A Lifetime of Leadership with Linda A. Hurwitz

Linda A. Hurwitz describes herself as a “past everything” and a “worker bee” because of all the leadership positions she has held over the course of her life.

A former campaign chair for The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore and for the Jewish Federations of North America, and former chair of the board at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, Hurwitz continues to be involved in the leadership of Jewish organizations like Momentum and M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education.

“I’m a real worker bee, and I consider myself a ‘professional volunteer’ of sorts,” Hurwitz said.

Hurwitz, 66, is a lifelong Baltimore resident and lives there with her husband, Steven. They have three children and six grandchildren, with a seventh on the way. She’s also a member of Beth Tfiloh Congregation.

She first decided she wanted to become deeply involved with the Jewish community at 15, while on a trip to Israel. It was her first time there, and the way it impacted her would bring her back to the country many more times in her life.

During her childhood, Hurwitz also briefly met a Russian Jewish girl who was planning to make aliyah to Israel after leaving the Soviet Union.

“We looked exactly the same. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark complexion and both very skinny. Long, stringy hair,” she recalled. “We couldn’t say a word to each other, yet there was an instant bond and an instant connection. It made me realize that I felt this need to help every Jew. And that I could’ve been in her place, since my grandparents were from Russia. It could’ve been me getting off the plane and her welcoming me if my grandparents had stayed in Russia.”

Hurwitz returned to Israel with her husband, Steven, on an Associated mission for young couples. This is what truly motivated her to get involved in Jewish leadership in the local community. Prior to that, she had been a first grade teacher in Baltimore County for five years, and director of Sylvan Learning center for four years.

One of Hurwitz’s most notable accomplishments was facilitating the merger of Beth Tfiloh Congregation and the former Beth Jacob Synagogue. Hurwitz’s father was president of Beth Jacob, and her husband’s father was a former president of Ner Tamid Greenspring Valley Synagogue, so the couple were involved with all three congregations. While her in-laws later joined Beth Tfiloh, her parents were still fiercely loyal to Beth Jacob at the time, which got her connected to the merger process. Beth Jacob closed in August 2007 after approximately 87% of its membership voted in favor of a merger.

“I was able to sit between my mother and mother-in-law, and look across [the sanctuary] at my father and father-in-law and my whole family,” Hurwitz said. “I felt like that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t taken initiative. And to this day, people still say it was one of the best things to happen to both synagogues.”

Hurwitz and her husband also founded the Steven and Linda Hurwitz Family Foundation, which helps fund charitable causes in the Jewish community. Hurwitz said she wants her children to continue handling the foundation when she and her husband are no longer able to.

When it comes to what motivates her in her leadership positions, Hurwitz cited four “Ps” that she lives by: as a leader, she always wants to be Prepared, Personal, Positive and Passionate. But when she was chair of the board at The Associated, she added a fifth P: Present.

“Just being present when you hold the highest position of an organization makes the people that are working so hard feel like you have chosen to be there with them,” she said.

As she looks toward the future, Hurwitz noted that she and her husband just bought a house in Florida, and that she would like to expand her volunteer work to that community.

“I want to get more involved in Florida without ever giving up our gifts of time, talent and treasures here in Baltimore, where I was born and where my children live, and where five of my six grandchildren live,” Hurwitz said. “As far as [my] goals, I just want to keep doing what I’m doing and make a meaningful life by helping others.”