New York, NY; May 6, 2011—American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is proud to announce that its board chair, Barbara Dobkin, has received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). Founded in 1875, HUC-JIR is the nation’s oldest institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism.
Barbara Dobkin has been a funder, activist and leader in the social justice arena for over twenty-five years and has built a reputation as a passionate advocate for women and girls in both the Jewish and secular communities. She is a trustee of the Dobkin Family Foundation and the chair of the Dafna Israeli Fund in Israel. The founder of Ma’yan: The Jewish Women’s Project, Dobkin is also founding chair of The Jewish Women’s Archive and founding chair of the Hadassah Foundation. Dobkin has served as a founder and board member of Advancing Jewish Professionals and the Jewish Community, and has served on the boards of Women’s Funding Network, The White House Project, the Women Donors Network and Lilith Magazine.
Since 2009, as AJWS’s board chair, Dobkin has continued to support global women’s empowerment as many of AJWS’s partner organizations focus on enabling women to serve as primary agents of change and advocates for rights that include healthcare, sustainable development and education.
“Barbara’s commitment to human rights and Judaism’s imperative to pursue justice is extraordinary and women throughout the world have benefitted from her indefatigable efforts,” said AJWS president, Ruth Messinger. “HUC-JIR picked a wise, compassionate leader for this award.”
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