The four philanthropists are ‘esteemed pillars of the greater Washington community’
For the first time, Jewish Women International honored three generations of women from one family at its annual “Women to Watch” event, this year on Dec. 15. Philanthropy serves as the common thread connecting this DMV family.
JWI recognized Carol Burman, her daughter Courtenay Burman Wallach and her granddaughters Madison and Sophie Wallach as this year’s Sondra D. Bender Community Leadership honorees.
The four women, hailing from Greater Washington, are among JWI’s 10 annual Women to Watch honorees.
“What I really loved was that for the first time, we were recognizing three generations, and that I love because each, equally, in their own way, was standing up as a Jewish leader, the granddaughters equal to the grandmother,” JWI CEO Meredith Jacobs said.
“It’s a wonderful honor,” Carol Burman said. “I’m very proud of my daughter and granddaughters.”
Carol Burman has been actively involved with Washington Hebrew Congregation for 45 years and with Congregation B’nai Tzedek for a decade. She and her husband, Robert, helped raise $17 million to rebuild Capital Camps and Retreat Center, which had been “dilapidated” years ago.
A founding member of the Washington, D.C., chapter of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, Burman has supported the organization’s IMPACT! program that provides four-year scholarships to former Israeli soldiers from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
She was awarded the 2019 Irene and Abe Pollin Humanitarian Award for her community service.
Courtenay Burman Wallach, a Potomac native, is a lifetime member of Washington Hebrew Congregation, where she serves on various committees and is a Sisterhood board member. Also involved with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and FIDF, Burman Wallach has led multiple mission trips to Israel over the past decade with B’nai Tzedek, the Jewish Federations of North America, and the local Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy.
She is a Lion of Judah with JFGW, and one of 150 Women’s Philanthropy Pomegranates in the Greater Washington area, women who donate at least $1,800 to the Federation’s annual campaign.
Madison Wallach, 26, is an executive board member of FIDF Young Leadership New York, where she currently lives, and chaired the 2024 FIDF Young Leadership gala. She recently led a mission to Israel with 60 fellow young professionals from across the United States to bear witness to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
Sophie Wallach, 24, attended the mission trip with her sister and is a committee member for the 2024 FIDF Young Leadership gala.
Burman’s philanthropy in the community inspired Burman Wallach to do the same: “I got hooked because of my parents.”
Although Madison and Sophie Wallach have since moved from their Bethesda home to New York City to pursue their careers, they spoke to the importance of their unique familial bond.
“I think how we grew up was very special,” Madison Wallach said, adding that she lived three minutes away from her grandmother and the family enjoyed regular Shabbat dinners together.
“Having leaders in your life is important, but to have leaders as your family members and to get to grow up watching your mom and grandma do such incredible things in the community only makes you want to do that to the tenth degree.”
“We’re very close,” Sophie Wallach said. “We feel like we’re four sisters. Doing [philanthropic work] with my mom and grandma makes it so much more meaningful.”
The four attended JWI’s Women to Watch Dec. 15 conference and each spoke at a breakout session about women in philanthropy. In their respective panels, Burman and Burman Wallach discussed leading with purpose, Madison Wallach talked about advocating for change and Sophie Wallach weighed in on navigating generational differences at work.
Burman shared insight from her 17 years of volunteering with FIDF, specifically sending 15 soldiers to college with living expenses paid over the 12 years she and her husband have donated to its IMPACT! scholarship program.
She and her husband remain in touch with the soldiers beyond the program. One recipient of the scholarship will graduate from medical school this year; another is an architect.
“Every time we go to Israel, [our IMPACT! scholarship soldiers] come from far and wide, sometimes for hours, to be with our family because we’ve kept up these relationships, not just given our money,” Burman said. “We are truly blessed as they are our friends and family in Israel.”
“We put a face to the name,” Madison Wallach said. “This is what’s so rewarding, having this relationship. These are our friends. These are our families.”
The family is involved with FIDF’s LEGACY Summer Camp program, which provides children and siblings of fallen soldiers with the opportunity attend sleepaway camp in the United States for two weeks.
In their involvement with FIDF, the family aims to support Israeli soldiers’ well-being to ultimately ensure a strong Israel. Their fundraising has gone towards the Sapir Retreat Center in Jerusalem, gyms, Shabbat dinners, a synagogue and gift boxes for IDF soldiers, who are typically ages 18 to 24.
Although the Wallach sisters have helped fundraise for the New York chapter of FIDF Young Leadership, giving back to the community is more than monetary for Sophie Wallach.
“It’s not just financial. It’s about your time; it’s about being a friend to people,” she said.
This concept is something Madison Wallach calls “friendraising” rather than fundraising, adding that her family does the work they do out of a deep love for Israel.
Jacobs, the CEO of JWI, said the Sondra D. Bender Community Leadership distinction embodies this philanthropic work.
“It’s not only being a leader in a corporation or being a Congresswoman; it can also be about having a voice to create change in your community,” Jacobs told Washington Jewish Week.
Community service brings Burman, Burman Wallach and the Wallach sisters together for a common cause; they said they’re fortunate to be able to help others and form lifelong connections.
“A lot of day-to-day life is very transactional and it’s easy to get caught up in that,” Sophie Wallach said. “Charity brings you back down to Earth.”
