Nicki Newman Tanner Elected Chair
of Jewish Women's Archive Board of Directors

Brookline, MA, June 28, 2004—Nicki Newman Tanner has been elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Women's Archive (JWA). The announcement was made by Gail T. Reimer, JWA Executive Director. Tanner is a founding member of the JWA Board of Directors. She replaces Barbara B. Dobkin, who will remain active on the Board as Founding Chair.

"Nicki Newman Tanner is an inspiring and innovative leader in women's education, the public humanities and the Jewish community," said Reimer. "She is a worthy successor to JWA's visionary founding chair."

"JWA's mission of discovering and then broadcasting the depth and breadth of Jewish women's contributions to American life is exciting and essential," said Tanner. "JWA combines this steadfast commitment to the value of women's stories with organizational flexibility and creativity. A prime example is JWA's early decision to develop an online archive instead of a physical repository-an amazing moment."

About Nicki Newman Tanner

Tanner is Chair of the Educational Programs and Policies Committee of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Chair of the Board of WNYC, New York's public radio stations, and a trustee of Hebrew Union College. An oral historian by training, she has served as Director of the UJA-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies Oral History Project since 1981. On the Board of Wellesley College for 18 years, Tanner co-chaired the capital campaign for Wellesley that broke all fundraising records for liberal arts colleges and debunked the myth that women do not give as much as men. Tanner serves on the Executive Committee of the current Wellesley Campaign.

About JWA

The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national, nonprofit organization with a mission to uncover, chronicle and transmit the rich legacy of Jewish women and their contributions to our families and our communities, to our people and our world. Founded in Boston in 1995, JWA was one of the first organizations in the Jewish community to stake a claim in the new frontier of the web, and continues to innovate in its use of the virtual world for academic, cultural, archival and educational purposes. 2004 marks 350 years since the first communal settlement of Jews in North America. JWA is serving as a coordinator and catalyst for 350th programs focused on women and their contributions. For more information, visit the JWA website at jwa.org.