Ma'yan: The Jewish Women's Project
About Ma'yan
Ma'yan Staff
Barbara Dobkin
Barbara Dobkin is the Founder and Chair of Ma'yan. A trustee of the Dobkin Family Foundation, which funds Ma'yan, Barbara is a significant supporter of and advisor to a variety of non-profit organizations-both Jewish and secular-in the U.S. and in Israel. A pioneer in the Jewish community for many years in advocacy and funding for Jewish women, she is the Founding Chair of both the Jewish Women's Archive in Brookline, Massachusetts, and the Hadassah Foundation. She currently serves on the boards of Lilith Magazine, Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community, The Women's Funding Network, and The White House Project. Barbara is a coveted national speaker on issues of women's philanthropy and leadership.
Eve Landau
Eve Landau is the Founding Executive Director of Ma'yan. In its first decade, under Eve's guidance, Ma'yan became a nationally recognized resource in the areas of Jewish feminist ritual and women's leadership development. In addition, Ma'yan has been at the forefront of Jewish women's and youth philanthropy and in showcasing the work and talents of Jewish feminist artists. Eve has represented and presented the work of Ma'yan at national conferences including the General Assembly and CAJE as well as at synagogues and other local organizations. More recently, Eve has overseen the transition to Ma'yan's new organizational focus on the needs of Jewish girls through its Koach Banot: Girl Power! initiative. This work includes training professionals who work with Jewish youth, advocating on behalf of Jewish girls, and educating the community about excellent girls programs.
Eve is a member of the board of Project Kesher and serves as co-chair of The Task Force on the Jewish Woman at UJA-Federation of New York. She is a member of Westchester Reform Temple where she serves on the board of Women of Reform Judaism and on the synagogue's Gay and Lesbian Concerns committee.
Before co-founding Ma'yan in 1993, Eve was Director of Community Relations at Westchester Jewish Community Services. An active community volunteer for many years, she served as a member of the Board of Education in Scarsdale, NY, and founded and directed The Child Care Association of Scarsdale, a school-based before- and after-school child care program.
Eve was honored for her work with Ma'yan by US/Israel Women to Women on the occasion of their Silver Anniversary in the fall of 2004, and by Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, in July 2005.
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Beth Cooper Benjamin, Ed.D.
Beth Cooper Benjamin, Ed.D., joined Ma'yan as a Senior Associate in July 2006. In June 2006, Beth received her doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She has worked extensively with single-sex programs for adolescent girls, both as a researcher and a practitioner. Her dissertation, entitled What to Give the Girl Who Has Everything, examines the definition and practice of girls' leadership in an affluent, suburban, adolescent Girl Scout troop. Beth has presented research at academic conferences including the Society for Research on Adolescence, the Association for Women in Psychology, and in March of 2007, at the Gender and Education Association Biennial Conference in Dublin, Ireland. She has also consulted and conducted trainings for several girl-serving organizations including the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. Through her work with Ma'yan, Beth has served as an advocate for girls in the Jewish communal world, speaking on a panel at the Jewish Funders Network 2007 International Conference in Atlanta, reviewing new curriculum materials for Moving Traditions' Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing!, and writing about gender issues in the Union for Reform Judaism's Torah at the Center journal.
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Jodie Gordon
Jodie Gordon joined the Ma'yan staff in August 2007after two years as Director of Teen Programs at The JCC in Manhattan. Under her leadership, The JCC in Manhattan was voted "Best Teen Volunteer Programs in New York," by the daily newspaper AM NY. Jodie has enjoyed a diverse career in Jewish communal work, in formal and informal education alike. Her experience includes teaching in synagogue and religious schools, working several summers on the senior administrative staff at the URJ Eisner Camp, and serving as the Jewish Campus Service Corps (JCSC) Fellow at the Hillel at the University of Wisconsin. Recently, Jodie's professional activities have included facilitating staff trainings for Limmud NY, co-creating and co-leading Ma'yan's Research Training Internship for high school girls, and serving on the screening committee for Hillel International's JCSC Program. In 2006, Jodie traveled to Germany as part of a delegation of young Jewish professionals through the Bridge of Understanding program. Jodie is a graduate of Brandeis University, with a dual degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, and Legal and Political Sociology.
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