Are enrolled in the country’s 900+ jewish schools
of the 300k
Children who go to jds are enrolled in orthodox schools
Only
Of non-orthodox children are currently in the day school system
more likely
Jewish school graduates are 3x more likely to participate in on-campus israel programming than public school graduates
LII was founded in August 2022 in order to focus on Jewish continuity in the United States of America
LII has decided to concentrate on the 1.3 million children who are not yet on the radar of day schools, with the core goal of growing Jewish day school enrollment
Note: Orthodox is defined as Centrist Orthodox, Chabad, Chassidic, Modern Orthodox, and Yeshiva World. Non-orthodox is defined as Community, Immigrant/Outreach, Reform, Solomon Schechter, and Special Education
Sources:
The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation has been building and filling Jewish day schools throughout Europe for over 35 years
To ensure Jewish continuity for the broader international community, Ronald S. Lauder, along with a coalition of both local and international funding partners, founded Educating For Impact (EFI), to recenter schools as the engine of Jewish life for European communities
Building upon large-scale success in Europe, Ronald S. Lauder has established the Lauder Impact Initiative (LII) with the goal of raising the profile of Jewish education in the US – based on similar principles to EFI
Jewish educational institutions established throughout Europe
Communities engaged through EFI
Hadassa Halpern relocated with her family from Berlin to New York in August 2022 to launch the Ronald S. Lauder Impact Initiative, bringing her experience and curiosity from 12 years of working for the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation across Germany and Europe. She played a central role in founding Educating For Impact, leading impactful change in 20 European Jewish Day schools and their communities. Hadassa is a passionate leader who visualizes adaptive change leadership and collaborative efforts as keys to transforming Jewish life. In her quest to fuse business thinking and expertise into the non-profit space, Hadassa graduated with an executive MBA from Harvard Business School.
Samuel Roth is a former management consultant who recently transitioned to the Jewish professional world following 3 years at Bain & Company in Boston. He has been deeply involved in Jewish life and Israel advocacy throughout his life, including work with StandWithUS, Camp Ramah, TAMID Group, and Moishe House. Sam graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and lives in New York, NY.
Adam Shapiro is an educational thought leader, experienced strategic advisor, and visionary non-profit CEO. His organizational leadership success as the Head of a PreK-12th independent school (Golda Och Academy; West Orange, NJ), and as the President of the Center for Israel Education, have established him as a leader in both the education and non-profit world. Adam is a graduate of Emory University and received his masters degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He's an avid Philadelphia sports fan, little league baseball coach and community volunteer. Currently, Adam and his wife Rena reside in South Orange, NJ with their three school-aged children.
Ari is a day school graduate who spent 20 years working for companies like Walmart, Vistaprint, and numerous startups launching customer-centric new products. He founded Jewish Growth Partners, a consultancy focused on re-igniting Jewish communal organizations for future growth. Ari is a graduate of McGill University and Harvard Business School. He lives in Newton with his wife Jessica and kids Eli (8) and Max (13) both of whom attend day school in Boston.
Dr. Beth Cousens helps organizations adapt projects in Jewish education to the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century. She has been part of the senior professional teams at The Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund (Bay Area), The Jewish Federations of North America, and Hillel International, where she focused on impact strategy, measurement, philanthropy, and communal change. Beth is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Brandeis University and was the recipient of a Wexner Graduate Fellowship. She is the author of numerous articles about Jewish education and engagement and lives in San Francisco with her husband and children.
International businessman, diplomat, public servant, Ronald Lauder has been deeply committed to his Jewish heritage throughout his adult life, working to help the Jewish community worldwide through a wide range of philanthropic and professional endeavors.
Ronald S. Lauder is the younger son of Estée and Joseph Lauder. In 1983, Mr. Lauder changed his career path and his life’s direction when he took leave from The Estée Lauder Companies to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO. In 1986, he was appointed Ambassador to Austria by President Ronald Reagan.
Upon his return from Vienna, he established The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, which now runs 20 Jewish schools, kindergartens and summer camps throughout 15 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It was his experience in Austria that led to establishing the Foundation and his wider involvement in the Jewish world.
In 1986, Mr. Lauder visited Auschwitz-Birkenau for the first time and was shocked to see that the Nazi death camp had fallen into a terrible state of disrepair. Worried that the artifacts were disintegrating and would not be available for future generations to view, he immediately brought conservators from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to help preserve these historic objects. Mr. Lauder spearheaded the international campaign that raised $40M for the preservation of the remaining barracks, along with the mountains of shoes, suitcases, eyeglasses and other personal items that the Nazis took from Jewish victims before they were murdered. Mr. Lauder believes this effort is of utmost importance especially at a time of Holocaust deniers spreading their lies on the internet and growing anti-Semitism. With the passing of the last survivors Mr. Lauder believes the integrity of the camp must always be maintained and he serves as chairman of the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial Foundation. He also served as a member of the International Auschwitz Council, which was established by the Polish government, from 2012 to 2018.
Among other responsibilities, Mr. Lauder has been president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007. In that capacity, Mr. Lauder regularly meets with heads of countries, diplomats and religious leaders, as the representive of Jewish communities in 100 countries around the world.
A renowned art collector, Mr. Lauder has established one of the world’s greatest private collections. In 2001, together with Serge Sabarsky, he founded the Neue Galerie in New York, a museum dedicated to early 20th century German and Austrian art and design, and serves as the museum’s president. Mr. Lauder established the Commission for Art Recovery in 1997, which advocates and fights for the recovery of Nazi looted art.
Mr. Lauder was born on February 26, 1944. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in New York and holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Lauder married Jo Carole Knopf in July of 1967. They have two children and two grandchildren. The family resides in New York City.
Josh Spinner is Executive Vice President and CEO of the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation. Active in the fields of collaborative philanthropy and communal sustainability, Josh co-founded and leads strategy and design for Educating for Impact, a groundbreaking initiative driving transformation in Jewish communities across Europe, as well as serving on the executive committee of the Pillar Foundation, a partnership supporting security needs of European Jewish institutions.
Born and currently residing in the United States, Josh has also lived in Canada, Israel, Belarus and Germany, and speaks German, Russian and Hebrew. He is a graduate of Columbia University, and the Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School.
Richard Parsons served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Rockefeller Foundation, Chairman of Citigroup, and Chairman & CEO of Time Warner. He was also the Interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Interim Chairman of the Board of CBS.
