Jill Weinberg is a lifelong Chicagoan. Jill attributes her activist spirit to her mother, Elaine Weinberg. "She had a very independent mind, her own thoughts and opinions and trusted her own judgment and made it natural for me to do the same."
Elaine's own involvement with the Federation alerted Jill to an internship opportunity that Jill said, "was the turning point of my life, because I had never dreamed that someone could have a career in Jewish communal service." After completing her Master in Social Work degree at Yeshiva University, Jill spent eleven years with the Federation. Among her positions were Assistant Campaign Director of the Continuum Program, Director of Missions, and Dialogues in Jewish Life Coordinator. The Federation prepared Jill for the most significant work of her life, Midwest Regional Director of the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Jill and her staff have raised 70 million dollars in support of the USHMM and are continuing to engage Americans in its mission. Jill said, "Holocaust survivors never believed that their stories would be told in this most amazing way on the most priceless piece of land this country has to offer. It is not just a memorial. Its lessons are very much for the past, but unfortunately its lessons are very much for the present."
Jill feels that she shares the Women Who Dared Award with her mother, a community activist who filled Jill's life with experiences and influences that inspire her work today.
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