By Elizabeth Breyer Johnson
Charlotte’ s Jewish community is celebrating one of its own. Rabbi Ana Bonnheim, founding executive director of the Jewish Learning Collaborative, has been named one of five national recipients of the first-ever Grinspoon Amber Awards, a new honor recognizing Jewish professionals whose leadership and vision strengthen Jewish life across North America.
The award, presented at this year’ s Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly in Washington D. C., acknowledges outstanding leaders, who are shaping a vibrant Jewish future. Each honoree receives a $ 10,000 prize, along with the opportunity to“ pay it forward” by selecting two colleagues for Peer Recognition Grants of $ 2,500 each, a hallmark of the award designed to spark gratitude, mentorship, and a ripple effect of impact across the field.
For Rabbi Bonnheim, the recognition carries deep meaning.“ Every day, I put work out into the world that I think is helping the Jewish community take important steps towards building our future,” she said.“ Sometimes it resonates, and sometimes after a busy day of work, you don’ t know if anything has landed. So, this has been an incredibly gratifying moment to see people appreciating the efforts and vision of bringing Jewish learning to more adults, which I’ m doing through the
Jewish Learning Collaborative. It is incredibly exciting and I’ m truly grateful.”
As part of the award, she selected two colleagues to receive her Peer Recognition Grants: Rabbi Jessy Dressin and Aliza Plotkin.“ This was a really fun and challenging piece of the grant because I’ m honored to work with so many incredible people,” she said.“ I chose to honor Rabbi Jessy Dressin, who helped us build the network and find some of those first teachers who then shared the initiative with their own networks. Talk about a ripple effect! I also honored Aliza Plotkin, who works at the Detroit Federation. She had the idea to offer the initiative to professionals across the Detroit community. We had never worked with a community in this way before, and it was truly her vision of what this could be, and what this partnership might look like that was so exciting to us.”
Rabbi Bonnheim was also recognized for her leadership in growing the Jewish Learning Collaborative into a national model for accessible adult Jewish education.“ I’ m very proud to have the opportunity to work with such amazing partners bringing the Jewish Learning Collaborative to life,” she said.
The Charlotte Jewish News- Janurary 2026- Page 15
Charlotte’ s Rabbi Ana Bonnheim Receives Inaugural Grinspoon Amber Award
“ What began as an idea and a vision, something we were doing on a prototypal level within what was then Moishe House, truly became very special thanks to a group of visionary people. I’ m proud to have led it into something that’ s enabled over 17,000 hours of Jewish learning for people in their lives, not just in the classroom. Today, we have over 900 learners working with our educators, and we’ re just getting started.”
Rabbi Bonnheim’ s recognition places Charlotte on the national map in a meaningful way, highlighting the strength and creativity of our local Jewish professionals. Her work, rooted in collaboration, curiosity, and a commitment to making Jewish learning accessible, reflects the type of leadership shaping the future of Jewish life across North America. Her achievement is a point of pride for our city and an inspiration for what thoughtful, community-driven innovation can accomplish.
Nominations for the 2026 Grinspoon Amber Awards open Jan. 1, 2026, and run through the end of Feb. Eligible nominees will be invited to submit a full application. For nomination details, please visit www. amberawards. org.