The Jewish Communal Professional Leadership Award

This award is presented every second year in even-numbered years. Nominations will be accepted in 2026.

Description:
The Jewish Communal Professional Leadership Award recognizes an outstanding professional working for a Jewish organization in Ottawa who is dedicated to advancing an exceptional quality of Jewish life in Ottawa.

Nominations are solicited every second year on even-numbered years.

All nominees must have a minimum of three years of full-time paid professional service for an organization that serves the Ottawa Jewish community, though not necessarily for the same organization. Nominees must have a deep commitment to Jewish life in Ottawa, though they need not be Jewish themselves. To be eligible, nominees are:

• Jewish agency professionals who show initiative and approach their roles with integrity and creativity;

• Role models, whether to a small group of community members they serve or to the community at large;

• Exemplary leaders and mentors;

• Entrepreneurial and inspirational;

• Active in the Jewish or general community in addition to their professional role;

• Proven achiever in strengthening people and/or organizations; and

• Not only exceptional in their professional role, but someone who makes a significant impact in strengthening Jewish Ottawa.

Nominees may be at any level of an organization; however, only organizations with 5 or fewer FTEs may nominate their senior executive. Pulpit clergy are not eligible for nomination.

All nominations are confidential and must be submitted by a manager/colleague in the nominee’s organization and endorsed by the senior executive or lay leader.

A minimum of 2 additional letters of support must be included with the nomination.

The nomination form and letters of support must specifically address the above criteria.

Nominations:

Nominations for the award shall be solicited in confidence every second year. Nominations will open in March, and those received by the deadline shall be considered. The award will be presented at Federation’s Annual General Meeting held in June.

Nominations will be considered for the year in which they are received and will be carried over once if the nominee remains eligible.

Nature of the Award:

The award recipient(s) will receive a professional development stipend of $500 and a gift of Judaica, and will be recognized at the Annual General Meeting of the community and in an E-Bulletin article.

Mazel Tov to the 2024 recipient, Andrea Gardner

Andrea Gardner has worked at Jewish Family Services for 25 years and has been their Associate Executive Director for 17 years. She represents the Jewish community on the Ottawa Police Services Community Equity Council and is the Co-Chair of the Ottawa’s Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) Health and Wellbeing Sector Table. She is also the Co-Chair of the National Newcomer Navigation Network Advisory Committee and a mentor of numerous grassroots organizations in Ottawa including Jewish Ottawa Inclusion Network (JOIN). Outside her professional life, Andrea is an avid outdoor enthusiast and a mother to three adult children.

At Jewish Family Services Andrea has helped boost revenue, been a dedicated mentor to other professionals, and fosters an inclusive, diverse, and multi-cultural workplace. Her work directly supports Ottawa community members who are struggling with mental health, substance use, domestic abuse, poverty, disabilities and supports the resettlement of newcomers to Ottawa, including thousands of refugees. Andrea is a community leader and has spearheaded many community response programs to address systemic inequities and in doing so has supported advancing program development to address the needs of those who face barriers to supports and services. She is a fierce advocate for those in the Ottawa community promoting creative collaborative partnerships to address gaps in services while inspiring others to do the same.

Questions? Please contact us by email at rgarshowitz@jewishottawa.com

Past Recipients
2022 - Sarah Beutel