Miriam Isserow, beloved wife of Yehuda Goldman, adored mother of Ronee Goldman, sister of Faye Landes, daughter of Saul and Rachelle Isserow z”l, died on April 15, 2022, from complications from a burn accident. She was 60 years old.
Born and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, she made her home in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she was the CEO of the American Psychological Foundation, headquartered in Washington, DC.
Miriam’s life was dedicated to justice. With a bachelor’s from Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City and a law degree from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she set out to change the world. Her early career as a lawyer included working at the Israel Women’s Network. Returning to the US, she pivoted to fundraising and development work, bringing her deeply analytical and community-building skills to helping organizations become stronger and more effective. She worked at both the Los Angeles and Washington, DC, offices of the New Israel Fund, raising money for civil and human rights groups in Israel. At the Jewish Primary Day School of Washington, DC, where she was also a parent, she helped install and run a $3.8 million capital campaign, building what is today the Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School into a vibrant and thriving institution.
At Equal Justice Works, Miriam raised funds to support legal fellowships for young lawyers committed to justice. And with the Go-Ro Group, her one-woman development consultancy, she worked for nearly a decade with a number of local organizations, including WEAVE and DV Leap, helping victims of domestic and sexual violence and abuse. In her position as CEO of the American Psychological Foundation, her culminating job and the one that merged all of her talents and skills, she was able to harness the power of psychology to help make the world a better place.
Miriam also volunteered her many skills and talents to help other organizations and people overcome adversity. Her work as one of the founding moderators of the GamAni page on Facebook enabled her to support people who were facing sexual abuse and harassment in Jewish institutions. Her deep respect for the work of Asher Lovy, the founder of ZA’AKAH, led her to become one of his mentors, helping him learn how to develop an organization so that his work to help and protect children who were victims of abuse in the Jewish Orthodox community could thrive.
And then there was her online presence. Rarely would a day go by without a Facebook or sometime Twitter post from Miriam, raging about politics and injustice, offering a pithy analysis of a television show or movie, or sometimes just commenting on the banality and indignities of life. But her active social media life enabled her to reach across a digital divide and create new friendships and relationships. Those who only knew Miriam online could feel as close to her as those who knew her personally.
But the true love of Miriam’s life was her family. Her husband, Yehuda, her daughter, Ronee, her sister, Faye and Faye’s beloved late husband David Landes z”l, and the scores of cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews from all over the world adored her and she adored them back. She never missed a chance to be with her family, wherever it was. Everything she did, she did for them.
May Miriam’s life and love and spirit live on in all of those who loved her and learned from her. Baruch dayan ha-emet.
Donations can be made in Miriam’s memory to her two favorite causes: the American Psychological Foundation and ZA’AKAH
American Psychological Foundation: https://www.apa.org/apf/giving
ZA’AKAH: https://www.zaakah.org/take-action
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, April 19 at 1:30 pm ET at:
Ohr Kodesh Congregration - 8300 Meadowbrook Lane, Chevy Chase, MD
Services will be livestreamed at this link (no password needed):
https://www.ohrkodesh.org/streaming
Burial will follow at 3:30 pm ET at: Judean Memorial Gardens - 16225 Batchellors Forest Road, Olney, MD
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