Julie Brodsky honored for outstanding work in Jewish non-profit community

Julie Brodsky of Deerfield, is a recipient of the 2017 Samuel A. Goldsmith Award, presented at the Sept. 18 Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago’s 117th Annual Meeting held at the Hyatt Regency, Chicago.

The award is presented to young professionals who have shown outstanding performance in their work at a Jewish agency in the Chicago area.

Brodsky is assistant vice president, JUF Young Families at Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.

A lead member of the JUF Young Families staff, she oversees jBaby Chicago, a Slingshot Award-winning program that has been described as a “game-changer for how parents connect to Jewish community.” This JUF outreach and engagement program is open to new parents and parents with children ages 0-2. She also helped launch new initiatives that have become prototypes for Jewish communities across the country.

During her five years at JUF, she has served as program associate and then program director for PJ Library. In 2015, she became the director of new parent engagement, and was recently promoted to her current position.

“Julie is the epitome of a Jewish communal service professional, dedicating her professional career to the Jewish community and excelling in every position she has been in,” said Dr. Steven B. Nasatir, JUF/Federation President. “Her commitment to and passion for Judaism and to engaging Jewish families, in particular, keeps her always striving to learn and do more, and continually improve the way JUF supports families as they connect to Jewish life.”

During her address, Brodsky said that like many of the Jewish parents she works with, her first connection to the Chicago Jewish community eight years ago when her daughter was born was through PJ Library and related events. “It was nice to do a Jewish activity as a family, but we were still searching for our village,” she said.

After she began working at JUF, a study focusing on the needs of young Chicago Jewish families was conducted. The data showed that local parents wanted the same thing—to connect to the Jewish community more deeply—and in 2014, jBaby was born. Since its inception, jBaby has engaged over 1,900 families—and two-thirds of those families have indicated that jBaby is the only Jewish activity with which they are currently involved.

“I have seen first-hand how jBaby Chicago is changing the landscape for families with young children,” she said. “The opportunities that are available to new parents are so much bigger and greater than what was available just eight years ago. I know that our community will be stronger and more vibrant in years to come because of these connections made today.”

In addition to her work with JUF, Brodsky is a member of the Beber Camp Alumni Association Executive Committee, and has been involved in different facets of the camp for years since attending there as a child.

Prior to JUF, she was employed for 10 years at Gan Shalom preschool at Temple Sholom where she taught in the classroom for four years, and was assistant director for six.

A Memphis, TN native, Brodsky graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and a Jewish Studies Certificate.

The Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago is one of the largest nonprofit social welfare institutions in Illinois. It supports a vital network of agencies that act upon core Jewish values, including caring for those in need and sustaining the Jewish community.