USCJ has named Jaclyn Danziger of Neve Shalom in Metuchen, NJ the recipient of its 2017 Shoshana S. Cardin Leadership Award. The award was presented at USCJ’s Convention 2017 in Atlanta, GA during the General Assembly of Kehillot.

Since joining Neve Shalom in 2012, Danziger has worked to make it a more inclusive and welcoming place for congregants of all ages and backgrounds. As the current Chair of the Membership Committee, she has planned several widely-appealing programs, including a monthly communal Shabbat dinner that attracts close to 200 people.

She is also a driving force for the synagogue’s Learning Enhancement Task Force, where she was instrumental in leading the search to find a new Educational Director and has introduced new, innovative educational models.

Danziger’s Conservative Jewish roots run deep. She grew up attending Marlboro Jewish Center in New Jersey, was an active member in and met her husband through USY, and was involved in Hillel during her time in college.

Now the mother of three, with a fourth on the way, she wants to build this same kind of community for her own children. “[My husband and I] want to provide our children with those Jewish experiences that have been so important to us,” she said.

Shoshana S. Cardin, one of the most influential Jewish leaders of our time, established her namesake award on the occasion of the USCJ centennial in 2013, to recognize an emerging Jewish leader who is making a difference in strengthening and transforming Jewish life through the lens of Conservative Judaism.