Cheerleader for Jewish experiences

Paula Harris—working mom extraordinaire—pictured here touring the opening JUF Centennial Campaign event at Spertus Institute in 2000, with her two young daughters in tow.

When Paula Harris was out shopping for Israeli wine at Binny’s, she struck up a conversation with the 20-something clerk. She learned that he had some Jewish ancestry, but unfamiliar with the Chicago Jewish community—until now.  

Then he mentioned he’d always wanted to visit Israel, and she suggested a Birthright Israel trip. When he confided in her that he couldn’t travel right now because his wife was pregnant, Harris told him about the Norton & Elaine Sarnoff Center for Jewish Genetics’ screening program, and jBaby opportunities for new parents and their little ones. 

Harris is a one-stop shop for all things Jewish, a champion for Chicago Jewish community’s entire breadth and depth. Whether on or off the clock, she’s a charismatic ambassador for the community’s services, programs, and events—and always ready to help somebody find their Jewish fit. 

After a nearly 35-year tenure at JUF, Harris—most recently JUF Senior Associate Vice President of Community Outreach and Engagement—retired in February. 

“I was fortunate to work with Paula throughout her long and meaningful career at JUF,” said Dr. Steven B. Nasatir, JUF Executive Vice Chairman. “Her contribution to community was significant, marked by her numerous skills, professional experience, and love of the Jewish people.” 

Harris’ Jewish communal career felt predestined. “It was just in my DNA,” she said. An Indianapolis native, she grew up in a proudly Jewish home; her mother worked at the local JCC for 30 years. Harris attended Hebrew school and overnight Jewish camp, then spent a year studying in Israel while at Indiana University—experiences that would later fuel her efforts at JUF. 

Harris settled in the Windy City, where she landed her first job at The Ark, a JUF agency that acts as a safety net for Jews in need. There, she juggled many jobs: coordinating volunteers, running the food pantry, and overseeing the medical and legal clinics. 

After her stint as a direct service provider, she earned her MSW at the University of Chicago, and set out looking for her next job. 

In 1991, she walked through JUF’s doors—and never looked back. There, she wore many hats, most under the umbrella of Jewish outreach and engagement. Her professional portfolio reads like a timeline of modern Jewish history: 

Harris served as lead staff for programming for The Centennial Campaign, launched in 2000 in honor of JUF’s centennial—and oversaw JFNA’s General Assembly, held in Chicago that same year.  

 
She helped grow the Sarnoff Center into a flourishing community resource. She also has helped steward the Sarnoff family’s JUF Path to Parenthood initiative, which supports community members struggling to become parents, and boasts 42 babies to date.  

She ran point on countless Yom Ha’atzmaut and JUF Walk with Israel celebrations.  

She facilitated three summers of the Kef B’Kayitz program, which brought Israel teen victims of terror attacks in the early 2000s to Chicago. Her work came full circle last year, when she helped bring a group of Israeli teen survivors of October 7 to Chicago and Jewish summer camp.  

Harris oversaw Israel-experience programs, including the local branch of Birthright Israel, and co-led a whopping 11 JUF IsraelNow trips, the immersive (and sleepless) weeklong eighth-grade visits to Israel. 

She facilitated Jewish camp scholarships opportunities, and counts her work of making camp and Israel experiences more accessible to young Jews among her passion projects. 

“My proudest professional contributions have been the work I’ve done around affordability, enabling youth, teens, and young adults to go to Jewish overnight camp and to Israel,” she said. “Camp and Israel were two of the greatest influences in my own life, so how could we not provide those experiences to others?” 

Personally, she has other sources of pride—her two now-grown daughters. Both followed in her footsteps into careers in human services. 

“My girls came to everything with me. I remember us all getting up at 4 a.m. and driving to Hyde Park for a Walk with Israel. They slept in the car while I’d be directing the porta-potties set-up,” Harris recalled. “They experienced my world whether they wanted to or not. I wanted to be a role model of what a woman dedicated to community service could do all while nurturing her children.”