Volunteer Spotlight: Ben Meyerhoff

Ben Meyerhoff was not looking to volunteer; he was looking for a job. When the economy collapsed and unemployment skyrocketed, Ben found himself among the many job-seekers in our community. His personal experiences looking for a job during hard economic times inspired him to create the Greater Seattle Jewish Business Network, a group on the professional networking website, LinkedIn. The GSJBN was founded on the idea that the connections and strength that we derive from being a part of the Jewish community can be a valuable resource for job-seekers.

Ben launched the group in October 2008 and the Jewish Federation joined Ben as the group's sponsor. Since the group's creation, Ben has put hours of time and energy into managing the LinkedIn group online and planning and facilitating GSJBN events. Ben knows that to make a group like the GSJBN relevant, "You need to find a person in the community who can take leadership and keep the group together and moving forward"—and Ben has done exactly that. The group has grown exponentially: as of July 1, 2010 the GSJBN had a membership of 875 professionals, the largest group of its kind in the country.

Thank you Ben for your volunteer leadership of this group.