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Pittsburgh Networking and Action Forum

CONFERENCE HOME SPEAKERS BIOS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Discover how you can make a difference during the Networking and Action Forum at our summit. This interactive session will feature eight local organizations sharing their missions, resources, and volunteer opportunities for 2025. Through dynamic 15-minute Advocacy Spotlights, you’ll learn about impactful initiatives related to reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equality, public education, and more.

Table 1 – Jewish Women’s Foundation of Pittsburgh 

The Jewish Women’s Foundation funds grants in both the Jewish and general communities that effect positive social change for women and girls through collaborative philanthropy.  Individuals who are interested in a different approach to their charitable giving have the opportunity to act collectively with each other and with grant seekers to make effective, informed grantmaking decisions.  Since 2003, JWF has invested more than $2 million in improving the lives of our community’s women and girls.

  • Volunteer Opportunities: Individuals interested in this type of collaborative philanthropy can join JWF to become a Trustee and then are empowered to participate in JWF’s grantmaking model as well as engage with other like-minded women.

  • Web Page: https://www.jwfpgh.org/

  • Contact Information: Judy Cohen at jcohen@jwfpgh.org

Table 2 – Women’s Law Project

Founded in 1974, Women’s Law Project is a nonprofit public interest legal organization working to defend and advance the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people in Pennsylvania and beyond. We use an intersectional analysis to prioritize work on behalf of people facing multiple forms of oppression based on sex, gender, race, ethnicity, class, disability, incarceration, pregnancy, and immigration status. We leverage impact litigation, policy advocacy, public education, and direct assistance and representation to dismantle discriminatory laws, policies, and practices and eradicate institutional biases and unfair treatment based on sex or gender. We believe reproductive freedom is the keystone to our work. We seek equitable opportunity in many arenas including healthcare, education, athletics, employment, public benefits, insurance, and family law, and seek justice for survivors of gender-based violence.

Table 3 – The Jewish Women and Religious Freedom in Pittsburgh Steering Committee

Jewish Women and Religious Freedom in Pittsburgh aims to engage, amplify, and elevate the voices of local Jewish women and others of marginalized genders as those most impacted by challenges to religious freedom in Greater Pittsburgh, the state of Pennsylvania, and around the country today. These issues include but are not limited to reproductive rights and abortion access; gender, sexuality, and LGBTQ+ equality; public education; antisemitism; and more. The project will promote lasting social change by reshaping the understanding of religious freedom rights through a Jewish lens, and increase action and advocacy based on that understanding. This is a project of Jews for a Secular Democracy (JFASD),  grant funded by the Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh,  underwritten in 2024 by JWF Trustee Nancy Weissman, in memory of her beloved mother-in-law, JWF Trustee Jacquelin Wechsler

  • Volunteer Opportunities: Join our steering committee! We meet virtually once per month and outline, plan and run programming both virtual and in-person related to our mission.

  • Web Page: JFASD.org 

  • Contact Information: katie@jfasd.org

Table 4 – Women and Girls Foundation

The Women and Girls Foundation (WGF) is a nonprofit organization committed to achieving gender equity by addressing systemic barriers through intersectional advocacy and programming. Guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, WGF focuses on advancing women’s financial well-being, early intervention programs for girls, civics education, and environmental justice. By providing mentorship, educational initiatives, and micro-grants to women-led organizations, WGF empowers under-resourced communities and fosters lasting social change.

  • Volunteer Opportunities:
    Volunteer: Support our mentorship programs, civics education workshops, or community events.
    Host a Fundraiser: Organize events to help raise funds for WGF’s programs and initiatives.
    Share on Social Media: Follow and amplify our mission by sharing our content on your platforms.
    Attend Events: Join us at workshops, panels, and community discussions to learn and advocate for gender equity.Donate: Contribute to our micro-grants program or support our advocacy and educational efforts.

  • Web Page: https://wgfpa.org/ 

  • Contact Information: Please reach out to Tatiana@wgfpa.org for more information on volunteering or to donate.

Table 5 – National Council of Jewish Women | Pittsburgh

The National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh Section (NCJW-PGH) is a dynamic organization dedicated to creating systemic change through the lens of Jewish values. Established in 1893, our work has evolved to address the root causes of inequity, focusing on advocacy and empowerment to uplift women, families, and communities. We focus on issues like reproductive justice, preserving democracy and inclusive and equitable workspaces. Guided by the principle of Tikkun Olam (healing the world), NCJW-PGH builds partnerships, educates the public, and drives actionable change to ensure that everyone can thrive in a just and equitable society.

  • Volunteer Opportunities: Host a 2025 Repro Shabbat event with your community or join our Repro Shabbat Event: Tikkun Yachad (Circle of Repair). Join our Activist Network to make change at the local, state, and federal level.Help at Thriftique, our thrift store in lawrenceville.Volunteer at our Children’s Room at the Allegheny County Courthouse. Lend a hand with NCJW-PGH Events.

  • Web Page: https://www.ncjwpgh.org

  • Contact Information: The best way is to join our mailing list where you can select what you are interested in engaging in and you will receive a follow up call with someone from our team.If you have any questions you can reach us at  info@ncjwpgh.org or 412-421-6118

Table 6 – YWCA | Greater Pittsburgh  

YWCA Greater Pittsburgh envisions a community that advances education, opportunity, and equity regardless of gender, race, or background.YWCA Greater Pittsburgh is a member of a nationally recognized movement with a mission to eliminate racism and empower women. For more than 150 years, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh has positioned itself at the forefront of the most pressing social movements. It has advocated for voting rights, civil rights, affordable housing, and pay equity. Today, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh combines direct services and advocacy to foster change. We understand that racial and economic equity are inseparable from women’s empowerment. Women and girls of color face daily discrimination and social injustice. They are more likely to experience gender-based violence, and they face more barriers to quality care. Women of color are often their families’ primary source of income, yet many lack access to childcare, safe housing, and health care. In response, we offer accessible child care, after school STEM education for girls, the YWCA Resource Center, supportive housing, and our Center for Race & Gender Equity. All of our programs are designed to empower the individuals that we serve educationally, socially, and economically.

  • Volunteer Opportunities: Interested in directly supporting the women and families we serve? Volunteer opportunities with YWCA Greater Pittsburgh are available for individuals and groups! Sign up below to learn about new opportunities!

  • Web Page: https://ywcapgh.org/ 

  • Contact Information: sglentzer@ywcapgh.org

Table 7 – Congregation Dor Hadash (Tabling with with Squirrel Hill Stands Against Gun Violence)  

Congregation Dor Hadash is Pittsburgh’s only Reconstructionist Jewish Congregation. We are inclusive, egalitarian, and member-led. Our congregants include people of different races, places of birth, sexual orientations and gender identities, and people with disabilities; and we live in households that are of the same or different faiths. Volunteerism and active participation are central to the religious, educational, and cultural life of Dor Hadash. In 2024,  HIAS recognized  Dor Hadash’s work to resettle  refugees with its highest congregational honor- the Pathways Trailblazer  Award.

Squirrel Hill Stands Against Gun Violence was founded by members of the Dor Hadash Social Action Committee
following the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue on October 27, 2018. Our mission is to advocate for legislation
that reduces gun violence so that other communities will never face the devastation we have experienced.
Volunteer Opportunities: It’s free to join our group on our website and then you will receive a newsletter where
we share upcoming opportunities to engage with our work.

Table 8 – Red, Wine & Blue | Pennsylvania 

Red Wine & Blue is a national community of over half a million diverse women working together to defeat extremism, one friend at a time. We train and connect women from across the country of all political backgrounds—including many who have never been political before—to get stuff done and have fun along the way. 

  • Volunteer Opportunities: Join or lead a Trouble Nation group (hyper-focused local community group focused on action), be a part of our rapid response team or train in relational organizing

  • Web Page: https://redwine.blue/pennsylvania and women and those who identify as femme can join our private community at https://facebook.com/groups/redwinebluepennsylvania 

  • Contact Information: carrie@redwine.blue