Hadassah Presents: Women of Vision

Journalist Jane Eisner was the first female editor-in-chief of The Forward, one of the country’s top Jewish newspapers — a position she held for more than a decade. In this episode of Hadassah Presents: Women of Vision, Eisner speaks with Hadassah CEO Janice Weinman about rising through the ranks of journalism as a woman, the differences between working in mainstream and Jewish media and her advice to young journalists who want to break into the field.

For more than a decade, Sivan Yaari's nonprofit organization, Innovation: Africa, has used Israeli technology to bring lifesaving assistance to African countries lacking light, water and electricity. Yaari speaks with Hadassah CEO Janice Weinman about founding Innovation: Africa and how, despite the COVID pandemic, it succeeded in bringing these critical resources to more than one million people in 2020 alone. Yaari also talks about how access to these resources can empower the women in these communities

One of the country’s foremost heath care leaders, Rear Admiral Susan J. Blumenthal is a passionate advocate for women’s health and a wide range of other national and international public health issues. She joins Hadassah CEO Janice Weinman to discuss her pioneering work as America’s first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health, the health care challenges women face today and the importance of ensuring women’s health equity — a key part of Hadassah’s mission.

Jennifer J. Raab will soon mark her 20th anniversary as President of Hunter College, the largest college in the City University of New York system and one she transformed from an open-admissions institution into a selective, highly ranked college. In the third episode of Hadassah Presents: Women of Vision, President Raab talks to Hadassah CEO Janice Weinman about the importance of public higher education and the challenges facing colleges and universities today.

Dr. Georgette Bennett, founder of the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees (MFA) and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, has shown the world that by bridging ethnic and religious divides, by working together, individuals can have enormous impact. Listen as Dr. Bennett discusses her humanitarian work with Hadassah CEO Janice Weinman, including what inspired her to help Syrian refugees and how she builds interfaith alliances to serve the common good.

In the premiere episode of "Women of Vision," Dr. Mehnaz M. Afridi, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at New York City’s Manhattan College and Director of its Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center (HGI), joins Hadassah CEO Janice Weinman for a fascinating conversation on the importance of teaching the Holocaust, creating mutual understanding between Muslims and Jews, and how she mentors her students. Dr. Afridi is believed to be the only Muslim teacher of the Holocaust in the United States, and likely the world.