About Us
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms. Founded in 1893, NCJW is the oldest Jewish women’s grassroots organization in the country. Our work, in the U.S. and Israel, is continually guided by Jewish values and the central call to action “Justice, Justice Shall You Pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:18).
NCJW Atlanta Section does not require any financial commitment to join our section.
Our members/advocates are made up of women with a desire to better our community and make our world a better place for women, children, and families.
Our Leadership
NCJW Atlanta Section Staff

Elaine DeSimone

Kerry Cross
2025-2026 Officers

Susan Gordon

Susie Greenberg

Laura Kurlander-Nagel

Joyce Bihary

Kate Kratovil

Sue Tilis

Jenny Reiner

Debra Saxe

Renee Videlefsky

Marcy Bass

Sheri Labovitz

Elizabeth Schmitt

Samantha Schoenbaum

Ronnie van Gelder

Deborah Harris

Jana Frank
2025-2026 Board of Directors
-
Barbara Abend
-
Wendy Aspes
-
Adele Bedrick
-
Kathy Evans
-
Betsy Fleisig
-
Stacey Hader Epstein
-
Michele Hirsch
-
Merle Hoch
-
Karen Isenberg Jones
-
Lizzie Lack
-
Debbie Levinson
-
Molly Light
-
Marcy Louza
-
Debbie Neese
-
Sheri Panovka
-
Jane Perlman
-
Lisuan Poh
-
Rachel Raucher Cox
-
Beth Schafer
-
Gabby Spatt
-
Cathy Toren
-
Sherri Wildstein
-
Mimi Zieman
Our History
The Atlanta Section of National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) was established on October 10, 1895, two years after the national organization was founded in Chicago. At the turn of the 20th century, NCJW Atlanta members assisted newly arrived immigrants with a free kindergarten, a Sabbath School for immigrant children, free hygiene programs, and the Children’s Dental Clinic. During World War II, NCJW Atlanta members helped secure housing and organized English language classes for families fleeing war-torn Europe.
During the 1940s, NCJW Atlanta launched a program of personal services for the children’s ward at Grady Hospital; provided clothing, toys, and educational materials to young Holocaust survivors living in Israel; and founded its popular thrift shop to raise funds for its community programs. The shop was eventually replaced by the section’s annual major fundraiser, Bargainata, in 1970.
NCJW Atlanta established its Golden Age Recreational Clubhouse in 1954, offering a place for senior citizens to socialize, enjoy hobbies, and learn new skills. Two years later, the section opened the Golden Age Employment Referral Service, placing senior citizens in jobs around Atlanta.
NCJW Atlanta Section launched its Tay-Sachs Disease Prevention Program in May 1975 to identify carriers of this fatal disease within Atlanta’s Jewish community. The screenings eventually led to a permanent Tay-Sachs testing facility at Emory University.
Advocacy has been a hallmark of the section since 1910, when members wrote letters to their legislators to support the Federal Child Labor Bill. Since then, NCJW Atlanta members have used their voices, their feet, and their votes to work tirelessly on advocacy issues such as women’s suffrage; the ERA; women’s reproductive healthcare, justice, and freedom; antisemitism; immigrant issues; maternal and infant health; gun safety; and the placement of fair and impartial judicial nominees.
In 2007, NCJW Atlanta brought the Atlanta Jewish Coalition for Literacy into its fold, placing more than 100 volunteer reading tutors in several Atlanta Title 1 schools each school year. This successful program led to the section’s popular “pop-up” Mother’s Day jewelry shops as well as its annual Back-to-School Backpack Project. Atlanta Section’s other community service work reaches immigrant women seeking assistance from domestic violence situations, provides maternal healthcare to mothers and babies in need, warmly welcomes and helps settle newcomers from Afghanistan and Ukraine, feeds the homeless, and provides menstrual products to homeless women and teens.
Community Partners
NCJW Atlanta Section has a long history of working side by side with dedicated partner agencies in our community whose goals and passions align with the mission of NCJW. Among those coalitions are
Women Who Dare: Celebrating Our Sheroes
NCJW Atlanta Section’s annual celebration honoring outstanding Jewish women in our community making a difference in the lives of others.

2025 Honorees
Dr. Amanda Cohn
Pediatrician, scientist, and public health leader
Kate Kratovil
Community Activist
Sheri Labovitz
Retired attorney and community leader
Rabbi Lydia Medwin
Associate Rabbi, The Temple
2024 Honorees
Paige Alexander
CEO, The Carter Center
Gabby Spatt
Vice President of Philanthropy, Hirsch Legacy Fund
Ronnie van Gelder
Jewish Professional & Activist Volunteer
Cheryl Yagoda
Co-Founder, Ian’s Friends Foundation
2023 Honorees
Susie Greenberg
Civil Rights and Human Rights Advocate
Marcy Louza
Co-Founder
The Sandwich Project
Ana Robbins
Founder & CEO
Jewish Kids Groups
Jill Savitt
CEO
National Center for Civil and Human Rights
2022 Honorees
Mindy Binderman
Founding Executive Director
Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS)
Linda Davis
Chair, Jewish Women’s Fund of Atlanta
& Community Volunteer
Jenny Levison
Philanthropist & Founder
Souper Jenny
Rebecca Stapel-Wax
Executive Director
Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity (SOJOURN)
2021 Honorees
Read more about our 2021 event here.
Due to the Covid pandemic, our 2021 Sheroes luncheon was held virtually. You can watch the entire online luncheon here.

Alyza Berman Milrad

Gail Evans

Libby Gozansky

Amy Zeide
2019 Honorees

Elana Bekerman Frank

Lois Frank

Elizabeth Finn Johnson

Valerie Habif

Joanie Shubin
