Reflections on 2025

As the year winds down, it’s customary for executive directors to pause and reflect on the year coming to a close. I’ll be honest…I am struggling…trying to find the balance. Nearly every issue that NCJWMN champions is under assault: reproductive rights, public health, voting rights, gun violence prevention, fair courts, immigration, and evidence-based policy.

Yet, throughout the heartbreak and setbacks, we have remained resilient. We have reimagined how we do our work – how we educate, advocate, communicate, and organize. We have maximized our impact. We have stepped up to the challenge

We took our 2024 strategic plan, revised it to meet unexpected challenges in 2025 and kept moving forward. To borrow a phrase that still rings true: and still, we persisted.

We persisted by revitalizing our award-winning leadership development program, Leading for Change, equipping a dozen women from their mid-20s to their mid-60s, with the skills and confidence to advocate on the issues that matter most. We are refueling our future.

We persisted by strengthening our community, nurturing partnerships with Jewish Community Action, Unrestricted MN, Minnesotans for Equal Rights, and our Courts Matter colleagues at NCJW, Inc. across the country.

And we persisted by repairing our world. We educated our members and then showed up at the Minnesota Capitol to support gun safety legislation, the passage of the ERA, and the protection of abortion access. We showed up in Washington, DC, meeting with Senators and members of Congress to advocate for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus, and the American Family Act – policies that protect democracy, save lives, and support working families.

We are powerful, progressive, passionate, purposeful, and persistent women. As we enter 2026, our commitment remains unwavering: We will evolve to ensure we meet the needs of women today, ensuring maximum impact for the future.

We look forward to seeing you in the new year. Together we will pursue Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof, justice, and Kavod Ha’Briot, dignity for all.

Join our 2-part training to learn about impediments to abortion access and then strengthen your messaging and methods for effective advocacy! Presented by NCJW|MN in partnership with Jewish Community Action, and Unrestrict Minnesota.

When: Part 1: February 12th Where: Minneapolis location emailed upon registration.

Registration information available soon

Save the Date for Repro Shabbat!

It’s almost time for Repro Shabbat, taking place February 13-14 when we read Parshat Mishpatim. Since it’s launch in 2021, Repro Shabbat has grown from 400 participating communities to nearly 2,500 celebrations nationwide, lifting up the critical importance of reproductive freedom and Judaism’s teachings on reproductive health, rights, and justice.

There are so many ways to take part in Repro Shabbat. You might write postcards to Secretary RFK Jr. and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urging them to protect access to medication abortions, host your own OneTable x Repro Shabbat dinner (for hosts ages 25-39), or work with your local synagogue to incorporate Repro Shabbat into their Shabbat programming. No event is too big or too small.

We’d love to help you make the most of this year‘s Repro Shabbat! Contact Terri at terri@ncjwmn.org to plan a meaningful and impactful celebration.

Learn more and join the movement at Reproshabbat.org 

MN – St Paul – Welcome Back Legislators
Join Minnesota Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers to welcome legislators back to the Capitol at the start of the 2026 session. We’ll don our red shirts to greet legislators, tell them about our 2026 priorities, thank them for their support of previous gun-sense legislation, and hand out some homemade cookies.
When: Tuesday, February 17, 10:00 AM      Where: Minnesota State Capitol
Registration Here

Registration Here

Wishing our community a year filled with justice, compassion, and collective action. Here’s to showing up, speaking out, and building a more equitable Minnesota together. May 2026 be a year of action, healing and hope.

Happy New Year from NCJW Minnesota!