Experience Twenty Five Years of Tribe 12 History Along with Dinner, Drink and Candle Lighting
Join us for a Hanukkah party celebrating 25 years of Tribe 12 enhancing 20s and 30s Jewish life in the Philly area. We will honor the legacy of our founder, Annabel “Rusty” Lindy, through an evening of experiencing key moments in Tribe 12’s history, toasting our current successes, and looking towards the future! On this night we will also be honoring Tribe 12's long standing Executive Director, Ross Berkowitz. For this important fundraising campaign a generous donor will match our fundraising, doubling your impact! Support Tribe 12 today to ensure another 25 years of changing the lives of young Jewish Philadelphia. Celebrate Hanukkah with us, enjoy dinner, latkes, drinks and good company. Dress code is cocktail attire.
About Annabel Lindy
Annabel and her husband, Phil, were happy. Phil had business success and was known as a kind and fair leader. They were both active Jewish community members. They were generous philanthropists. They raised three great kids. Yet despite making Judaism a central part of her family’s upbringing, Annabel watched all three of her children reach adulthood without finding meaningful connections with Jewish institutions. She saw a generation emerging of adults who were now too old for Jewish college life like Hillel, but not yet ready to get married and enter the family-centered synagogue world. The question nagged her. Annabel leveraged her relationships with a number of Jewish organizations, including Hillel and the Gershman Y, to convene a group to discuss the needs of 20s/30s and seek solutions. This led to the founding of the Collaborative in 1998.
The first Director, Richard Lee, was hired to build the project from scratch. An initial gathering of 10-20 people grew to a mailing list of almost 1000 over the first five years. In 2003, Ross Berkowitz became the second Director of the Collaborative. Annabel Lindy passed away in 2010. Before she passed, she made it clear that she wanted her vision to continue. Her legacy: “Engaging young Jewish couples and singles, professionals, artists and graduate students in their 20s/30s in cutting edge programs stressing Judaism as a cultural and communal force in the Philadelphia area, and trailblazing the latest trends in the American secular and Jewish world and connecting young adults to each other and the Philadelphia community.”
Up to this point, The Collaborative received fiscal sponsorship from the JCCs of Philadelphia. She gave her blessing to found an independent organization that would continue to champion her vision. Tribe 12 was founded as an independent 501c3 in 2010, with Phil Lindy, Annabel’s husband, as the founding President.
About Ross Berkowitz
Ross Berkowitz was the Executive Director of the Collaborative starting in 2003, and of Tribe 12 from its establishment until 2021.
All told, Ross spent 18 years building the community envisioned by Annabel Lindy that has become Tribe 12; starting as the Director of The Collaborative in 2003, and followed by initiating LimmudPhilly in 2009 and co-founding Tribe 12 as an independent organization in 2010. In 2021, Ross, building on his experience at Tribe 12, became a Consultant with The Lapin Group, which specializes in non-profit development and strategy.
Inspired through multiple long term Israel experiences, 15 formative years in Habonim Dror, and studying the history and sociology of religion, Ross is a social entrepreneur with a background as a founder, a camp director, a Hillel professional, an educator and an activist in the Jewish community.
Beyond his professional roles, Ross has served as president and chair of multiple community organizations and coalitions including Board President of Habonim Dror Camp Galil, Co-Chair of the Center City Kehillah, and Co-Chair of Tri-state JPRO. He holds a MA in Jewish History from NYU and a BA in Religion from Vassar College. Ross lives with his wife Audrey and children Martina & Hans in the Bella Vista neighborhood of Philadelphia.
Our Sponsors
Gold Sponsor
Rabbi Bonnie Goldberg & Bob Vogel
Silver Sponsor
Silver Sponsor
Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg LLP
Silver Sponsor
Apartment Granite Limited - Svitek Family
Silver Sponsor
Paul & Aviva Silberberg
Bronze Sponsor
Dan Berger - Berger Communities
Bronze Sponsor
Jeff Rotter & Mitch Russel
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Cardinal Point Homeland Security Group
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
David & Hallee Adelman
Silver Sponsor
Silver Sponsor
Stacey & Ed Rivkin
Bronze Sponsor
Kalos, Hutchings & Company, LLC
Bronze Sponsor
CALECO and The Winig Family
Bronze Sponsor
HIlarie Lieb & Morris Goldman
Bronze Sponsor
Gail Goldman, Valore LLC
Bronze Sponsor
Betsy & Philip Darivoff
Bronze Sponsor
Margie & Jeffrey Honickman
Bronze Sponsor
Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation
Bronze Sponsor
Altman Management Company, LLC
Bronze Sponsor
Alb Painting
Bronze Sponsor
Fischer Cunnane & Associates Ltd
Bronze Sponsor
Community Sponsors
Host Committee
* Board Member