Samantha Jakubowski

For Samantha, age is just a number. As the youngest CEO in the 100-plus history of Jewish Council for Youth Services (JCYS), she leads a team of more than 200 who serve thousands of Jewish children each year.

Samantha is an empathetic, human-centered educator who gives her all every single day to build the next generation of Jewish leaders. "Giving back is at the heart of my daily life," she said. "Throughout my career, I have been able to connect people with their passion through fundraising, talent development, organizational capacity building, and matching leaders with board service."

This is Samantha's second stint at JCYS. She previously served as Assistant Director of Development, Director of Development, and Chief Advancement Officer. Prior to becoming CEO, she was Senior Director of Leading Edge, which helps Jewish organizations improve their workplace culture and leadership.

Samantha grew up in Niles and graduated from Northwestern University in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in English Literature.

AGE:
32

PRONOUNS:
she/her/hers

PRIMARY GIG:
CEO of JCYS

ON THE SIDE:
New mama to a baby girl and standard poodle, volunteer leader, and board development advocate

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN 10 WORDS OR LESS:
Doing my best to solve problems every day.

SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME:
As a Jewish convert, I’m passionate about designing new traditions for my big, beautiful, blended family.

A JEW WHO INSPIRES YOU:
My husband, Alex. He lives out his Jewish values every single day. Whether he is giving tzedakah to those in need in our neighborhood, giving a meaningful d’var Torah at the Shabbat table, or going above and beyond to support a community member—he always shows up for others. He challenges me to be curious and grow.

IF TIME AND MONEY WERE LIMITLESS, I WOULD:
Try to do it all! Establish a family foundation, get barre and yoga instructor certifications, travel the world with my daughter and our family, and come out of retirement from figure skating.