Robin Katcoff takes action to repair and Improve the world

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Only five years since joining Hadassah, Robin Katcoff is already an up-and-coming leader of the national Jewish women’s Zionist organization.

(Courtesy of Robin Katcoff)

She was selected for Evolve Hadassah, a new leadership program with its stated goal of advocating for women’s health equity and reproductive choice, supporting Israel and combating antisemitism.

“It is a two-year fellowship program that gets young Hadassah members to learn more about leadership, to be able to help Hadassah with its mission to grow,” said Katcoff, 45, of Pikesville.

“I love the Hadassah mission, and I love Israel,” she said. “It’s all about making sure that everyone has the ability to live healthy lives the best they can. Everything about Hadassah connects with my thinking about people and how we should live.”

In November, Hadassah brought her to Israel with a cohort of 10 women under the age of 45.

“I learned about what Hadassah has to offer as well as what Israel has to offer,” she said. “It was also a great cohort. We bounced ideas off of each other and found out what each others’ regions were doing.”

Katcoff met Hadassah’s top leaders during the Israel trip. “It was amazing meeting these ladies who are so vibrant and have so much knowledge to share, and that’s really what I want to do,” she said. “I’m learning and growing along those lines.”

The leadership is so welcoming, Katcoff said. “Everybody I have ever met in Hadassah has been so wonderful, so inviting. I think that more women need to experience this as well.”

Katcoff is involved with Hadassah Greater Baltimore’s Cell-A-Brate gala to raise money for stem cell research and celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary. The event is May 21 at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation.

Katcoff is also an assistant kindergarten teacher at Krieger Schechter Day School, where her daughter Ariella, 14, is an eighth grade student. Her daughter Wriley, 17, is a senior at Pikesville High School. The family, including husband, Jason, a pharmacist, belongs to Beth Am in Baltimore.

Katcoff, who is originally from Potomac, takes part in many of Beth Am’s volunteer activities, including the Kiddish Crew and Purim spiel.

A registered pharmacist, Katcoff hung up her lab coat for good after her retail job was eliminated during the pandemic. She is now pursuing a master’s degree in teaching at Towson University.

“I decided that I liked working with kids better than being a pharmacist,” said Katcoff, who earned her pharmacy doctorate degree at the University of Maryland.

During the pandemic, she vaccinated people as a volunteer for Bikur Cholim, an organization that serves people facing illness in the Jewish community.

Also during that time, the family stepped up efforts to help the hungry. The Katcoffs volunteered for Bunches of Lunches, a program that provides bag lunches for the hungry at their children’s schools.

As a volunteer, Katcoff stays Jewishly connected because she enjoys being with people with whom she shares expectations and a value system. “A lot of the things we do aren’t just for people who are Jewish,” she said. “It just happens to be through Jewish organizations that we have these opportunities.”

She says she follows the principle of tikkun olam, a concept in Judaism that refers to taking action to repair and improve the world. “It’s how I live my life, and that’s what Hadassah is all about, making the world a better place,” she said. “That’s how I teach my kids. That’s what we do.”

As an Evolve Hadassah leadership fellow, Katcoff wants to bring in younger members “who might not feel they have the time but want to find something that is important to them.”

Hadassah has so much to offer women, Katcoff said. “As women, we’re so passionate. We know what we want. And a lot of the things that Hadassah is about, at least in this country, is women’s rights. And if women want to have a say, they need to have a platform and this is a great way for women to do that.”

Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.

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