The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington hosted its second Cornerstone on Monday evening to honor the community’s intergenerational leaders and fundraise for Jewish teens and young adults.
Ari Brickman, the Federation’s senior director of philanthropic initiatives and key relationships, said the Washington, D.C., event celebrated the philanthropy of seven honorees who have volunteered to build and sustain local Jewish life.
More than 300 attendees learned the history of Greater Washington through the lens and unique stories of the honorees: Alma Gildenhorn, Carol and Gary Berman, Sophie and Bradley Buslik and Rachel and Peter Federowicz.
Liz Schrayer, the president and CEO of the United States Global Leadership Coalition, moderated a conversation between the honorees. Attendees also heard from Federation CEO Gil Preuss.
“We are looking at individuals who have truly shaped the community,” Brickman said. “With each of our current honorees, there was a moment in time when the community needed leadership. They stepped forward.
“We chose the name ‘Cornerstone’ very intentionally,” Brickman said.
The 2025 Honorees
Alma Gildenhorn has served the local Jewish community through her volunteer leadership for six decades. Her first major involvement was with the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington in the 1960s. She helped build a new Rockville campus with two other agencies: the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington and JSSA — Jewish Social Service Agency.
Gildenhorn was elected to the boards of JSSA and JCCGW, serving on the latter for a decade and eventually becoming its vice president.
Gary Berman, the past president of the Federation, has been involved with the Federation’s efforts for 50 years. His wife, Carol, has dedicated her philanthropy to expanding Jewish education; she co-founded a group of “dedicated women Torah learners” in which some of the members have studied continuously for 34 years.
The Bermans have donated time and funds to Jewish education for all ages in the D.C. area and in Israel. They have supported programs ranging from synagogue nurseries to Hillels.
The Busliks are community leaders driving young Jewish adult engagement. Bradley Buslik helped create IMPACT DC, the Federation’s gala for young professionals, and chaired The Network, the Federation’s philanthropic hub for D.C.-area business professionals.
Sophie Buslik, the Lion of Judah chair of the Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy group, revitalized the Federation’s Young Women’s Coalition, which aims to empower Jewish learning and community building.
Peter Federowicz is the board president of the board of trustees at Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School, where he has served since 2017. He is also a board member of the Federation and a trustee of the Jewish Community Foundation.
Among her many Jewish communal leadership roles, Rachel Federowicz is a vice president at Congregation B’nai Tzedek, a board member of Friends of the IDF, committee member for the Ronald S. Lauder Impact initiative and chair of an allocations working group for the Federation focused on young families.
She and Peter Federowicz co-chaired the Federation’s Israel@70 celebration, which brought hundreds of community members together to learn about Israel.
Intersecting Paths
Along with the Busliks, the Federowiczes led fundraising efforts for the Federation’s Israel Crisis Relief Fund, targeting donors younger than 40 years old.
“Immediately after Oct. 7 … [the four] gathered their peers and their friends, and in the course of an evening, raised over a million dollars,” Brickman said. “The impact they were able to have immediately on the ground in Israel through raising that and saying, ‘Our generation and our community support Israel,’ was such a tremendous statement.”
The other honorees have also crossed paths before the 2025 Cornerstone event: One of the Bermans’ first leadership opportunities had been hosting an event with Gildenhorn and Gildenhorn’s late husband, Joe.
“It’s really quite beautiful to see where all of their stories intersect with one another,” Brickman said.
Brickman emphasized the importance of gathering and celebrating “all of the leadership” that has made up Jewish Washington’s past, present and future.
“The building of a vibrant Jewish community doesn’t happen just through philanthropic dollars,” Brickman added. “It doesn’t happen with just a small group of individuals, but it takes the community stepping up, noticing when leadership is needed and raising their hand, saying, ‘It’s my time to lead and bring the community along with me.’”
Investing in the Next Generation
Cornerstone’s purpose is to fundraise for the next generation.
“It’s investing in teens, college students and young adults during these critical times to foster their Jewish identities and values,” Brickman said of the Federation initiative.
In the months leading up to Cornerstone, Brickman has met with the honorees to help the group build relationships.
“The common thread amongst them all was that leadership had been modeled for them,” Brickman said. “They weren’t expected to immediately step into [leadership roles], but they had models they could look at and then shape into their own [experiences]. Those models may have come at different times in their lives, and our honorees felt that we really needed to continue as we look to the next generation.”
She said Jewish communal leadership is rapidly changing, “requiring our leaders to respond to complex and evolving demands.”
The honorees’ children and grandchildren attended the intergenerational event, with the youngest attendee being 7 years old.
“The Cornerstone fund was something that truly, truly meant something significant for each of our honorees and they were so excited to be able to use this evening to continue building the next generation,” Brickman said.
