Goldner receives JFNA award

Ellen Goldner of Mountain Lakes, past president of the former United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, has been named the Greater MetroWest 2016 recipient of the National Women’s Philanthropies’ Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award.

The award was created by National Women’s Philanthropy of Jewish Federations of North America in 2004 to honor Norma Kipnis-Wilson and Toby Friedman, who together founded the Lion of Judah in 1972. Every two years, one woman from each federation receives the award, recognizing women who have set a high standard of philanthropy and volunteerism in their community. 

“I could not be more thrilled to have Ellen Goldner representing the Lions of Judah of our Greater MetroWest community,” said Women’s Philanthropy president Joan Schiffer Levinson. “She is an incredible leader and this prestigious award is so very well deserved.”

Goldner will be presented with the award at the 2016 International Lion of Judah Conference, to be held Sept. 11-13 in Washington, DC. 

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“I am very humbled to be chosen as the recipient of this year’s Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award,” said Goldner. “I share this award with all of our Lions of Judah — actually, with all our Greater MetroWest activist women who volunteer and contribute to our community.” 

Goldner, the first woman to serve as president of the MetroWest federation (2002-05), has had a lifelong involvement in federation and other Jewish organizations. 

At the GMW federation, she was founding president of The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life and, under her leadership, Women’s Philanthropy was a founding partner of the Rachel Coalition. A former UJA Campaign chair and Women’s Department president, Goldner serves on the board of the Jewish Service for the Developmentally Disabled and is a cochair of the federation’s 2016 mission to Poland and Israel. A longtime preschool teacher, she has served as admissions director for the Alexander Muss High School in Israel and is now development director at NJY Camps. 

Past recipients from both the former Jewish Federation of Central NJ, the former MetroWest federation, and the combined Greater MetroWest federation include, in chronological order, Clara Kramer, Adele Lebersfeld, Sandy Gelfond, Lois Lautenberg, Gale Salz, Rita Waldor, Betty Seidel, Jackie Levine, Wendie Ploscowe, Freida Posnock, and Barbara Drench. 

Goldner and her husband, Alan, have two children, Rachel (Mark Stein) and Josh, and five grandchildren, Itai, Shelly, and Asaf Goldner and Adam and Jordan Stein.