A Boston native, Judith (Jude) has been involved with the Boston Jewish community for over 30 years. Jude spent much of her professional career working in real estate development and management and had the privilege of working with her father and sister as they managed the family real estate. At the birth of their second child, Jude decided to leave the family business and dedicate her time to raising her two children and overseeing the care for her aging parents. This also afforded her the opportunity to engage in myriad of organizations, non-profits, both of her son’s Jewish day schools, The Rashi School and Gann Academy and Temple Israel of Boston the family synagogue.

Jude currently serves on the Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA) National Women’s Philanthropy Board and on the JFNA Advocacy Corps. She most recently served on the Executive Board of Combined Jewish Philanthropy (CJP) as President of Women’s Philanthropy and as immediate past President, and served on the Women’s Philanthropy Executive Board. She currently serves on the CJP Presidents Advisory Council.  Jude served for 15 years on the Executive Board of Jewish National Fund. She is an alum of the Jewish Federation of North American (JFNA) National Young Leadership Cabinet. Jude chaired JFNA/Washington Conference in 2004, the single largest gathering of young Jewish people convening to repair the world and was instrumental in working in May 2022 in reestablishing the return of the Washington Conference to JFNA in its leadership conference offerings from its over a decade hiatus.  Jude is also an alum of the Leon and Cynthia Shulman Acharai Leadership Program founded in Boston and a Young Leadership and CJP award winner. Jude is a community connector, dedicated volunteer and fundraiser.

Jude lives in Newton, MA with her wife Aviva and family.

Why TribeTalk?

I had the privilege of growing up in a modern orthodox home and along with my 4 siblings attended Maimonides Jewish day school. I learned from my parents the importance of having a strong Jewish identity rooted in Jewish values and in reinvesting in the community. To that end, my wife and I have worked hard to instill the importance of these same values with our children and have sent them to Jewish day schools and Jewish summer camps. We have taken and sent them on trips to Israel and educated them on the importance of what it means to have a strong Jewish identity that they can be proud of as they grow up and lead their adult lives. Even with all these educational and learning opportunities our kids have been afforded the world has become even more complex and challenging to navigate for Jews today. During our fact finding before launching TribeTalk, we discovered that many students with similar educational backgrounds as our kids shared they too wanted to understand the more nuanced perspective on what it means to be Jewish in the ever growing complex world that has become more toxic toward Jews. Our goal is to provide the resources in which to help our students gain the knowledge, insight and understanding that they seek to lead a more fulfilling and enriched life as proud Jewish students on campus and beyond.