Top Row:  Joan Maniere, Marty Henderson, Rabbi Rebecca Reice, Sharon Krumholz, Ruth Ann Plotkin, Merle Dover, Beth Payan, Raquel Schuster, Marcelle Friedman, Melissa Drexler, Ettie Baranoff, Suzanne Newberg   

Second Row: Michele Schwartz, Paula Friedman, Christine Kutnick, Cyral Miller, Paula Kushlan, Jane Leseten, Ann Kocher, Nanci Kahn, Melisa Markman, Amy Webberman, Susan Pintchovski, Leslie Otis, Alice Marcel, Andrea Hockfield  

Third Row:  Lynn Gellman, Bettie Forman, Elyse Rosenberg, Lea Isgur, Courtney Newmark  

Courtesy: Bettie Forman 

By Bettie Forman 

NCJW Austin held an Installation Ceremony and party in May to usher in a new leadership team and get a start on the very important year ahead. They followed up in June with a planning session for the upcoming year, including community service projects, speaker programming and advocacy projects. NCJW is the oldest Jewish feminist civil rights organization in the U.S. and Israel, working for equity and justice for all women, children and families. All the projects done in Austin NCJW are working towards that mission.  

Programming will kick off with a voter mobilization event on September 12 at the Dell JCC. A representative from Vote Forward, a non-partisan organization that works to increase voter turnout, will be there. After the presentation, members will begin a letter writing campaign to increase turnout. Snacks will be served, and non-members are welcome to attend.   

The big event of the fall will take place September 22, with the NCJW Double Chai Celebration. NCJW Austin will celebrate its legacy in Austin and honor all the past presidents. Courtney Newmark will be given the highest honor, the Hannah G. Solomon Award for her continued passion and dedication to the NCJW. This will be a community celebration, and all are invited.   

Issues they will focus on the rest of the year will include gun safety, reproductive rights, anti-hate programming, Israel issues and more. There will also be advocacy training in a lead up to Texas NCJW Day on the Hill in the spring where they will visit legislators and advocate for some of these important issues.  

To learn more visit ncjwaustin.org or contact ncjwdoublechai@gmail.com.