Impact Report
THE JEWISH GRAD ORGANIZATION
JGO Campuses NEW ENGLAND Boston University School of Law BU Questrom School of Business Cummings Veterinary (Tufts) Dartmouth Tuck School of Business Harvard Business School Harvard Kennedy School Harvard Law MIT Sloan School of Management New England Law Northeastern Law Quinnipiac Netter School of Medicine Roger Williams Law Suffolk Law University of Connecticut Law University of Connecticut Medicine University of Maine Law Yale Law School Yale Medicine Yale School of Management
SOUTHERN U.S. Baylor College of Medicine Duke Fuqua School of Business Duke Law Duke Medicine Emory Goizueta School of Business Emory University School of Law Emory University School of Medicine Florida International University Law Florida State Law Florida State Medicine Georgia State Law Nova Southeastern Law Nova Southeastern Psychology Southern Methodist Law St. Thomas Law (FL) Tulane Law Tulane Medicine UNC Chapel Hill Business UNC Medicine University of Florida Law University of Florida MBA University of Florida Medicine University of Georgia Law University of Kentucky University of Miami Business University of Miami Law UT Austin Law Vanderbilt Law Vanderbilt Owen School of Management
CANADA McGill University Law Ottawa Law Queen's Law Universite de Montreal University of Toronto Law University of Toronto Medicine University of Toronto Rotman Windsor Law York University Osgoode Hall Law
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
GREATER NYC Albert Einstein College of Medicine Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Brooklyn Law School Columbia Business School Columbia GSAPP Columbia Law School Columbia SIPA Cornell Tech CUNY Baruch Ferkauf Graduate School Fordham Gabelli School of Business Fordham MSW Fordham University School of Law Hofstra Law New York Law School NYU Grossman School of Medicine NYU School of Law NYU Stern School of Business Pace Law Rutgers GSAPP Psychology Rutgers School of Medicine Rutgers-Newark Law Seton Hall Law St. John's Law Stony Brook School of Medicine SUNY Downstate Touro Law Center Weill Cornell Medical College
BAY AREA Golden Gate Law Santa Clara Law Stanford Graduate School of Business Stanford Law School UC Berkeley Haas School of Business UC Berkeley School of Law UC Davis Law UC Davis Medicine UC College of the Law, SF
GREATER PHILADELPHIA Delaware Law Drexel Law Rutgers-Camden Law Temple Law Temple Lewis Katz School of Medicine The Wharton School University of Delaware University of Pennsylvania Law Villanova Law
DC / MD / VA American University Law George Mason Scalia School of Law George Washington Law George Washington School of Medicine Georgetown McDonough Business Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Medicine Johns Hopkins Carey Business University of Baltimore Law University of Maryland Law University of Richmond Law University of Virginia Law UVA Darden School of Business Washington & Lee Law
GREATER LOS ANGELES California Institute of Technology Chapman University School of Law David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA Loyola Marymount Law Pepperdine GSEP Pepperdine University School of Law Southwestern Law School UC Irvine School of Law UCLA Anderson School of Management UCLA School of Dentistry UCLA School of Law USC Gould School of Law USC Keck School of Medicine USC Marshall School of Business USC Ostrow School of Dentistry
CHICAGO / MIDWEST Chicago Booth School of Business Chicago-Kent Law DePaul Law Loyola University Chicago Law Northwestern Kellogg Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Northwestern School of Medicine UIC Medicine University of Chicago Law School University of Illinois Law University of Illinois-Chicago Law University of Iowa Law University of Minnesota University of Wisconsin Law WashU St. Louis Law
CENTRAL EAST Buffalo School of Dental Medicine Carnegie Mellon Tepper Business Cornell Law Cornell-SC Johnson School of Business Duquesne University Law Indiana Kelley School of Business Indiana Law Michigan Ross School of Business Michigan School of Dentistry Michigan School of Law Ohio State University Law Penn State Law Syracuse Law University of Pittsburgh Law Wayne State Law
WESTERN U.S. Arizona State Law Seattle University Law UC San Diego University of Arizona Law University of Oregon JGrads University of Oregon Law University of San Diego School of Law University of Washington Law UNLV Boyd School of Law
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2025-26 IMPACT REPORT
Table of Contents 02
JGO Campuses
04
Welcome
06
Year in Review
07
JGO Campus Fund
08
Shabbat & Holidays
09
Partners Summit
10
Sloan Fellowship
11
Mentorship
12
Jewish Executive Women’s Leadership (JEWL)
13
Jewish Executive Leadership Conference (JELCON)
14
Advocacy & Education
15
Speaker Series
16
National Jewish Bar Association
17
Financial Information
18
JGO Advisory Board
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
03
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO
Dear Friends of JGO,
Rabbi Dave Sorani CEO
With your help, JGO supported 171 grad campuses, sponsored almost 1,000 events on campuses across North America, and welcomed more than 14,000 unique students into Jewish community in 2025-26 — a nearly 30% increase across almost every metric we track. But even more inspiring than the numbers are the students who told us, again and again, that JGO was the reason they found their way back to Jewish community in grad school, sometimes for the first time since childhood. Every dollar you gave this year became something real: a Shabbat table filled with new MBAs, a fellowship that gave a law student the confidence to lead, a trip to Congress for a PhD student experiencing antisemitism. This report is our way of showing you exactly where your partnership went, and the community it built. Your belief in our mission has helped JGO become one of the fastest-growing Jewish organizations in the country. One in four Jewish grad students is now a JGO participant. And this year, we also took the first steps toward two initiatives that will shape our next decade: a new professional network for the hundreds of Jewish attorneys who graduate from our campuses every year; and coming to Manhattan in late 2026, the first ever permanent space just for Jewish grad students. Thank you for your trust, your generosity, and your commitment to ensuring a strong Jewish future — one grad campus, one student, one moment at a time. With deep appreciation,
Dave
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
04
A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & SENIOR RABBI Rabbi Matt Rosenberg Executive Vice President
If you had to sum up Judaism in two words, which would you pick?
I’d pick two we read every year before Rosh Hashanah: Choose Life. (Deut. 30:19) Choose. Judaism insists that we are free, responsible beings. It’s the reason we have mitzvot – not just good deeds, but moral obligations. It’s why the central theme of the High Holiday season is teshuva, the idea that a person can change. And it’s why we’re the people that wrestles with the world, with our texts, with God. You push against that which you still have the power to affect. Responsibility is the compliment Judaism pays us. Life. Judaism is a life-affirming faith, because every life carries infinite value. Almost the entire Torah is suspended to save a single life. But life is so much more than survival. Our faith demands that we lift up the lives of those around us. That we rest one day in seven so as to avoid confusing life with making a living. That we devote our life to the people in it who make it worth living. That we study the Torah to come to know the Author of life itself. To choose life, in Judaism, means to choose meaning, responsibility, connection and hope. Put the two words together and you have an explanation for the mysterious survival of the Jewish people: A people that keeps choosing life will never die. Over the past few years, we have watched this unfold on JGO’s campuses across the country: how when the going got tough, Jewish grad students chose Jewish community. The pages of this report show what happened as JGO expanded to meet them: new initiatives welcoming thousands of grad students into Jewish life. Behind every number is a choice: A student who joined in; a leader who stepped forward; a donor who invested. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, we ask to be inscribed in the Book of Life. But life is not only something we ask for, it is something we choose. And JGO’s students are choosing it. L’Shana Tova!
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
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THE SCALE YOU MADE POSSIBLE
Year in Review “JGO has been my backstop for everything Jewish during my grad school experience, closing a wide gap in my Jewish journey given the seeming lack of programming for Jewish grad school students. If it weren't for JGO, I would not have the Jewish community I know and cherish.” ALEX KINGSLEY · Seton Hall Law
Campus Clubs
Supported Student Leaders Trained Programs & Events
Individual Participants
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
Total Attendance
06
POWERING JEWISH COMMUNITY
JGO Campus Fund From a single UCLA classroom in 2011, JGO’s Campus Fund now supports Jewish Student Associations at 171 grad schools across North America, with funding for events, VIP speakers, logistical assistance, content and community resources, and strategic guidance. Regular on-campus programs include lunch events, career panels, Shabbat dinners, holiday parties, and antisemitism education.
CAMPUSES SUPPORTED BY THE JGO CAMPUS FUND
ON-CAMPUS PROGRAMS SUPPORTED BY JGO
JGO PROGRAMMING HELD ON CAMPUS
CAMPUSES THAT HOSTED OVER 4 EVENTS WITH JGO
“JGO has stepped in massively to help cultivate and grow our Jewish community on campus.” JONATHAN SEGAL · Cornell Tech
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
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FUELING JEWISH MEANING
Shabbat & Holidays For millennia, Shabbat has been the cornerstone of Jewish life And at JGO, a Shabbat meal is where so many of our grad students find that first sense of belonging - that home away from home - in their grad school journey. In 2025-26, the Joel & Deborah Fried Shabbat Series sponsored 401 Shabbat and holiday programs across 130 campuses, reaching 6,733 unique students nationwide — everything from Friday night dinners to High Holiday services, October 7 commemorations, and Passover Seders led entirely by student leaders.
SHABBAT & HOLIDAY PROGRAMS
CAMPUSES REACHED
UNIQUE PARTICIPANTS
“Thanks to JGO’s support, we’re able to create Jewish spaces where students can come together, celebrate, and feel connected ... Without JGO, we wouldn't be able to have any Shabbat dinners at all.” MICHAEL GUROCK · NYU Law
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
08
INVESTING IN OUR STUDENT LEADERS
Partners Summit
Each fall, hundreds of Jewish grad students step into JGO volunteer leadership, ready to build vibrant Jewish communities on their campuses. Through customized onboarding and our annual Miller Family Partners Summit, JGO gives students the training and confidence to lead effectively. The 2025 Summit, held in Washington, D.C., was our largest yet, bringing together more than 200 Jewish grad student leaders, organizational leaders and partners for sessions on leadership, advocacy, and community-building. To carry the inspiration of the Summit forward, we also launched Leadership Academy, a new practical training series exclusively for student club presidents. “While the speakers, panels, and workshops were truly inspiring, I’m most grateful for the relationships we formed with fellow graduate student leaders ... to create meaningful, lasting change on our campuses.” AMANDA LALEZARIAN · Fordham Gabeli School of Business
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
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INSPIRING JEWISH LEADERSHIP
Sloan Fellowship JGO’s award-winning Sloan Fellowship is the pinnacle of our mission: empowering grad students to build Jewish identity, leadership, and community through Jewish learning. This year’s Sloan Fellowship welcomed 169 fellows across four cohorts in Los Angeles, New York City, and two national virtual groups. Fellows engaged directly with distinguished guests including Julie Platt, past Chair of Jewish Federations of North America; Tamar Yehoshua, former Chief Product Officer of Slack; and Bryan Palbaum, President and CEO of Trader Joe’s.
“The Sloan Fellowship challenged me to think critically, build community, and live with greater purpose. The experience will forever influence how I approach questions of meaning and responsibility in both my personal and professional life.” SHANTAL RAZBAN-NIA · Pepperdine Caruso Law
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
10
BUILDING LASTING CONNECTIONS
Mentorship For years, students have turned to JGO’s executive community informally for advice. So in 2025-26, we launched an official Mentorship program to pair select highly motivated Jewish graduate students and young professionals with experienced leaders across industries nationwide. In the pilot year, we matched 115 mentor-mentee pairs, creating space for invaluable honest guidance on school, career, Judaism, and life beyond the classroom.
“It’s rare to get honest, judgment-free guidance on things we’re actually navigating, and it’s been grounding and confidence-building. It's been like that from the start and I feel this is the only mentorship program that has actually stuck for me.” LEYLA MESSIAN · UCLA Anderson MBA
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
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JEWISH EXECUTIVE WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP
JEWL In 2025-26, our Jewish Executive Women’s Leadership (JEWL) fellowship expanded for the first time to three cohorts nationwide, welcoming 92 participants for intensive sessions on personal and professional growth from a female perspective, through a Jewish lens. What began as a single Los Angeles cohort is now a truly national program, with new virtual and NYC-based groups, featuring speakers like Jacki Karsh, Reporter and Producer at LA36; and Hadara Ishak, President & COO of Jewish Future Promise. Together, JEWL is building a lasting network of Jewish women: empowered, connected, and shaping the future together.
“
100%
100%
100%
felt the program empowered them as Jewish women
felt greater appreciation for Judaism
felt increased knowledge of Jewish values
“This is exactly what I’ve been looking for, and I’m so grateful to be a part of JEWL. Jewish learning with an empowering group of Jewish women is something I’ve been craving, and it feels so needed today.” CHLOE LEVIAN · Los Angeles, California
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
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JEWISH EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCES
JELCON Our Redstone Family JELCON is JGO’s signature networking forum for Jewish grad students, young executives, and industry leaders. This year, JELCON hosted keynote conferences in New York and Los Angeles, featuring speakers like Andrew Gould, President of Music Publishing at Roc Nation; Karen Hermelin, EVP of Worldwide Research & Strategy at Paramount Pictures; and Larry Wieseneck, Vice Chair at TD Securities. This year also marked a major milestone: for the first time, JGO students launched their own large-scale conferences. At Harvard Business School, students launched the JSA Conference: Jewish Resilience & Innovation, drawing hundreds of participants for two separate keynote events. And at UCLA Anderson, our students debuted the JBSA Global Leaders Summit, drawing a diverse swath of the campus community. Thanks to JGO’s support and inspiration, our students are building the gatherings – and the connections – that will carry Jewish values through their career and community.
“JELCON showed me how I can build a career that integrates both my professional goals and my Jewish identity. Meeting leading professionals across industries helped me better envision the path I want to pursue.” LOWELL STERN · Cornell University
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
13
STANDING WITH JEWISH STUDENTS
Advocacy & Education As antisemitism on campus continues to affect Jewish grad students, JGO remains a steadfast source of support. This year, JGO’s Advocacy Division responded to a broad range of incidents, threats and concerns; conducted research, educational workshops and trainings; and built coalitions and initiatives to combat campus antisemitism - so that no Jewish student should ever feel isolated or excluded on campus. JGO’s robust partnerships with organizations including ADL, American Jewish Committee, Brandeis Center for Human Rights, StandWithUs, Secure Communities Network, and others ensured grad students’ access to communal resources and support. A highlight of our advocacy efforts was the inaugural Capitol Hill Advocacy Day, part of the Miller Family Partners Summit, where 40 student leaders met directly with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and congressional offices including House Speaker Mike Johnson (RLA) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), sharing their firsthand experiences of antisemitism as Jewish grad students.
“JGO makes me feel safe in this scary time. I know JGO is one email away from helping our school’s Jewish community feel powerful and proud.” ANONYMOUS · New York Law School
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
14
ELEVATING JEWISH VOICES
Speaker Series Across the country, a total of 4,650 Jewish grad students gathered this year to learn, question, and connect through JGO’s James B. Freedman Campus Speaker Series. With 151 speaker events hosted on campus in 2025-26, students heard directly from Holocaust and October 7 survivors, journalists, rabbis, policy experts, attorneys, judges, and senior executives — including Modi Wiczyk, Co-Chairman and CoFounder of MRC; Scott Friedman, CEO of Rare Beauty; and Brian Weinstein, Co-CEO of 3 Arts Entertainment. Each conversation offered space for honest reflection and dialogue, bringing nuance and courage to some of the most pressing issues facing the Jewish community today.
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“The caliber of speakers JGO brings to their events is that of a much larger organization. Early and mid career folks will struggle to find any other group that can offer this level of intimacy and candor with such impressive leaders.“ MICHERRE FOX · Fordham MBA
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
15
A NEW PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
National Jewish Bar Association This year, JGO proudly launched the National Jewish Bar Association (NJBA) — a new national network of Jewish attorneys and legal professionals, built on the same model that has made JGO successful on campus: real community, real education, and real support. The NJBA is apolitical and open to legal professionals and students of all backgrounds and career stages – from law student to senior partner. The NJBA is organized around networking and communitybuilding, professional development through state-accredited MCLE programming informed by Jewish values and ethics, and support for Jewish affinity groups in legal practice. The NJBA represents JGO’s commitment to ensuring that the community we build on campus does not have to end when students graduate.
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“The NJBA is a natural progression, giving law school alumni a space to connect after they graduate. It's not a standalone social club. It's part of a trusted national organization with a decade of experience building Jewish community and leadership.” SARA SCHEINBACH · National Director of Legal Engagement, JGO
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
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Financial Report 5,000,000
Fundraising Growth, 2022-26
4,000,000
2025-26 Fundraising Income
$3,962,191
3,000,000
2025-26 Operating Expenses
2,000,000
869
1,000,000
0
$4,101,199
Individual Donors 2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
2025-26
$4,600,000
2025-26 Fundraising Goal Personnel
Meetings & Events
Tech & Marketing Office Expenses
Facilities Other
General & Admin 10.4% Fundraising 10.5%
Program Services 79.1%
Expenses by Category
Expense Allocation
*Management prepared; fiscal year-ended 08/31/26. Most recently completed Form 990 and Audited Financial Statements available upon request. 2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
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OUR LEADERSHIP
Advisory Board Gregg Abramson
Scott Friedman
Jessie Reder
Jane Angel
Neil Garfinkel
Adam Reich
Jonathan Anschell
Geoff Goldschein
Michael Ritter
Joe Asher
Steve Green**
Steve Robinson**
Philip Barach
Sherry Gunther
Alex Rosen
Nomi Bergman
Jeri Harman
Rebecca Rothstein
Jeff Berman
Stacy Harrison
Kate Rubenstein
Ben Brandler
Andrew Hauptman
Ted Samuels
Larry Braun
Steve Kaplan
Scott Sandler
Curtis Chambers
Inna Khidekel
Dave Saxe
Robert Cohen
Ilene Kobert
Neal Schore
Zhak Cohen
Tyler Korff
Jeff Schwartz
Scott Cohen
Michael Kraus
Steve Segall
Scott Cooper
Ethan Kurzweil
James Segil
Brian Davidoff **
Laurie Levenson
Emily Shaaya
Phil de Toledo
Estela Levin **
Orrin Shifrin
Jeff Epstein
Glen Lewy
Brian Singer
Andrea Feinberg
Stewart Lynn
Gary Singer
David T. Feinberg
Jamie McCourt
Mike Singer
David Feinberg
Stacy Harris Maman
Rabbi Dave Sorani
Ken Firtel
Larry Midler
Howard Stern
Jake Flomenberg
Adam Miller
Alan Suna
John Frank
Steve Miller
Josh Ufberg
James B. Freedman*
Dave Mirsky
John Usdan
Joel Fried
David Nevas
Andrea Wainer
Amy Friedlander Hoffman
Steven Nichols
Ben Walter
Andrew Friedman
Shelby Notkin
Eric Waxman
Mark Friedman
Adam Prager
Brian Weinstein
*Chairman
**Executive Committee
2025–26 IMPACT REPORT
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Thank you for building the Jewish Future with us – One grad campus at a time.
310.922.9483 · info@gojgo.org · gojgo.org · @thejewishgradorg
Direct Mail: 407 North Maple Drive, Suite GRD1, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 NY Office: 300 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022