NINA FRIEDMAN
THE POWER OF BRINGING IN NEW GENERATIONS Energetic and committed, Nina Friedman folds her passion for Hadassah into a firm belief that education and engagement with Hadassah can be fun. This approach has guided her successful efforts as Outreach and Engagement VP for Hadassah Chicago North Shore. At 46, Nina has helped attract like-minded women to Hadassah by honoring the past while introducing fresh ideas.
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ometimes, that means social events, like a distillery tour, to bring new members and donors into the Hadassah fold. At the same time, she’s significantly boosted long-term engagement as a liaison with Momentum, a partnership she describes as a “perfect marriage” through which Hadassah brings women, with children under age 18, to Israel. Once back, each cohort shares a yearlong learning experience. Friedman says, “The hope is women will see that it’s not just your grandmother’s Hadassah.” As a fourth-generation Hadassah member, Friedman should know. “I can’t remember not knowing about Hadassah,” she says. Her maternal grandmother, Annette Goldberg Sohn Hirsch, began the family’s lifelong connection to and passion for Hadassah. “My mother, Hindea Sohn Markowicz,” says Friedman, “was president of Hadassah Toledo for many years. For 24 years, she ran Check It Out, Hadassah’s breast cancer awareness program for area schools, winning the Hadassah National Education Award.” Her paternal grandparents, Ruth and Philip Markowicz, met at a displaced person’s camp in Germany after surviving the Holocaust. Ruth was active in the
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