First off, tell us your name, where you’re from, and how long you’ve lived in Louisville.
My name is Jennifer Tuvlin. My family moved to Louisville in 1980 when I was almost 9 years old. I moved away for undergraduate and law school and then lived in Chicago for seven years while my husband was doing his residency and fellowship at the University of Chicago. We moved back to Louisville in 2004.
Tell us a little about your family.
My husband, Jeff, is a gastroenterologist, and he works at Baptist Hospital Eastpoint. My oldest son Andrew (25) is an attorney in New York. My middle son, Ethan (23) is in finance (trading) and is also in New York. My youngest, Jared (20), is a Junior at the University of Wisconsin but will also be studying in Madrid next year.
How have you been involved in the Jewish community recently?
In June, I was elected Chair of the Jewish Heritage Fund (JHF) board. I am absolutely thrilled, and, not to take away from other organizations in Louisville that I love and have dear spots for in my heart, but JHF is my favorite volunteer organization that I’ve ever been affiliated with. The mission, the staff, I am truly fortunate to get to work with such a wonderful group of people who simply want a better Louisville and better Kentucky. And JHF is a tribute to our city’s Jewish history as it is the successor organization to Jewish Hospital which was a pillar of our Jewish community for years.
Prior to my involvement with JHF I was on the JCC board when it was an independent entity and won a young leadership award (2009 Lewis W. Cole Memorial Leadership Award).
But involvement with the greater Jewish community started when I was super young and went to camp at the JCC and then overnight camp at Beber. I was very involved with BBYO and some of my best friends were from Sunday school, so Jewish events were what brought us together. These opportunities paved the way for a lifelong commitment to the Jewish community. I also followed my parents’ lead. My mother was an active volunteer in Louisville’s Jewish community ever since my family moved to Louisville. There was never a Jewish organization to which she didn’t think she could add value. And, my father was always involved in the Jewish community from a professional perspective because he worked at Jewish hospital and often was the only Jewish person on the senior leadership team.
Did you know you wanted to come back to Louisville?
I moved away for college and law school, with the attitude that, “I was never coming back.” I just wanted to be in big cities. I met Jeff in Atlanta during law/medical school and then we moved to Chicago. We loved living in Chicago – my husband would probably still be there if it wasn’t for me. But there were two reasons that we moved back. One, I had 2 of my 3 boys at that time and I was working at a big law firm. Jeff’s schedule was crazy with his fellowship. He was sleeping at the hospital every 3rd night, and I was traveling to London or New York – and my nanny had her own kids. My mom would fly in, but she had her own job. It just was a lot – juggling kids, living in the city, and having two careers, so I really wanted to move back to Louisville where we’d have my family for support.
But my husband will joke and say the reason we are back in Louisville is, years ago, when Jerry Abramson was mayor, he would have these events in cities when he was visiting, and he had a Louisvillians in Chicago event. And in the middle of his talk, he asked, where’s Jennifer Greenberg? And he said, “If you don’t move back to Louisville, your father’s going to be furious at me.” Three days later, we were in the car, and I’m smiling, and my husband’s said,” You’re still thinking of what the mayor said, aren’t you?” At that point, he knew it was a done deal. We also were planning for a third child, and we knew that would be even more juggling. Moving back to Louisville was the best thing we did.
And my kids love Louisville. Even though I’ve got two in New York, I used to think none would move back, now I think 2 out of 3 probably will. So, I’m hopeful.
How did your work for the Jewish Federation prepare you for your newest role in the Jewish community?
When you work for the Federation, you really learn about the entire community. The Federation was housed in the JCC, but it partners with everyone such as JFCS, the synagogues, other Jewish organizations and it tries to facilitate opportunities for people to connect with their Judaism and their community. I learned how to how to connect people. And that’s really part of what Jewish Heritage Fund wants to do – support those unique programs and organizations that want to see a strong Jewish community across Louisville, and JHF loves to support transformative projects and ideas. The greater goal is for a vibrant, thriving Jewish community across Kentucky, as well as, of course, JHF’s health focus.
Besides the medical research, JHF’s focus is on adolescent health and wellness, and that is a unique space in the health area, simply because you see a lot of funding go to young children or seniors, but there’s not a lot that’s focused on that 12- to 25-year old demographic and making sure that their health is thriving and that they have the services that they need. JHF’s website links to our Annual Report and I’d encourage everyone to skim it to understand the breadth of JHF’s impact in Louisville. Most people who would read this interview might know JHF supports the Louisville Jewish community, but we also support Jewish higher education across Kentucky, Jewish communities across the state, family health centers, programs to combat homelessness and medical research, plus so much more.
Now we’re going to pivot to your professional work. Tell us about your job as Senior Director for Philanthropy and Engagement for the Brandeis School of Law and how your Judaism manifests itself in your day-to-day work.
Well, this job kind of came about because I was working at the Federation part time and basing my schedule mostly around tennis, and figuring out how can I work if the match is at the same time? And then my best friend became co-president of her company. And I thought she was running a huge company and I’m dealing with tennis. And I decided – my youngest was 16 and a half – I needed to just kind of do something different, something bigger. And so, I really thought I was going to be applying for a job through fundraising for athletics because that was my biggest connection to UofL – just loving basketball and watching games – but then there was a posting for fundraising for the law school. I have a law degree so I thought I could dust that off and use it again. Within two weeks of applying, I was already interviewing with the dean, Melanie Jacobs. She’s phenomenal. She has made so many wonderful improvements at the law school and for the whole entire university. We really just hit it off and have a great partnership together.
I think my Jewish roots go back to why I even want to do fundraising, because it’s really about the greater good, and Tikkun Olam, plus I’m a big believer in public school. All my kids went to public schools, and I see the access that a lot of these students have because of scholarships that they’re getting from the law school or from undergraduate programs at the University of Louisville. And it’s amazing what a law degree can do to a family, not just for that student, but if this is a first generation student or someone whose family hadn’t gone to college before, by having a law degree, they can support themselves and their family, and truly make a difference in their community. Brandeis Law is one of the few law schools with a public service component partly in deference to Justice Brandeis who we all know was the first Jewish U.S. Supreme Court Justice and I love that aspect to the school.
A law degree is probably the most flexible graduate degree that you can have. You can do anything with it, including fundraising. I’m truly proud to be part of an organization that wants to help people get an education that they might not otherwise be able to have.
Any wisdom you gained from the recent Federation trip to Morocco that you can impart on us?
I was very nervous to go simply because of the timing. It was right after the war started with Iran, and I didn’t know how Jews would be perceived, but I never felt unsafe. The Moroccan people were so warm and accepting, and the trip pushed me to do things that I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with. We had services in the middle of a hotel. I thought “Really? Can’t we do this in a room? and not in the public?”, but it was lovely. And afterwards, I was really glad we didn’t hide observing Shabbat because I want to set an example for my kids and not be afraid to be Jewish in public. And, I was mad at myself for even thinking we shouldn’t observe Judaism out in the open. Everything was wonderful.
I think that I learned, or was reminded, that every country has its own traditions or way of doing something. But at the heart of it, we’re all people, we all want to see a better world for our family, our friends, our community. We want our kids to be safe and to have more opportunities than we did, and for the most part, I think everyone just wants a cohesive community. Our tour guide was phenomenal. Here he was, this Moroccan Muslim guy and he speaks Hebrew. I mean, I don’t speak Hebrew, but he does. And it just showed that breaking down barriers and wanting to form friendships and partnerships is a good feeling. You walk away feeling like, wow, the world is not as screwed up as we think it is right now.
So, we have a special section in our newsletter about what women’s philanthropy is loving these days. So would love to know if you’re reading or watching or listening to something that you would like to share. If you even have time.
Well, I’m obsessed with Off Campus and Heated Rivalry right now! I’m in my ice hockey tv phase. Yesteryear, The Correspondent, and Buckeye were three books that I really enjoyed this year.
If you could play a tennis match against anyone, who would it be?
My partner would be Carlos Alcaraz because he could run and cover the court, and I could stand in one spot and volley. As far as playing someone, I’d love to play Serena and Nadal.
We have a very competitive family and a very sports-oriented family. As a mom of three boys, I kind of had to adopt [sports]. I used to love dancing school and Broadway shows, but that really wasn’t their path. So, sports it is, and I feel pretty confident with any sport. I might not be an expert, but I certainly pretend to be and can talk enough not to embarrass myself. I also saw this with my mother because she’s the one who started our fantasy football league because she wanted a way to connect with her grandsons. It was our family league, and we named our trophy after her since she passed away.
Is there anything you’d like to add that you’d want for the Jewish for the future?
My hope for the future is that the Jewish community in Louisville continues to thrive and grow. How amazing is it now that we’re double the size that we thought we were!? Our Trager Family JCC and One Happy Camper programs are national models as are so many other programs. I was just at JFCS’s Mosaic Awards and there were over 600 people joining the Jewish Community to support our greater community. That was incredible. I want that momentum to continue. I love that the JCL offers such a big tent, and everyone’s welcome. And that’s the goal for the future, a strong, growing Jewish community that is welcoming to all.