Jordan Linkow, a member of the Mountain States Anti-Defamation League Board and co-chair of ADL’s Robert B. Sturm Leadership Fellows Program, was honored on April 27, 2014 with the Daniel R. Ginsberg Leadership Award at ADL’s National Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. Linkow joined eighteen other ADL leaders, young professionals and staff members at the three-day Summit at which the Mountain States ADL contingent, joined by 600 other ADL leaders from around the country, heard from some of the nation’s top policy makers, elected officials, media figures and coalition partners.
In accepting his award, Linkow charged the assembly with a call to action:
While the world has changed greatly over that period of time, hatred, bigotry and inequality are still thriving. Never forget that we are all bound by our human experience and the platform before you provides the opportunity to secure justice and fair treatment for all.
Reflecting on Linkow’s contribution to the Mountain States Region, Regional Director Scott L. Levin said:
Jordy is, without question, one of the most committed, hard-working and passionate young community leaders I know. He consistently demonstrates the ability to adapt to and excel in a variety of circumstances and among differing groups of people. His genuine love for the values of civil rights, team work, inclusivity and leadership is matched only by the time, treasure and talent that he pours into all of his endeavors at ADL.
Speakers at the Summit included Colorado Representative Jared Polis, FBI Director James B. Comey, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer, Chief White House Correspondent Juliana Goldman, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez, President and CEO of the National Constitution Center Jeffrey Rosen and many other experts on national and international subject areas.
Hundreds of Summit participants visited Capitol Hill to lobby Members of Congress to take or maintain positions supportive of ADL’s mission, including immigration reform, preventing a nuclear Iran and strengthening laws to address bullying and cyberbullying.
The Mountain States delegation included six young professionals who are participating this year in the Robert B. Sturm Mountain States Leadership Fellows Program, part of the national Glass Leadership Institute. Many of the Sturm Fellows reflected on their three days at the Summit in powerful written statements. Alan H. Frosh reflected that:
I was so impressed at the Summit that the two parts of the ADL’s charge are never separate – our work to protect the Jewish people from harm and anti-Semitism only serves to deepen our commitment to serving all other people who experience discrimination or the specter of hatred.
JJ Slatkin wrote:
I came to this conference expecting to be educated and left with a rededication to always stand tall and firm in the face of hate and bigotry, whatever its form. ADL inspires me to examine what it means to be a mensch, to live a life of virtue, to be the bulwark of justice upon which the forces of small-minded tyranny and hatred crumble.
Full transcripts of Linkow’s acceptance remarks, as well as the Fellows’ reflections, including the published blog post “The Tweet Behind the Curtain” by Fellow Dafna Michaelson Jenet, a social media professional who live-tweeted from the conference, may be found here:
Jordan Linkow. Ginsberg award acceptance speech
The tweet behind the curtain.Dafna Michaelson Jenet
Reflections on the ADL National Leadership Summit.Dustin Lee
National Leadershp Summit Reflections.Julia Jinishian
ADL National Leadership Summit Reflections.Alan H Frosh
ADL Leadership Conference Thoughts.JJ Slatkin
The Sturm Fellows program is open to young professionals between the ages of 25-40 who are passionate about civil rights and ADL’s mission “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Applications for the 2014-15 Program are due on August 31, 2014. Information and an application may be found below.
Sturm Fellows Information Flyer