Leslie Shuman Kramer KOLOT Fund

Amplifying Women’s Voices

Leslie Shuman Kramer z”l was a transformational leader for the Buffalo Jewish Federation. In her decades of living and leading across Jewish Buffalo, the impact she made on individuals, our community’s culture, and its institutions was profound. Leslie’s influence was both far reaching & accessible and nuanced & specific. She had the ability to look at community and issues of Jewish peoplehood from a strategic 10,000 ft perch and in the same moment drill down to the granular level. Regardless of her purview, Leslie was always present. Hineni, she would say, here I am: to help, to listen, to lead, to play my part.

LESLIE’S IMPACT

While serving as the President of the Buffalo Jewish Federation, Leslie was a constant and wise force, advocating for the most pressing issues of the day such as helping maintain calm during the pandemic, investing in security and community relations infrastructure, transformational institutional change, reimagining immersive travel experiences, and designing pipelines and pathways to Jewish engagement and leadership. Leslie’s approach to leading was molded and motivated by her primary passions: family & legacy, travel, wellness, Jewish learning, and the power of woman.

THE LESLIE SHUMAN KRAMER KOLOT FUND

In 2019-2020, despite and amid the Pandemic, Leslie initiated and planned an immersive retreat called KOLOT for women leaders of Federation’s board of governors. The legacy of that experience reverberates today as so many participants were stirred to action as a result of the dialogue, Jewish learning, and friendship they experienced during KOLOT.

The Kramer and Shuman families have established the new KOLOT Fund in Leslie’s memory. The income from this fund will be used by the Federation to honor Leslie’s lifetime of impact and her extraordinary leadership to continue her legacy of amplifying women’s voices.

This fund will not be time or project bound, rather it’s projects will reflect Federation’s values and support the many ways in which Federation moves its mission forward. Projects to be funded by the Leslie Shuman Kramer KOLOT Fund will be determined in collaboration with the Kramer and Shuman families, and will focus on elevating women’s voices and growing future female Federation leaders. To be considered for funding, projects must address a minimum of one of the following elements: family & legacy, immersive experiences, deep Jewish learning.

We must look forward. We must laugh and love and create. We must continue to dream and to work toward those dreams. We must travel the road, and allow the bumps to help guide us. It will be a rocky, rollicking ride as we move forward.And I for one intend to enjoy it.

-Leslie Shuman Kramer, Jewish Journal of WNY President’s column, June 2020

In addition to a deep passion for her own family, Leslie viewed Jewish people as belonging to a larger extended world-wide family (am yisrael). Despite the challenges and complexities; friends in Buffalo, National Women’s Philanthropy, and Israel — were all part of her extended mishpacha.

FAMILY & LEGACY (AM YISRAEL)

This passion area will be in support of the growth and strengthening of family connections. Potential Leslie Shuman Kramer KOLOT Fund projects could include:

• A fully funded trip to the General Assembly, the BJF Leslie Fellow - given to an emerging female leader to help them understand and experience the power of the collective.

• Continued research and experiences to connect Jewish Buffalonians to their Sokolivka roots.

“Growing up, I learned that weJews must take care of one another - we are one family, no matter how we practice or observe ourJewishness. Traveling in Parisinour20s,mybrotherandIcameacrossasmall bakery, off the beaten track near Montmartre, far fromtheJewishquarterofLeMarais.Insidewemet the proprietor, a Frenchwoman who recognized us as foreigners immediately. She didn’t want to come out and ask directly, but somehow, I knew that SHE knew that we were Jewish. Her face lit up and she pointed to her chest and said that she, too, was Jewish.Andvoila,aninstantconnectionbetweenus and a Frenchwoman in a tiny, non-descript bakery, thousands of miles from our home. We are all part of something big, together.”

-February 2020

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES (LECH LECHA)

Leslie was instrumental in bringing immersive travel and conference experiences back as an essential engagement tool of the Buffalo Jewish Federation. A journey is an essential part of the Jewish cannon, from Abraham to Miriam and so many others, the idea of venturing beyond what one knows is considered an essential tool of growth.

From her participation in the 2012 leadership mission, her dedication to supporting the annual JFNA General Assembly, her architecture of the original Buffalo Israel Experience and her advocacy to secure funding to send the first group of women parenting Jewish children on a year-long Momentum journey, Leslie led a renaissance in designing immersive experiences for Jewish Buffalo.

This passion area will be in support of projects, which bring together groups of women to dive deeply into shared time, during a shared Jewish experience, in a shared space. Potential Leslie Shuman

projects could include:

• A Women’s Immersive Experience in Spain. A small group of women, emerging and existing leaders, experience immersion, leadership development, an exploration of history in an effort to engage and inspire Jewish Buffalo’s next transformational female leaders.

• A leadership engagement experience for the 35 + Momentum alumna focused on amplifying their voices and offering training to help scale their leadership.

“I reflected upon my own access to outstanding and inspiring national gatherings and trips of women only. I reflected upon the power of those experiences—where being among strong, smart, like-minded women recharged my batteries and introduced me towomenIcouldseeasmentorsinmyroleasacommunityleader.Iwantedtobringthat opportunitytotheincrediblewomenofthisBuffaloJewishcommunity.So,theplanning began.Initially,weenvisionedaweekendgetawayfeaturingaJewishscholarwithdeep educationalsessionsandplentyoftimetobuildcamaraderieandfriendships.Nowwith the pandemic, rather than shelve our plans, we doubled down to create what we hope will

-October 2020

Kramer KOLOT Fund

be a powerful experience for the 21 women on our Board.”

DEEP JEWISH LEARNING (TORAH LISHMA)

Leslie was a masterful writer and a passionate learner. Her commitment was always torah lishma, the idea from Pirkei Avot that learning is valuable for its own sake. She spoke eloquently and often about the importance of learning and regularly translated what she found most compelling into written stories or D’vrei Torah to share with others.

This passion area will be in support of deep Jewish learning experiences that inform and inspire Jewish leadership – or, celebrate learning for its own sake. Potential Leslie Shuman Kramer KOLOT Fund projects could include:

• Jewish writing workshops for current or emerging leaders — skill development for how to use Jewish wisdom to inform and inspire.

• Conferences, workshops, small groups to support women in Jewish learning journeys.

“I am inspired by the stories in our ancient books. When we delve in to the stories, we learn how human our ancestors were, how difficult life was and we learn from their decisions, their good deeds and their colossal mistakes. I am one of three women who study in a chevruta here in Buffalo … when we meet, it is a cherished experience.”

-October 2019