2025 Women’s Empowerment Award Winners to be Honored at Social Justice Conference

12 honorees represent communities across 8 different states, countries

NEW YORK — Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), the feminist affiliate of the largest Jewish denomination in North America, announced its 2025 Women’s Empowerment Award honorees. 

First established in 2019, this award now honors women, nonbinary, or genderfluid individuals who strengthen the voices of others, with a focus on empowering women and girls, and who promote progressive Jewish values. 

WRJ will acknowledge and celebrate these awardees Sunday, April 6, 2025, as part of WRJ’s Rabbi Marla J. Feldman Social Justice Conference (SJC). This four-day conference is designed to train attendees on the biggest social justice issues of our time. Attendance includes advocacy training, access to the Women’s Empowerment Awards dinner, and a Movement-wide day of lobbying at the U.S. Capitol. 

“In line with Women of Reform Judaism’s legacy of strengthening the voices of women worldwide, the individuals selected for this prestigious honor work toward a more just, inclusive, and compassionate world in all that they do for their communities,” said WRJ President Karen Sim. 

In addition to honoring these awardees at the event, WRJ will also present the organization’s most prestigious award, The Jane Evans “Pursuit of Justice” Award to Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy.  

Elkayam-Levy is being honored for her work establishing and leading the Civil Commission on Oct. 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children.

SJC offers a partial registration that runs from Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon that includes lobbying training, the Women’s Empowerment Awards dinner event, and lobbying visits to the Hill. 

All interested – including those who identify as male – are welcome to register for this option. The full conference package is available only to those who identify as female, nonbinary, or gender fluid (age 18+) interested in advocacy in the Reform Movement through a Jewish feminist lens. Register today

The 2025 honorees include: 

  • Shoshana Dweck is WRJ Executive Committee Member-at-Large, co-chair of ARZENU (the international political voice of Reform, Progressive, Religious and Liberal Zionists), and serves on the Anti-Defamation League National Commission and the Executive Board of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). When serving as WRJ’s Social Justice Vice President, Shoshana helped to launch “WRJ says STOP: an Initiative against Sexual Harassment and Assault.”
     
  • Abby Fisher is past President of Beth El Temple Center in Belmont, MA, and was founding chair and still serves on the advisory council for URJ’s 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy. She currently serves as the lay co-chair of RAC-MA and previously served on the Commission on Social Action and WRJ’s North American Board. She also serves on the New England Regional Council of the New Israel Fund. 
     
  • Allyson Gall is a member of Congregation Sha’aray Shalom in Hingham, MA, often found leading social justice initiatives on women’s rights at the Massachusetts state capitol. She was previously the Director of American Jewish Committee for the state of New Jersey. Each year she leads a food packing program of 10,000 meals for the local food bank program, collects 200 wool socks for shelters, and she successfully lobbied state legislators to pass a housing bill in Massachusetts.
     
  • Jan Guttman is a member of B’nai Shalom of Olney in Olney, MD. As a proud ally, her work advocating for LGBTQ+ youth includes having served on the Montgomery County Pride Center Board of Directors, where she served as a press representative regarding LGBTQ+ policies in public schools, helped revitalize the annual Pride Prom, and created ReGenerations, a multi-generational gathering spot for LGBTQ+ people.
     
  • Julie Kantor is a member of Isaac M. Wise Temple in Cincinnati, OH, where she sits on the Board of Trustees and Executive Board. For 14 years, she ran “A Day of Beauty,” a program centered around lifting up residents at the YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter around Valentine’s Day. She has also spearheaded and overseen the Rabbi Lewis and Renee Kamrass Social Action Fund for the last 8 years, distributing over $200,000 to support organizations in the community. She created a Cincinnati Extreme Home Makeover project, called "Home Sweet New Home," to build a new house for a family with 12 children (9 with special needs). Her project team raised over $500,000 in cash and in-kind donations. Described as a “social justice warrior,” she was previously elected as “Woman of the Year” by the Cincinnati Enquirer. 
     
  • Rachel Kashy is a nurse practitioner in Maryland, supporting abortion seekers from West Virginia after the state passed its near-total abortion ban after the fall of Roe. She provides medication abortions, assists with procedural abortions, provides gender-affirming care, and supports routine reproductive sexual health care for patients across the gender spectrum. 
     
  • Anne Landman is a member of Brooklyn Heights Synagogue in Brooklyn, NY. She has held various leadership positions within the congregation including President, treasurer, capital campaign chair, and served as the coordinator for the congregation’s homeless shelter for the past 10 years. She has been a volunteer at the shelter since its inception 40 years ago and organizes annual shelter “teach-ins” for seventh grade students and other teen-focused programming to best involve them in the efforts of the shelter. 
     
  • Sherry Matusoff Merfish is a member of Congregation Emanu El in Houston, TX. She previously served as a Majority Council Director for EMILY’s List, conceiving, planning, and implementing the major donor program in a range of states, including her native Texas. She has dedicated her career to debunking harmful sexist Jewish stereotypes, including the term “JAP,” through speaking tours and has helped with culture shifts by co-founding an organization with her daughters that asks women to disclose their abortion histories. Sherry currently serves on the Executive Committee and the National Board of New Leaders Council and on the Board of the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
     
  • Daryl Messinger is the current chair of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA). She is a past chair of the URJ Board of Trustees. In addition to ongoing responsibilities with the URJ, she currently serves as a chair of Leading Edge and on the boards of Israel Policy Forum and Hebrew Union College, and the Jewish Agency for Israel. From 2011-2015, Daryl was chair of the Reform Pension Board (RPB), which serves Reform movement professionals and has a total portfolio of more than $1.8 billion. She was the first woman to serve as chair of ARZA, URJ, and the RPB. Daryl is a member of Congregation Beth Am and Beth Am Women in Los Altos Hills, CA.
     
  • Sarah Rumbaugh is a member of Temple Beth El in Tacoma, WA, where she currently co-chairs the Social Justice Committee. She serves as a Tacoma City Council member and spearheads community issues such as affordable housing and homelessness at a local and regional level. Maintaining a steady focus on equity in all her work, she has also served on the City of Tacoma’s Human Rights Commission to study and investigate problems of prejudice, bigotry, and discrimination. 
     
  • Jillian Segal AO is an active member of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, based in Sydney, Australia. She serves as the inaugural Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism for Australia, a position appointed by the prime minister following her advocacy fighting against the rise of antisemitism in the country following October 7, 2023. She is also a past president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, a national body representing the Australian Jewish community.
     
  • Samie Winick is a member of Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom in Youngstown, OH. After 30 years teaching in the special education department for Youngstown City Schools, she has dedicated her time to civic engagement within her community. She serves as Social Action Committee chair for her congregation and the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, is a campaign team and core team member of RAC-Ohio, and co-chairs the Fund for Women and Girls, which is dedicated to supporting the Youngstown community.