Tammy Cohen

Current Role:

Campaign Manager, Jewish National Fund (JNF)

Tell us a little about you and about your role at JNF.

I was born and raised in Melbourne, and come from an Ashkenazi family background.

My mother, who was Israeli, worked for Jewish Welfare for 16 years and looked after Jewish children from broken families. As such, I have many foster brothers and sisters. This was the home in which I lived – and it was a wonderful upbringing.

Today, I am a single mother of two children, a 12-year-old boy, and a 10-year-old girl.

I have been working for the JNF for 15 years. I was employed initially to boost the young adults division (25-40 year-olds), and later became the Victorian blue box coordinator. This position then led to my current roles of campaign manager and national administrator for the educators tour to Israel.

You worked in IT before your career change to a Jewish communal organisation. What inspired this new path?

I lived in Israel for five-and-a-half years prior to getting married here in Australia. Israel was very important to me. I eventually knew that I wanted to change my career path as IT recruitment was no longer something that satisfied me.

What keeps you driven in your position?

The relationships that I have built over the years with our many volunteers are truly a blessing. Also, I love being able to create an impact on our incredible projects that we support in Israel. I have an incredible boss, who is very supportive and I work with a team who are simply wonderful.

As a professional woman, what are some of the greatest challenges with which you’ve been faced, and how have you overcome these?

The balance of being a single mum – and – a professional has been challenging, but my family is very supportive of my work.

I am thankful to work for an organisation that is very family-oriented and understanding that family does come first. With this in mind, it’s very easy to thrive.

There has recently been extensive media coverage regarding lacking numbers of women in positions of leadership in the Jewish community. As someone who has worked in a Jewish organisation for 15 years, what do you believe can be done to address this issue?

I believe that women, in general, need to know that they CAN do any job that they want, and should pursue it. We need to teach our children (our girls, in particular) that they are just as capable and worthy as anyone else.

In my view, organisations that have women in leadership roles are interestingly run with far more empathy for their employees. This is what I see at JNF Victoria.

From where do you derive the greatest sense of happiness - professionally and personally?

Professionally speaking, we talk a lot about being a family at the JNF. This is not just a job – it’s people, a country, and a great cause.

And on a personal note, again, my family! Their love and support is invaluable and I couldn’t be more grateful.