Esther Jungreis, a leading Jewish public orator from the 1970s to the 1990s, was a pioneer in the Orthodox Jewish outreach movement. Her lectures and educational programs encouraged many previously unaffiliated young Jews to explore their heritage.

One of the most prominent leaders of Hadassah, Rose Jacobs promoted traditional types of American Zionist philanthropy in the 1930s and1940s, such as organizing German Jewish youth immigration to Palestine and improving the country’s medical facilities. At the same time, she broke new ground by increasing the role of women in the leadership of the Zionist movement and promoting discussion of Arab-Jewish relations.

A longtime activist for women’s equality and labor rights, Alice Brandeis also promoted progressive causes through the work of her husband, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. Her efforts on behalf of Sacco and Vanzetti, radical presidential candidate Robert La Follette, and the Jewish activist Bergson Group stirred controversy.