Shira Ruderman

The Rudermans pose with President Liebowitz and Provost Lynch

Left to Right: Provost Lisa Lynch, Jay Ruderman ’88, Shira Ruderman, Monika Mitra, P’21, President Ron Liebowitz

Shira Ruderman is a professional philanthropist and social activist. She serves as the executive director of the Ruderman Family Foundation, a private family foundation that invests in three primary areas of focus: advocating for and advancing the inclusion of people with disabilities throughout our society, strengthening the relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community, and modeling the practice of strategic philanthropy worldwide.

Ruderman holds an honorary doctorate from Haifa University in addition to an MA in public policy and a BA in education from Hebrew University. She served three years as a commander in the Intelligence Unit of the Israeli Army. In 2016, she and her husband, Jay, were chosen as two of the 50 most influential Jews in the world, and in 2014 she was chosen as one of 100 most influential women in Israel.

Ruderman serves as a board member of various organizations and associations in Israel and the U.S., and is currently serving as chairwoman of the Fulbright Foundation. She represents the new Israeli philanthropy approach, which believes in strategic giving, involvement and social entrepreneurship.

Led by a high sense of social commitment, Ruderman is devoting her personal and professional life to the advancement of a fair and just society in Israel and abroad, as well as strengthening the resilience of the State of Israel. This is done through entrepreneurship, program leadership, philanthropy and promotion of the foundation's objectives.

She and Jay live in Boston with their four children.