The Phyllis Margolius Family Foundation announced Jennifer Scher as the recipient of the 2025 Phyllis G. Margolius Impossible Dream Award, according to an April 2 press release.
The Foundation’s committee selected Scher, the vice president of the Mid-Atlantic region of Friends of the IDF, for her work fostering support for Israel.
She is the third recipient of the Impossible Dream Award, which is awarded annually to a Jewish communal professional who “echoes the character, inspiration, and determination of its namesake, Phyllis Ann Goldman Margolius,” the press release read. Margolius was a community lay leader and native Washingtonian who died in 2014.
The award includes an $18,000 cash prize for Scher’s dedication to “empowering Jewish identity and building meaningful connections to Israel,” according to the press release.
“I am deeply honored to receive the Phyllis G. Margolius Impossible Dream Award,” Scher said in the press release. “Phyllis was a dynamic and transformative leader, and I am privileged to be associated with someone who was such a champion of Jewish life, Israel, and community.”
She has worked full-time for FIDF for three and a half years, serving as the regional FIDF’s vice president for more than two of those years. Scher’s role includes supporting Israel’s soldiers and educating communities on the country’s security concerns.
Under Scher’s guidance, FIDF has formed a young leadership cohort, strengthening Jewish community members’ connection to Israel. She also created a WhatsApp group that sends out regular updates and briefings, gathered parents of Lone Soldiers to support them while their children are overseas at war and helped coordinate Legacy Camps, a program that brings bereaved IDF families to Capital Camps.
“In a time where community is needed, Jennifer is making a way, especially for young people, to come together to help support and talk about Israel and Jewish community in a post-October 7 world,” Josh Maxey, a member of the selection committee, said in the press release.
Before her role with FIDF, Scher served as the director of community advancement at Gesher Jewish Day School and as the director of Northern Virginia engagement at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She is actively involved with Congregation Olam Tikvah and is a Gesher and Capital Camps parent.
“We are immensely proud to have Jennifer Scher as our award winner for the prestigious Phyllis G. Margolius Impossible Dream Award,” said Philip Margolius, president of the Phyllis Margolius Family Foundation. “Her achievements and dedication embody the essential qualities that this award represents: resilience creativity, and the ability to rise to any challenge. We hope that receiving the Impossible Dream Award will further inspire Jennifer to continue her exemplary work in the field.”
