Waldbaum named JCC board prez

Granddaughter of supermarket founder, philanthropist takes reins at Roslyn-based center

BY CAMERYN OAKES

Nancy Waldbaum, community leader and the granddaughter of the Waldbaum supermarket founder, is the newest board president at the Sid Jacobsen Jewish Community Center and said she is looking forward to continuing the center’s work to bounce back from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Waldbaum said she comes from a family dedicated to philanthropy, a pursuit and passion instilled in her and applied to the work she implements in her life and at the Sid Jacobson JCC.

She has long served in charity work, including for organizations like Northwell Health, the Manhattan Jewish Experience and Variety Preschoolers Workshop. She is currently involved with the Jewish National Fund’s upcoming culinary institute, which is planned to be located in Israel. She is a longtime active member of the Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation.

Waldbaum has served on the JCC board since 1992, starting at the age of 24 and serving for the past 31 years – more than half of Waldbaum’s life. She is also the executive director of the I. Waldbaum Family Foundation, serving since 1991.

During her time as a board member, Waldbaum has chaired the development committee, chaired the dinner dance — the JCC’s primary fundraiser – and has sat on nearly every JCC board committee.

Amassing 31 years on the JCC’s board, Waldbaum said she has witnessed a variety of leadership and staf changes. Through these three decades, she’s observed how leadership has conducted itself and said she will take those lessons into her new position as president.

“I’ve watched,” Waldbaum said. “I’ve watched what we’ve done well, I’ve watched what we’ve done exceptionally and I’ve learned from our mistakes.”

She said she has been inspired by the JCC’s staf and their eforts for constant innovation, contributing to the center’s expanding programming.

Waldbaum has a vision of where she wants to take the Sid Jacobsen JCC, including creating an overarching endowment fund to protect the center and its members in the event of a future emergency comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want us to have an endowment to protect us so that the children, the grandchildren, the great-grandchildren will have the opportunity to use our programs, to use our facility, to get what they need from us,” Waldbaum said. “Whether they’re cancer survivors looking for resources, special needs, whether they’re kids going to camp or preschool, we serve so many populations that need us so desperately it would be a crime for us to exist.”

The Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center is located at 300 Forest Dr. in East Hills. (Photo courtesy of the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center)

Other goals Waldbaum has include renovations to the JCC building, appropriate security for member safety, strengthening commitment to their community needs bank and securing donors and partners.

“We really are looking to shore up all of our avenues and all of our facilities in an efort to make us strong and sustainable and ofer people the best programming that we can provide,” Waldbaum said.

Waldbaum’s position began July 1, taking over in the wake of former JCC board president David Levy.

“Nancy and her family have taken to heart the idea of Tikkun Olam (“repairing the world”), a tenet embraced by everyone at Sid Jacobson JCC who make it a guiding principle of our daily work on behalf of Long Island families and our community,” Levy said in

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