Washington, D.C. – The impact of Jewish women on the worlds of business, media, politics, culture, community service, family and spirituality was on full display on Monday, Dec. 8, 2013, at Jewish Women International (JWI)’s annual Women to Watch gala event. Over 700 people gathered to celebrate Jewish women’s leadership. All 10 of the 2013 Women to Watch honorees shared their experiences and “Pearls of Wisdom” in front of a sold-out crowd of friends, family, colleagues and JWI supporters.

Each fall issue of JWI’s Jewish Woman magazine profiles the year’s Women to Watch before they are honored at the annual Women to Watch celebration.

As a companion to the Women to Watch gala, JWI’s Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN) held its inaugural conference geared toward connecting young professional women on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2013. Over 120 women attended workshops on personal branding, negotiation and other valuable career advice, featuring current and past Women to Watch honorees. “This is the realization of a long-held organizational dream to connect young professional women with our Women to Watch honorees, past and present,” said Lori Weinstein, JWI CEO and Executive Director.

In the morning of Monday’s Women to Watch gala luncheon, the 2013 honorees gathered for an “Up Close and Personal” symposium on success, womanhood and Jewish identity. Meredith Jacobs, editor-in-chief of the Washington Jewish Week, moderated the panel discussion. The gala luncheon and awards ceremony followed, emceed by Ophira Eisenberg , comedian and host of NPR’s popular game show “Ask Me Another.”

Selected for their unique contributions across a wide array of professions, the 2013 honorees are:

Gail Becker, Los Angeles, Ca., president of strategic partnerships and global integration for Edelman Public Relations and founding chair of Edelman’s Global Women’s Executive Network (GWEN,) overseeing efforts to increase the number of women at the senior most levels of the firm.

Lisa Eisen, Washington, D.C., national director of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, and director of its Washington, D.C. office, supporting initiatives around the world that empower young Jews to embrace the joy of Judaism, build inclusive Jewish communities, support the State of Israel and repair the world.

Danielle Gelber, Los Angeles, Ca., Executive vice president of Wolf Films, where she produces NBC’s “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.”; former executive at Showtime, Fox and Spelling Television; has developed hit shows including “Weeds,” “The L Word,” “Ally McBeal,” “Beverly Hills: 90210” and “The Sopranos.”

Julianna Goldman, Washington, D.C., chief White House correspondent for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Businessweek; writes on White House domestic policy and the President’s economic policy agenda; named one of National Journal’s 25 Most Influential Washington Women Under 35.

Dr. Bonnie Hartstein, San Antonio, Tx., U.S. Army colonel and chief of family and community medicine at San Antonio’s Brooke Army Medical Center, one of the military’s largest primary care centers in the United States; Board certified in pediatric and emergency medicine, she oversees a $14 million annual budget and constantly searches for ways to improve patient care.

Pati Jinich, Washington, D.C., cooking teacher, food writer, official chef of the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, DC, and host of the public television series “Pati’s Mexican Table”; has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs. Her first cookbook, “Pati’s Mexican Table” (Houghton Mifflin), was published in spring 2013.

Nicolette Mason, New York, N.Y., writer, editor, designer and art director; contributing fashion editor and columnist at Marie Claire; and consultant for various apparel and lifestyle brands. She was a host of the “Big Girl in a Skinny World” series on HelloStyle, a partnership between Hearst Publications and YouTube, and is currently working on a book on style and confidence.

Lori Palatnik, Rockville, Md., international speaker, author and founding director of the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project, which has brought more than 3,000 women to Israel since 2009 on subsidized tour-and-learn programs. Lectures worldwide and at prestigious universities such as Yale, University of Pennsylvania and Brown.

Amanda Steinberg, Philadelphia, Pa., thought-leader on the topic of women and money, and founder of Daily Worth – an online community (nearing one million subscribers) helping women earn more, save more and spend smarter; featured in the New York Times, TIME, Forbes, Parenting, Cosmopolitan and on NY1, CNN, FOX, ABC and NBC news.

Meryl Rosenberg, Potomac, Md., Sondra D. Bender Community Leadership Award Recipient; attorney in private practice and director of ARTparenting, a program devoted to arrangements and all legal aspects of surrogacy, egg donation, embryo donation, and other matters involving assisted reproductive technologies (ART), as well as step-parent adoptions and second-parent adoptions.