PowerNET 2025 Award Winners Announced

Recognizing Outstanding Leadership and Innovation in Jewish Human Services

The Network is proud to announce the recipients of the PowerNET 2025 Lay Leadership, Impact, and Professional Leadership Awards. These honors celebrate exceptional leadership, service, and innovation within Jewish human service agencies worldwide.

Winners will be recognized at the PowerNET 2025 Network Lunch: Annual Meeting & Awards Presentation on April 29, 2025, in Denver, Colorado.

Impact Award Winner

NATAL’s Trauma-Informed Career Development Program (Tel Aviv, Israel)

The Trauma-Informed Career Development Program by NATAL: Israel Trauma & Resiliency Center has been awarded the 2025 Impact Award for its groundbreaking approach to helping young adults affected by trauma navigate their career and educational paths.

In Israel, many young adults face post-trauma symptoms due to war and terror, affecting their ability to pursue education and employment. This challenge was exacerbated after October 7, 2023, as thousands of Israelis faced disruptions due to reserve duty, displacement, and direct trauma exposure.

Program Highlights:

• Personalized career coaching tailored for individuals experiencing post-trauma stress
• Soft skills training to rebuild essential abilities impaired by trauma, including:
  • Time management
  • Prioritizing tasks
  • Motivation and conflict resolution
  • Flexibility and interpersonal communication
  • Self-advocacy
• Strategic partnerships with government agencies, NGOs, higher education institutions, and employers
• Proven results (2021-2023):
  • 70% improved employment/education status
  • 59% saw an improved financial situation
  • 7.8% decrease in post-trauma symptoms
  • Reduction in distress and improved symptom management

Since launching in 2021 with 70 participants, the program has expanded to 547 direct beneficiaries in 2024, with 575 projected for 2025.

Beyond direct service, the program’s “Train the Trainers” initiatives have multiplied its impact, empowering professionals in Israel’s health, employment, welfare, and security sectors to integrate trauma-informed practices into their work.

This innovative program—backed by a multidisciplinary team of experts—has reshaped career development for trauma-affected individuals in Israel, setting a model for global best practices in mental health and workforce reintegration.

Professional Leadership Award Winners

Dr. Ada Cheung

Chief Clinical Officer, Joan and Stanford Alexander Jewish Family Service (Houston, TX)

For over 10 years, Dr. Ada Cheung has been a transformative leader at Alexander Jewish Family Service (JFS) in Houston, spearheading Adult Behavioral and Mental Health Services, the Children’s Mental Health Program, and the Community Intervention Department.

Ada’s leadership has expanded mental health services, crisis response initiatives, and community support programs, responding to both natural and cultural disasters.

Key Accomplishments:

• Rapid response to crisis situations, including:
  • 2021 Florida condominium collapse (coordinating virtual crisis response)
  • 2025 Los Angeles wildfires (leading trauma and social support initiatives)
• Development of on-site counseling and music therapy programs in local schools to support student mental health
• Pioneering partnerships with Hillel, providing college students and young professionals with critical counseling services during pivotal life transitions
• Creation of the Shalva program, a synagogue-based case management and counseling service
• Leading The Network’s Clinical Services Professionals NETGroup, advocating for:
  • Best practices in trauma care
  • Cross-agency collaboration
  • Professional development for mental health clinicians

Ada’s Leadership Approach:

• Balances executive leadership and hands-on clinical therapy with compassion and innovation
• Champions multicultural awareness and cultural competence in mental health services
• Fosters a culture of care, trust, and collaboration among staff
• Advocates for employee and colleague wellness, prioritizing ethical responsibility, professionalism, and mutual respect

Through her leadership, Alexander JFS has become a model for trauma recovery and mental health services, providing lifesaving support for individuals and communities nationwide.

Pauline Grunberg

Executive Director, Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors (Montreal, QC, Canada)

Over the past 10 years, Pauline Grunberg has transformed senior services in Montreal by leading the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors with strategic vision, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to community impact.

Pauline oversees a team of 107 employees, including four directors and a full management team, ensuring the Centre’s operations meet the evolving needs of seniors.

By the Numbers:

• 2,500+ Jewish social service clients served annually
• 1,400 Holocaust Survivors supported
• 3,000+ program participants benefiting from diverse activities
• 675 active volunteers engaged in service

Major Achievements:

• Expansion of national virtual programming, increasing accessibility for seniors across Canada
• Development of Cummings to Community (C2C), a multilingual recreational program that partners with outside organizations
• Enhanced special needs programming, ensuring inclusivity for seniors with disabilities
• Forging partnerships with universities, integrating research, internships, and training opportunities

Pauline’s leadership philosophy centers on innovation, inclusion, and collaboration. She is deeply involved in The Network, contributing to:

• PowerNET conference planning
• ExecNET convenings
• Canadian Agency Directors’ Group
• Leadership training for Cummings Centre staff and board members

Through her efforts, the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors has set new standards for senior services, making it a leading model of care, support, and professional development.

Lay Leadership Award Winners

Each year, The Network honors lay leaders who have significantly contributed to their local Jewish human service agencies. The 2025 recipients include:

• • • Jon Amsler, Board Chair, Jewish Family & Career Services (Atlanta, GA) – 7+ years
    • Joel Fink, President, Jewish Community Services (Baltimore, MD) – 16 years
    • Ellen Gold, President, Rachel’s Table of Western Massachusetts (Springfield, MA) – 7 years
    • Jennifer Goldson, Board Chair, Jewish Family Services (Columbus, OH) – 13 years
    • Michele Golkow, Director, Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey Combinator Program; Past-President & Advisory Council, Jewish Family and Children’s Service (Southern NJ) – 20+ years
    • Linda Hartum, Board Secretary, Jewish Family Services (Edmonton, Canada) – 9 years
    • Peter Hurd, President, Board of Directors, Jewish Family Services of Delaware (Wilmington, DE) – 6 years
    • Stephen Jackman, Vice Chair, Development Board of Directors, Dr. Stanley and Pearl Goodman JFS of Broward County (Davie, FL) – 20 years
    • Carolyn Kaplan, President, Joan and Stanford Alexander Jewish Family Service (Houston, TX) – 9 years
    • Judy Lind, Board Member, Jewish Community Services of Hawaii (HI) – 9 years
    • Rick Paul, Board Chair, Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services (Boca Raton, FL) – 8 years
    • Avi Pollock, Immediate Past Chair of the Board, JVS Toronto (Toronto, Canada) – 10 years
    • Dr. James Rabb, Board Committees’ Member, Jewish Family & Children’s Service (Waltham, MA) – 35 years
    • Jonathan Raiffe, Founding Chair, JCS Alliance/Chair, Leadership Governance & Endowment Committees, Jewish Community Services of South Florida (Miami, FL) – 16 years
    • Raymond Schrag, President, Board of Directors, SelfHelp Community Services, Inc. (New York, NY) – 32 years
    • Adam Steinberg, Treasurer, Board of Directors, Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties (Margate, NJ) – 3 years
    • Dr. Abraham Wolf (Posthumous Award), Former Chair, Israel Elwyn & American Friends of Israel Elwyn (Israel Elwyn) – 40 years

Join Us at PowerNET 2025!

We invite you to join us in celebrating these outstanding leaders and programs at PowerNET 2025 in Denver from April 27-30.

If you haven’t yet registered for this premier networking and educational experience, secure your spot today!

REGISTER HERE