Michelle Carlson is a past national president of Sigma Delta Tau Sorority, where she has volunteered for the past 26 years. Michelle served on SDT’s board of directors for 16 years as national VP of recruitment, national VP of partnerships, national president, and immediate past national president. She currently serves as the advisor to the Chi chapter at the University of Michigan and is a member of the Jewish partnerships team, extension team and NPC committee. During her time on the board of directors, Michelle was instrumental in the success of the partnership between JWI and SDT, including such highlights as Safe Smart Dating, Life$avings, Girls Achieve Grapeness, and Sigma Delta Tau’s Centennial dedication of a JWI library in a battered women’s shelter in New York City. She has represented Sigma Delta Tau at Women to Watch for the past ten years and has been a constant champion for the amazing partnership between the two organizations. Michelle received her undergraduate degree in African Studies from Arizona State University and worked for the March of Dimes in NYC as the director of special events before having children. She has served as PTA president at her boys’ elementary and middle schools, focusing on fundraising through direct campaigns and various special events. Michelle lived in NYC for 20 years and recently moved to her hometown, Las Vegas, with her husband RJ. She has two sons, Jason and Brian.
Pam Sherman is a nationally-syndicated columnist (the Suburban Outlaw), actor, recovering lawyer and leadership consultant. Today Sherman coaches and conducts programs for leaders all over the world about leadership communications and how to find their EDGE: Explore, Dream, Grow, & Excite™. She is a keynote speaker, has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, law firms, advertising agencies and is a highly rated global resource for leadership groups, including, EO, Vistage Worldwide and YPO. Her portrayal of legendary columnist Erma Bombeck in “At Wit’s End” played to sold-out audiences around the country. Sherman was recently quoted in the New York Times regarding leadership and emotional authenticity. www.thepamsherman.com
2017 Women to Watch Honoree
Tami Ackerman has been a volunteer for Sigma Delta Tau Sorority for nearly 20 years and just completed her term as national vice president, overseeing philanthropic partnerships. She currently works in her family’s retail business, in addition to spending numerous hours volunteering. Ms. Ackerman recently completed her tenure as a member of the board of trustees to Sigma Delta Tau’s other national philanthropic partner, Jewish Women International. She also serves on the Long Beach Central Council PTA. Ms. Ackerman holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Rhode Island, where she double majored in Human Science and Services & Human Development and Family Studies. She also minored in Psychology. Ms. Ackerman holds a master’s of education degree from Long Island University in the area of School Counseling. Upon graduation she worked at the Kings County District Attorney office, in the truancy and legal lives units. Ms. Ackerman lives in Long Beach, New York, with her husband, Matt, and her two children.
Susannah is a proud Midwesterner from Rochester, MN. She made her way to the East Coast to attend Connecticut College where she became more deeply engaged with Judaism through her four years on Hillel's executive board and through her religious studies classes. After moving to Boston for work in 2017, she made it her mission to help foster a sense of Jewish community in her new home. In 2022, Susannah received her MBA from Brandeis' Heller School for Social Policy and Management along with a Master’s in Jewish Professional Leadership. Susannah was a founding member and President of the Boston YWIN chapter and most recently, the newest YWIN representative for our Board of Trustees.
Heidi Hookman Brodsky of Bethesda, Md., studied English at the University of Pennsylvania with plans to become a reporter, then earned a J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law. Her interest in journalism and entertainment led her to Discovery Communications, where she applied the full scope of her education to writing and negotiating contracts for Discovery Channel networks that were launching worldwide in the 1990s. After the birth of her third child, Brodsky made the decision to leave her job and focus on raising her daughters – but her drive to make a difference eventually drew her back to volunteer work. In all, she has worked as a community volunteer, organizer, and leader for 20 years, serving organizations including the D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project, where she provided pro bono legal services to victims of domestic violence; and most recently, the Bender JCC of Greater Washington, where she served as board chair and recently co-founded the "She Says" women’s speaker series. In 2014, Brodsky received the JCC Association of North America Esther Leah Ritz award for notable emerging leaders.
2019 Women to Watch honoree
Lisie Gottdenker of Miami, Fla., vice chair of the JCC Association, is a dedicated and prolific lay leader in the Jewish community. On the JCC Association board, she has co-chaired the program engagement committee and served on the Maccabi® committee, governance committee, executive committee, and search committee to choose the CEO, Doron Krakow. Lisie is chaired Forward 2022, the leadership gathering of the JCC movement. For 15 years she served on the board of the Bender JCC of Greater Washington, where she co-chaired the CEO search committee after completing her term as board chair in 2017. Lisie and her husband, Michael, have been active at Georgetown Day School, which their three children (Ellie, Noah, and Olivia) attended, and where she has served in several additional volunteer positions. Lisie graduated from Syracuse University and has worked as a buyer at Macy’s Northeast and in the men’s division of Coach Leatherware.
2022 Women to Watch Honoree (Sondra D. Bender Community Leadership Honoree)
Laura Rebell Gross is the senior managing director for the Girls’ Education National Team — comprising The Young Women’s Leadership Schools (TYWLS) and Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN) — which serves more than 10,000 students every year. A leader in the education field for decades, Laura’s expertise is widely recognized and she has been honored by Jewish Women International and The Center for the Women of New York. Laura is a national speaker and expert on girls’ public education. To impact the lives of girls beyond New York City, Laura co-founded the Young Women’s Charter Prep School of Rochester, a YWLN affiliate, and takes the lead in identifying and establishing new school affiliates nationwide. In addition to the JWI board, Laura currently serves on the Riley’s Way Foundation board and the advisory board for Rattlestick theatre. Notably, Laura’s path to leadership started as a public school teacher, including serving as an English teacher at SL Network’s flagship school in East Harlem for six years. She earned a BA from Tufts University, an MAT from Brown University, and has completed coursework toward an Ed. D. in curriculum and teaching at Teacher’s College, Columbia University and the Warner School, University of Rochester.
2016 Women to Watch Honoree
Bobbi Rebell is a financial literacy advocate and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Her latest book is Launching Financial Grownups: Live Your Richest Life by Helping Your (Almost) Adult Kids Become Everyday Money Smart (release date March 22, 2022). She is a speaker, conference host, and moderator, and works as a spokesperson for brands aligned with her values. Bobbi is also the host of the critically acclaimed “Money Tips for Financial Grownups” podcast, which has more than 700,000 downloads. In 2021 she launched a new venture, GrownupGear.com as a fun way to promote adulting and being a financial grownup. Earlier in her career Bobbi was a global business news anchor and personal finance columnist at Reuters and held various journalist positions at top news outlets including CNBC, CNN and PBS. Bobbi is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and received her Certificate in Financial Planning from New York University. Her first book, How to be a Financial Grownup: Proven Advice from High Achievers on How to Live Your Dreams and Have Financial Freedom, was released in 2016. She lives in New York City with her family.
2019 Women to Watch Honoree
Erica Keswin is an expert in the business of relationships, helping top-of-the-class businesses, organizations, and individuals improve their performance by honoring relationships in every context, always with an eye toward high-tech for human touch. She is the author of Bring Your Human to Work: Ten Sure-Fire Ways to Design a Workplace That is Good for People, Great for Business, and Just Might Change the World, Rituals Roadmap: The Human Way to Transform Everyday Routines into Workplace Magic; and, most recently, The Retention Revolution: 7 Surprising (and Very Human!) Ways to Keep Employees Connected to Your Company. Erica has worked extensively in organization and leadership development, and in the human capital space. She was a consultant at the Hay Group and Booz Allen & Hamilton and worked as an executive director at Russell Reynolds Associates. She also served as an executive coach at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Erica received her MBA from Northwestern University, and her BA from the University of Vermont. She recently finished a six-year term on the boards of the Anderson Ranch Art Center in Aspen, Colo. and the Rodeph Sholom School in New York City, where she also served as vice chair. Erica was honored as a JWI Woman to Watch in 2017. She lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her husband, Jeff, their three children, and their dog, Cruiser.
2017 Women to Watch Honoree
Mimi has been one of the owners in Sandy Spring Builders since 1998, and is responsible for the company’s business and administrative management. Prior to joining Sandy Spring, she was a partner in Kenwood Homes and Springbrook Builders from 1990 to 1998, building over 500 homes in Maryland and Virginia. In 1980, she joined her family-owned construction business, Brodsky Group. building and developing light industrial projects in Montgomery, Frederick, and Prince George’s counties. She is still a partner in the management of those properties. Professionally, she has served on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Commercial Builders Council and the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA) Board of Directors. In addition to her professional work, Mimi is involved with many charitable organizations in the area. She currently sits on the local boards of: NAMI-MC, Jewish National Fund's Women for Israel, and BBYO's Wellness and Inclusion Advisory Council. She is actively involved with Habitat for Humanity of Metro Maryland and their "Women Build" efforts. She is married to local professional photographer Michael Kress, and has a grown son and daughter.
2017 Women to Watch Honoree
Dr. Logan Levkoff of New York, N.Y., is an internationally-recognized expert on sexuality and relationships. Logan frequently appears on national television and was the host of CafeMom’s Mom Ed: In the Bedroom, the sexuality expert for A&E/FYI’s Married at First Sight, and host of Shape Magazine's video series, "The Sexpert." A popular sex columnist nationwide, she currently blogs for The Huffington Post. Logan speaks on a range of issues related to sexuality and has designed education programs, faculty development, and parent education in many secular and religious schools, universities, medical schools, and community organizations. She is the author of three books on sexual health, including Got Teens? The Doctor Moms’ Guide to Sexuality, Social Media, and Other Adolescent Realities with Dr. Jennifer Wider (Seal Press, 2014). She has been an AASECT certified sex educator and board member.
2018 Women to Watch Honoree
Stephanie Kaplan Lewis is the co-founder and CEO of Her Campus Media, the #1 media company for college students and Gen Z, which she co-founded in 2009 as an undergraduate at Harvard. Her Campus Media empowers the next generation of student journalists, marketers, and creatives through its community of 50,000+ college students across thousands of campuses, and powers college marketing programs for some of the world’s largest brands. Stephanie has been named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and Inc. 30 Under 30, and Her Campus Media has been named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies among other accolades. As a leading force for women's empowerment, Stephanie and Her Campus have partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, and received the Office on Women's Health’s first-ever Partnership Award. Stephanie is also an Innovation Fellow at Harvard and a Boston Marathon finisher. She lives in Newton, Mass. with her husband, two young children, two rescue dogs, and cat.
2019 Women to Watch honoree
Robin London is a digital media compliance expert. Most recently, leading Amazon’s global advertising policy team where she was responsible for advertising compliance for businesses such as Amazon.com, Prime Video and Twitch. She spent 18 years at AOL (Verizon Media) as the director of the company’s global advertising policy group. For many years, Robin has been a mentor to young women in the adtech industry. In the community, she spends her time working on event and fundraising committees at local Jewish organizations and her children's schools. She most recently was co-chair of the Next Gen Board at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and board member at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington. Born and raised in New York City, Robin moved to Washington, D.C. in 1994. She received her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and has lived in the area ever since. Robin and her husband, Jeremy London, have three children: Sammy, Casey, and Cooper.
2022 Women to Watch Honoree
Stephanie Nashman of Falls Church, Va. has worked in the real estate industry for over 30 years specializing in commercial real estate, finance, strategy, and service and is involved in a variety of professional and philanthropic organizations. She is a member of the leadership committee of JWI’s Women’s Impact Network, and 2022 co-chair of the JWI Leadership Conference and Women to Watch. In January 2023, she became a member of Save a Child’s Heart US Governing Board. Stephanie volunteers with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and served in an advisory capacity in the development and implementation of the George Washington University’s Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. Committed to volunteerism, inclusion, and social justice, Stephanie has worked to better the lives of those with developmental disabilities, food insufficiency, and inadequate access to healthcare. In addition, Stephanie is particularly interested in efforts to help women of all ages to realize their potential in and out of the workforce. She earned her BBA and MBA from George Washington University and pursued her PhD in Public Policy from George Mason University. Stephanie is a native Washingtonian, and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband Adam, daughter Lauren, son Joey, and their pandemic puppy named Wally.
Marina Rostein is an Argentine-American raised in the suburbs of Chicago, now residing downtown. She came back to Chicago after 9 years in DC, where she attended The George Washington University. While in DC, she worked in HR at BBYO and later spent five years at OneTable, first leading the organization's DC-area expansion and later focusing on partnerships and experiential marketing nationally. She’s recently joined the marketing team at Cue Health while attending business school at UNC Kenan Flagler. She’s deeply passionate about helping people, especially women, make powerful and lucrative career moves (let’s negotiate those offers!!). Marina loves international weekend trips in search of the best foods, spinning, and wandering through farmers markets with her husband, son, and sweet pup. She first joined JWI's YWIN while in DC, and loves being a part of the incredible community of women in Chicago!
YWIN Trustee
Rachel Braun Scherl, recognized as a Woman to Watch in 2016 and current JWI board member, is a business builder, marketing strategist, investor, author and speaker. She is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of SPARK Solutions for Growth, a strategy boutique focused on driving topline growth. She has extensive experience working with leading brands and businesses in women’s sexual and reproductive health. As President of Semprae Laboratories, Inc., a company by women and for women’s sexual health, Rachel became a leading voice in the space. Semprae was acquired by a specialty pharmaceuticals company. As a result of her work, Rachel has been interviewed and featured for her work in leading publications as well as at leading companies and universities, including The New York Times, Forbes, CNN, ABC News, CBS, Oprah Radio, Stanford, Duke, Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie among many others. Rachel is the author of the best-selling book, Orgasmic Leadership: Profiting from the Coming Surge in Women’s Sexual Health and Wellness.
2016 Women to Watch Honoree
Rachel Glancz Shader has spent her career developing robust brand stories and unique marketing partnerships for a variety of media companies and nonprofit organizations. After receiving her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her MBA from the University of Southern California, Rachel was put in charge of product integrations for ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, a TV series that led the resurgence of brand integrations in the early 2000s. She went on to lead similar revenue-generating co-marketing programs with Fortune 500 advertisers while working at Yahoo, the Oprah Winfrey Network, and NBCUniversal. Recently, Rachel has utilized her sales marketing expertise as a consultant for philanthropies that support women, minorities, and people with disabilities — including Tzedek DC, Respectability, ReFrame, OneKid OneWorld, and Film2Future. She has also helped impoverished communities firsthand by fundraising and traveling to El Salvador to rebuild elementary schools. A native of Rockville, Maryland, she currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three sons.
Rabbi Susan Shankman is the senior rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation. Along with officiation at services, life cycle events and pastoral care and counseling, Rabbi Shankman coordinates the confirmation program, and focuses on programming for families with young children, sisterhood and women’s issues, social action, and outreach to interfaith families. She was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2001. As a rabbinical student, Rabbi Shankman served student pulpits in Valparaiso, Indiana and Columbus, Mississippi. Upon ordination, she received the Ferdinand M. Isserman Prize for her contributions to the development of community relations. Rabbi Shankman earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a master’s in religion from the University of Chicago Divinity School. She is immediate past president of the Washington Board of Rabbis, and serves on the boards of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She is also a member JWI’s National Clergy Task Force on Domestic Abuse, and was honored with the Women to Watch Community Leadership Award in 2006 and the Matthew H. Simon Rabbinical Award from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington in 2014.
2006 Women to Watch Honoree
Sharon Slotkin is originally from New York City and moved to the Greater Washington area in 1998. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1993 and has a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Trinity University. She has worked in schools in New York and Maryland as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and curriculum coordinator. She currently works as a reading tutor.
Sharon served as a co-chair of the Pomegranates for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She is a past chair of the Next Generation Board of the United States Holocaust Museum and currently serves on the board. She chaired the 2023 Jewish Women International Women to Watch luncheon with her daughter, Jayme.
Sharon lives in Potomac, MD with her husband and has two children, Jayme (age 24) and Ben (age 22).
Leslie Speisman has a master’s degree in speech/language pathology, which she has practiced in the public and private sector for over 25 years. Besides providing direct services for children and adults with communication disorders, she has served as a parent educator, a diagnostician, and a placement specialist for disabled preschool students, a supervisor of graduate students and a mentor to new speech pathologists. While on hiatus from speech pathology, she joined her husband in his business to open and manage a retail showroom specializing in window treatments and associated design. Following her passion, she returned to school to pursue an education in interior design. Subsequently she started her own interior design business, Anne Leslie Interiors, designing residential and commercial spaces. In addition to professional endeavors, Leslie has donated her expertise, time, and energy to a variety of local volunteer organizations, including her daughter’s schools, the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, and most recently, served as the co-chair of the 2016 JWI Women to Watch gala. She lives with her husband Dennis and is the proud mother of their daughter Carrie, her husband Travis, and grandmother to 3 wonderful grandchildren.
Linda Youngentob is an educator and an advocate for underserved youth in Montgomery County, Md. Her passion is to help her students get on a pathway that allows them to achieve financial independence, support their families and give back to the community. Youngentob is a former faculty member at the Montgomery College Macklin Business Institute, serves on the board of the Montgomery College Foundation and was the co-chair of the Montgomery College Capital Campaign. Linda was the former CEO and board member of CollegeTracks, a nonprofit organization that helps underserved youth apply to and succeed in college. Youngentob works directly with students to help them attend colleges that match their interest and skills, and has taught at-risk youth as a facilitator for Future Link in their self-advocacy seminars. Youngentob serves on the board of Compass, a nonprofit that provides pro bono consulting to nonprofits in the D.C. region, the Tikkun Olam Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Montgomery County. She has also served on the executive board of Green Acres School. Linda is a founding partner of WeCapital, a consortium of women investors who advocate and invest in female leadership with the dual aim of promoting social impact and generating financial returns. She is a venture partner in Rethink Impact and NextGen Align. Her past corporate work experience includes strategic planning, sales, marketing, telecommunications, and information technology at TBS (now Oliver Wyman), American Management Systems, MCI, and AT&T. Youngentob is a graduate of the Leadership Montgomery Class of 1995. She earned her B.A. in systems analysis & design at Brown University and her MBA at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business.
2018 Women to Watch Honoree