Women of JFS: past and present

Newsletters

Mar 29

March is National Women’s History Month. In honor of the impact women have had on JFS’s 150-year history, we’d like to highlight our founder and a few of the current women who continue to help shape the organization to have the greatest impact for the greater good.

JFS began in 1872 with the founding of the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society to help meet the social service needs of Denver's 300 Jewish pioneers.

One of our celebrated founding members and early presidents, Frances Wisebart Jacobs (1843-1892), was one of the co-founders of the United Way of America. Known today as the “Mother of Charities,” Mrs. Jacobs dedicated her life to serving people in need, regardless of race, faith, income, or ability. She has been honored with induction in the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Under her visionary leadership, our organization was a founding member of the Charity Organization Society in Denver, which was formed as the Community Chest in 1887, the forerunner of the United Way.

Yana Vishnitsky came to America in 1978 with her husband and 4-year-old son after fleeing Soviet Russia and an oppressive regime that persecuted Jews.

A patent attorney and mechanical engineer in St. Petersberg, Yana had to start over when she moved to Denver. Her Russian education and degrees meant very little in this country, but fortunately, she was fluent in English.

The day she arrived in Denver, Yana attended Temple Emanuel and introduced herself to Joyce Foster, director of resource development and employment at JFS. Shortly after that, Yana was hired as a JFS translator and case manager to help the influx of Russian refugees adapt to life in Colorado.

Yana returned to school and earned an undergraduate degree in social work, a graduate degree, completed her postgraduate training, and became a highly regarded psychotherapist. She served as director of the Russian Resettlement department and associate executive director of JFS before becoming president and CEO in 2000.

Yana was the driving force behind two capital campaigns to acquire the Tamarac headquarters building and the SHALOM Denver facility (JFS sold this building in 2021), which paved the way for the expansion of services and the agency's remarkable growth. Under her guidance, JFS launched many innovative programs, including Refugee Mental Health, KidSuccess, and Lunchbox Express—all of which continue to transform thousands of people's lives and have made JFS a premier human services agency. Yana retired in 2016. Read more about Yana on our special 150th anniversary blog.

Jane E. Rosenbaum’s involvement with JFS goes back 30 years when she first got involved with the organization because of their work in the Jewish community with people with disabilities. Her daughter, Danielle, who is an adult now, has autism, and at that time, there were really no programs involving either children or adults with disabilities.

Over the years, Jane E.’s invaluable contributions have been as a volunteer, Board chair, chair of the Reel Hope event, and Board member, and she has been on the Development Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee.

Currently, Jane E. is the celebration chair of the 150th anniversary of JFS.

Read more about Jane E. on our special 150th anniversary blog.

In 2018, Linda Foster joined JFS as its president and CEO, and every day, she applies her vision, compassion, dedication, and experience to make JFS and our community better places.

With a robust background leading both nonprofit and for-profit organizations, Linda’s experience guides JFS through program optimization and new service opportunities—all of which is done with a creative and collaborative approach. Whether adjusting programs and services to adapt to the demands around the pandemic or shifting resources to meet the increasing needs within the community, under Linda’s leadership, JFS continues to transform lives by reducing hunger, preventing homelessness, providing mental health services to children and families, offering job training and placement, supporting older adults, and providing programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We asked Linda a few questions to get to know her better outside of her day-to-day responsibilities at JFS.

Q: What’s your proudest work achievement or your proudest moment?

A: My proudest work achievement is leading JFS through COVID-19—adapting and expanding our services to respond to the growing and ever-changing needs, providing services to more community members than ever, all while keeping our staff as healthy and safe as possible. Another proud achievement is being nimble enough to respond very quickly to community needs when there are crises. 

Q: When you wake up in the morning, what gets you excited to start your day?

A: Knowing that we’re going to have a huge impact on peoples’ lives in a variety of ways, that we’re here for those in need, and that we have an incredible team of staff, volunteers, and donors there to support in every imaginable way.

Q: What’s a fun fact most people wouldn’t know about you?

A: I’m musical and used to sing and lead an A capella group in college.

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do when not working?

A: Spending time with family; outdoors activities, such as hiking, long walks with our dog, cross country and downhill skiing, road biking, gardening; baking, playing the piano and singing; hanging out in Steamboat; reading, and watching movies.

Read more about Linda’s thoughts on JFS and her background.

Thanks to decades of influence from outstanding women, JFS continues to help thousands of individuals and families each year and grow the agency’s impact throughout Colorado.