Texas, include professionals working in cybersecurity, education, healthcare, social work, and the arts as well as several part and full-time homemakers.

As befits a group participating in a leadership development program run by an organization with a strong focus on healthcare and a public hospital system, Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Organization, among the fellows’ specialties are academic coaching for neurodivergent children, therapy for autistic children, healthcare consulting, donor recruitment for blood banks, and locating housing for doctors working in underserved communities. Carol Ann Schwartz, Hadassah National President, welcomed the new fellows, saying she was "delighted to see younger Jewish women eager to take up the mantle of leadership to help advance Hadassah’s mission."

During the first year of the Evolve Leadership Fellows program, the fellows meet with Hadassah's national leaders and learn about the organization’s programs and initiatives in Israel and the US. They also participate in a series of workshops led by Hadassah's senior management team, which focus on developing the skills needed to inspire and lead their fellow Hadassah members.

In the second year, each fellow is paired with a Hadassah mentor and asked to take on a leadership role in her local Hadassah chapter or region based on the community’s needs and interests. Among the roles taken on by past fellows are the presidency of their Hadassah region, representing their regions at meetings of the World Zionist Congress and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, and chairing a Hadassah Evolve symposium.

The Evolve Leadership Fellows program is part of Evolve Hadassah: The Next Generation, a Hadassah initiative that seeks to build community among younger members and empower them to take action so that Hadassah’s mission remains life-changing for generations to come.

About Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America:

Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is the largest Jewish women’s organization in the United States. With nearly 300,000 members, donors, and supporters, Hadassah brings women together to effect change on such critical issues as ensuring Israel’s security, combating antisemitism, and promoting women’s health care. Through its Jerusalem-based medical center, the Hadassah Medical Organization, Hadassah helps support exemplary care for more than 1 million people every year as well as world-renowned medical research. Hadassah’s hospitals serve without regard to race, religion, or nationality and earned a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2005 for building bridges to peace through medicine. Hadassah also supports two youth villages that set vulnerable youth in Israel on the path to a successful future. Visit hadassah.org and follow Hadassah on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Threads.

Carly Wittman has been selected as a member of Hadassah’s newest cohort of Evolve Leadership Fellows.

Carly, a second-generation Hadassah member, was encouraged to apply to the Fellows program by longtime Hadassah member Leslie Gonzalez, who knew Carly wanted to develop leadership skills, was committed to Israel, and was active in the Fellows’ umbrella group, Evolve Hadassah: The Next Generation.

Carly has been involved in Jewish life since she was young. She attended Congregation Beth Israel in Old Orchard Beach, the Hebrew school of Congregation Etz Chaim in Biddeford, and Jewish summer camps in Portland (Camp Gan Israel) and Windham (the JCA’s Center Day Camp). In her senior year at the University of Maine, Orono, she was Hillel president.

Today, in addition to her activity with Hadassah, she sits on the JCA’s Intercultural and Government Advocacy committees and is proud to have testified at the Maine State House against a BDS bill. She hopes to form Maine’s first Hadassah chapter with the help of the JCA’s Young Jewish Professionals group, of which she’s also a member. For now, she’s happy to be part of New England’s Hadassah Northeast chapter, joining meetings by Zoom and sometimes traveling to Boston for events.

Carly is a senior research analyst with Portland’s Crescendo Consulting Group, which works to improve life in the communities it serves by advising local healthcare organizations, public health departments, and tribal nations. It’s another way in which her interests complement the mission of Hadassah, which operates a public hospital system in Israel.

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National Diaper Need Awareness Week 2026

September 15, 2026

The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine Marks National Diaper Need Awareness Week, Celebrating Community Support for Maine Families As Maine recognizes National Diaper Need Awareness Week, September 14–20, Michael Klahr Jewish Family Services (KJFS) at the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine (JCA) is highlighting the ongoing challenge of diaper need and the extraordinary network of volunteers, donors, funders, and community partners who make the KJFS Diaper Bank possible. Across the country, one in two families with young children struggles to afford enough diapers to keep their children clean, dry, and healthy. Diapers are a basic necessity, but they are also an economic issue for families: many childcare and early education programs require parents to provide an adequate supply of diapers, meaning diaper need can create another barrier to parents’ ability to work. Here in Maine, the KJFS Diaper Bank works to ensure that families throughout the state have access to this essential resource. As an essential component of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, KJFS approaches this work in the spirit of Jewish values—the belief that caring for our neighbors and helping people meet their most basic needs is a responsibility we share. The Diaper Bank puts those values into action by serving families of all backgrounds throughout Maine. In 2025, the JCA distributed 290,050 diapers to an average of 965 children each distribution month. Currently, the Diaper Bank serves clients in Lewiston, Gray, Raymond, Mechanic Falls, Brunswick, Saco, Biddeford, Gorham, Windham, Standish, Buxton, Steep Falls, Scarborough, South Portland, Portland, and Westbrook. As we continue to see the impacts of inflation, diapers continue to be a barrier for families, and without clean diapers, babies are exposed to potential health risks and toxic stress, and mothers are at risk for increased maternal depression. In a letter recognizing National Diaper Need Awareness Week, Maine Governor Janet Mills thanked the state’s diaper banks, staff, volunteers, and donors for their service and specifically recognized the JCA among the trusted community-based organizations working to distribute diapers to families throughout Maine. “We thank Governor Mills for recognizing the work of so many across our community to address diaper need,” said Susan Cohen, CEO of the JCA. “Jewish tradition reminds us that we are responsible for one another, and that caring for our neighbors is both an obligation and an expression of our deepest values. Through this work, we seek to ensure that every family has the dignity, resources, and opportunity they need to thrive.” The work of the KJFS Diaper Bank is only possible because of the community behind it. In 2025, the Diaper Bank had over 80 volunteers, including 50 individual volunteers as well as many corporate and student volunteer groups who donated over 700 volunteer hours. Volunteers help receive, organize, package, deliver, and prepare diapers for distribution, while individuals, businesses, foundations, government partners, and community organizations provide the financial and material resources needed to keep shelves stocked. Margaret Mailander, Director of Michael Klahr Jewish Family Services shares that "addressing the immediate diaper need is important and as the National Diaper Bank Network has made clear through their research, diaper need is a systemic issue caused by economic and social systems and therefore requires our collective support to find solutions that are structural." During National Diaper Need Awareness Week, KJFS encourages Mainers to learn more about diaper need, organize diaper drives, volunteer, and support the continued availability of diapers for families throughout the state. Please donate to the Jewish Family Services Diaper Bank at Diaper Bank . About Michael Klahr Jewish Family Services KJFS is the social services department of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, providing programs and resources that support individuals and families and strengthen communities throughout Maine. Guided by Jewish values and open to people of all backgrounds, KJFS works to meet immediate needs while fostering dignity, connection, and well-being. About the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine The Jewish Community Alliance (JCA) is a central hub for Jewish life, education, and community support. We provide meaningful programs, essential services, and opportunities to connect. Rooted in Jewish values, history, and our connection to Israel, the JCA cultivates and sustains a welcoming and thriving Jewish community in Maine and strives to build a better world for all.

A Call for Peace and Responsible Rhetoric

July 31, 2026

A Call for Peace & Responsible Rhetoric

Remembering, Rebuilding, and Resilience: JCRC Hosts Eugene Damlich

July 15, 2026

Last week, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine welcomed Eugene Damlich, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, for a special lunch and community dialogue. Eugene shared the story of losing his family, surviving unimaginable violence, and rebuilding his life in the years that followed. The only surviving child in a family of five children, Eugene later immigrated to the United States, where, as an adult, he found love and belonging with a Jewish-American family. The gathering was not simply a testimony program, but a genuine exchange between communities. Eugene asked participants how the Jewish community has preserved Holocaust memory while helping survivors and their descendants live with hope, dignity, and purpose. He also invited discussion about forgiveness, justice, healing, and the responsibility to transmit memory across generations. Several people at the table were children of Holocaust survivors—one JCRC member, Anna Wrobel, shared that her mother was also the sole survivor of her family—profoundly relating to Eugene in a way that few others can. In preparation for the lunch, the JCRC held its first movie night, where participants watched Sometimes in April, a 2005 historical drama about the Rwandan Genocide. Last week’s lunch also built upon the JCRC’s participation in this year’s Kwibuka, which annually commemorates the Rwandan Genocide; JCRC members walked in the memorial procession, and a post-Kwibuaka gathering for Maine’s Tutsi community was held at the JCA. We are deeply grateful to Eugene for sharing his testimony, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen the relationship between Maine’s Jewish and Tutsi communities.