Julie
Datnow
Nickname: The Multi-talented Mom
Age: 35
where she’s at now:
Wexner Heritage Foundation fellow, member of UJF board of
directors, chairperson (along with husband Paul) of recent Hillel art
auction, co-chair UJF Young Leadership Division, co-chair Ben-Gurion Society.
why she’s on this list:
The highly competitive Wexner fellowship caps a career filled
with Jewish accomplishments, including working for the ADL and United
Jewish Communities in New York and serving on the board of Congregation
Adat Yeshurun. “If I had to find a theme throughout my communal
involvement so far, it would be helping myself to find my own passions
within the Jewish community and advocating for others to really get involved,”
says the enthusiastic mother of two. “I just want people to get
in the game, and I hope to be able to provide some of the skills to people
so they can do that.”
praying for a language miracle:
Though she grew up in a Conservative household, Datnow was
not particularly religious. That is, until she sought to avoid her college
language requirement. “I thought about going to Italy or whatever,
but my parents said if you want to go abroad, you can go to Israel,”
recalls the University of Colorado-Boulder graduate. “I had been
to Israel many times as a child, and I didn’t feel a great passion
to go, but once I got there, it really ignited something in me….
That changed the whole path of my life.”
where will she be in 18 years?
“I would love nothing more than to go and spend a year
learning in Israel,” she says. “That would recharge my batteries
in ways I can’t even imagine.”
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