Jane Karlin

Dr. Jane F. Karlin has enjoyed a distinguished career as a fundraiser, leader of large-scale advancement programs and capital campaigns, and is a frequent panelist. She has held senior positions at New York University, The New School, Hadassah, UJA-Federation of New York, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and The Jewish Agency for Israel. She has secured transformational gifts, developed board leadership, strengthened donor communication and stewardship, and motivated staff and volunteers to achieve aspirational goals. In June 2019 she retired from the Jewish Agency, where she was Senior Vice President for Israel and Global Philanthropy, to teach, volunteer and advise boards through board service, and pursue research interests reflecting the intersection of philanthropy and American social history.

She is an Adjunct Professor at the George H. Heyman Jr. Program for Philanthropy and Fundraising in the Center for Global Affairs at NYU School of Professional Studies. Current Board service includes the Skidmore College Alumni Association, where she is Chair of the Presidents Society, the College’s annual giving leadership community; Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, where she sits on the Development Committee; and Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ), which supports women’s engagement in Reform synagogues across the United States and Canada. She is Chair of the WRJ Grant Allocations Committee, which makes grants to groups whose work reflects WRJ’s mission and values. She is also on the Steering Committee of Allies in Action, an initiative aligned with Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy. She is a former President of Women in Development New York and holds degrees from Skidmore College (BA), Brown University (AM), and New York University (Ph.D.).