(New York, NY) May 21, 2015— Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc. (HWZOA), and Young Judaea are proud to announce the 2015 recipients of the Leaders of Tomorrow Award for Young Women. This highly selective, merit-based competition awards two high school women full tuition for four weeks at Young Judaea's Teen Summer Program in Israel.
This year's recipients are Maille Biederman from New York City, a junior at Beacon High School and Leor Rosen from Bethesda, MD, a senior at Walt Whitman High School.
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According to Sue Beller, Hadassah National Chair, Young Judaea, "In 2015 we saw an outstanding applicant pool with strong leadership skills and impressive academic achievements. The Award Committee received entries from talented and accomplished students from around the country. But as we went through our selection process it was clear that Maille and Leor were the embodiment of our organization's values and mission and would best use this opportunity to share their experiences and make an impact in their communities when they return home."
Maille Biederman is the Founder and President of her school's Children's Education Foundation Vietnam Club, an organization providing education, tuition and life skills for underprivileged girls. When Maille is not fundraising, she is either debating on her school's Model United Nations team, or helping lead her school in community service. Living in the city has exposed Maille to a breadth and depth of cultures and has encouraged her love of travel. She believes "The opportunity to experience Israel and all of its wonders will expand my horizons. I am looking forward to exploring Israel and the national roots of the Jewish people."
Leor Rosen is a strong supporter and advocate of Israel and has attended Young Judaea camps since she was eight years old. She is passionate about women's issues and is currently interning at the National Women's Law Center in Washington, DC. Leor is an active member of BBYO, has held numerous leadership positions in her chapter and currently serves as Vice President. She is also a dedicated writer and the social media director at her high school newspaper. "I am honored to have the opportunity to travel to Israel with Young Judaea and to reconnect with a place that I already call home. I am excited to further explore my Jewish roots, expand my knowledge about Israel, and share my passion about Israel with my community."
Hadassah (HWZOA) has been empowering women since 1912, and continues to provide opportunities for leadership and personal growth for women of all ages. We congratulate these two young women for their accomplishments and especially their passions for Israel and the Jewish people. Hadassah is proud to sponsor this award because of its tremendous potential to groom future leaders for the Jewish community.
Young Judaea and Hadassah enjoy a thriving and longstanding relationship dating back nearly a century. This relationship has evolved through the generations, creating young Jewish leaders who turn into active Jewish adults. While collaborations occur on a regular basis at different levels, it is through our joint work in helping future leaders flourish that instills within both organizations a particular sense of pride.
Young Judaea's Teen Summer Programs in Israel connects participants with the land of Israel, its culture, and its spirit. With award-winning educational programming and specialty touring options, Jewish teens experience the best of Israel while building leadership and social activism skills. Participants are offered a variety of distinctive trips with a focus on science, social entrepreneurship, advocacy and volunteering, to name a few. Along with an extra trip to Greece, a weekend of leadership training at Tel Yehudah, Young Judaea's senior leadership camp, and a chance to explore personal special interests for a week of their trip in Israel, participants in Young Judaea's Israel Teen Summer Programs have every opportunity to travel the world and have an enduring impact on the communities around them.
For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/yjsummer.
Young Judaea, the premier Zionist youth movement worldwide, encourages young people from grade school through post-college to become involved in social and educational activities that sharpen their senses of Jewish and Zionist identity. Young Judaea programs include a variety of year-round activities; summer camps nationwide; Alternative Winter Break; Year Course in Israel (a freshman gap-year program) and its Shalem Modern Orthodox initiative; Israel summer programs for teens, including YJ Machon, Israel Discovery, and I Speak Israel; Taglit-Birthright Israel trips; Amirim college summer offerings; and WUJS Israel post-college internship and study programs. The movement is a "103 year old start-up," having recently become an independent organization – we are building a dynamic, entrepreneurial, creative staff to meet current challenges and embrace new opportunities. For more information, please visit www.youngjudaea.org.