Fulfilling a family legacy

Josh Herz’s legacy in Jewish philanthropy runs deep.

His late parents, Maxine and Thomas Herz, were among the founders of the Milwaukee Jewish Day School and philanthropic leaders of their community-and throughout his life, Herz has dedicated himself to following their example.

Now, capping his decades of Chicago Jewish community leadership, Herz has been named Chair of the 2025 JUF Annual Campaign, the cornerstone of JUF’s multi-faceted resource development efforts which fuel vital services for 500,000 Chicagoans of all faiths and millions of Jews worldwide.

“Josh wakes up in the morning thinking about community, and he goes to bed at night thinking about community,” said JUF President Lonnie Nasatir. ” He brings unparalleled energy to his role as Campaign Chair, engaging new people and helping them see the power of JUF’s work.”

For his part, Herz is humbled by assuming this role.

“It’s a tremendous honor for me to serve our Jewish community at one of the most challenging, pivotal moments in my lifetime,” Herz said. “I have seen the critical work JUF does up close, and I am determined to motivate people to increase their investment in this best-in-class organization that addresses all of our community’s top priorities: health and human services, Jewish continuity, and taking care of Jews around the world-especially in Israel.”

Herz’s JUF involvement began with the Young Leadership Division, where he quickly rose through the ranks and assumed the role of Campaign Vice-President. He served on the National Young Leadership Cabinet of the Jewish Federations of North America and graduated from the inaugural class of JUF’s Young Leadership Institute.

In 2012, Herz was honored with JUF’s Davis, Gidwitz & Glasser Young Leadership Award, but did not rest on his laurels. He went on to serve on JUF’s Board of Directors and to assume leadership roles with the Jewish Professionals Network (then called Trades, Industries and Professions). A regular participant in JUF’s Nachshon Missions, Herz led Nachshon’s 2013 mission to Poland and Germany.

He takes the helm at a momentous time for the Jewish people, with Israel engaged in its longest war since the War for Independence.

His own deep sense of connection to Israel is rooted in the college semester he spent at Tel Aviv University, and he is passionate about promoting travel to Israel. Herz visited the Jewish State on a solidarity mission just after October 7-and he returned both shaken and resolute.

“I was shocked and devastated by what I saw,” Herz said. “What stood out the most to me was the vulnerability and the needs. I had never seen or experienced anything like it before in my many trips to Israel.

“But I also saw how the incredible infrastructure built and sustained by Chicago’s Jewish community scaled up human service operations in a flash,” Herz said. “I came away with a renewed appreciation for just how urgent JUF’s support is for the Israeli people.”

Herz is also acutely aware of the Annual Campaign’s significance at a time of record antisemitism.

“Combating antisemitism is a new layer of pain that is unfortunately only growing-and JUF must increase its capacity along with it,” he said. ‘”In today’s world, fighting Jewish hate is critical for our safety, security, and Jewish continuity.”

In addition, Herz believes it is essential to shift the narrative around the U.S. Jewish community, especially post 10/7. He is the co-founder of Project Halo, which brings together legacy Jewish organizations to pursue a unified national communications strategy to that end.

An alumnus of the University of Arizona, in his professional life, Herz is President of Associated Agencies and Associated Private Client, Chicago’s largest privately held insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm.

He and his wife, Jennifer, are parents to three daughters, Madison, Julia, and Emma.

“I’m hoping to inspire other community members to get involved and to contribute more to our Jewish community-because we need it right now,” Herz said. “No one else is coming to help, and our community needs each one of us to contribute, now more than ever.”