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The Impossible Dream Award recognizes an outstanding Jewish communal professional in the Greater Washington region who has achieved extraordinary results in the face of significant challenges. Established by the Phyllis Margolius Family Foundation in memory of Phyllis G. Margolius, the award honors leaders whose creativity, determination, and vision have transformed ambitious goals into meaningful results.
The Jewish Community Foundation is honored to carry forward Phyllis’s legacy by celebrating professionals whose perseverance and innovation have strengthened Jewish life across Greater Washington.
Phyllis Ann Goldman Margolius was deeply committed to strengthening Jewish life in Greater Washington, Israel, and around the world. Where others saw challenges, she saw possibilities and inspired those around her to think boldly, act creatively, and make a lasting difference.
A dedicated leader and philanthropist, Phyllis made significant contributions to organizations including the United Jewish Endowment Fund (now the Jewish Community Foundation), the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Washington, and the Council of Jewish Federations. She was admired not only for her generosity and vision, but also for her warmth, determination, and ability to achieve meaningful results in the face of difficult circumstances. Through her example, she inspired family, friends, colleagues, and the broader Jewish community to get involved, give back, and help build a better world.
Throughout their lives, Phyllis and her husband, Philip, were recognized for their extraordinary service and leadership in the Jewish community. To honor Phyllis’ legacy, The Phyllis Margolius Family Foundation established this award to recognize Jewish communal professionals in Greater Washington whose vision, dedication, and leadership strengthen our community.
Nominate a Candidate
Nominees may work for local, national, or international Jewish communal organizations, provided they live in Greater Washington and are affiliated with an organization that maintains a physical or remote presence in the region. The award is intended to recognize and encourage emerging and mid-career Jewish communal professionals; senior executives of larger Jewish organizations are generally not considered for this honor.
The recipient will receive an $18,000 award and be honored at a spring gathering celebrating their accomplishments and contributions to Jewish life across our region.
Nominators or nominees might be contacted to provide additional information to the Foundation.
Finalists will be asked to submit a 5-minute recorded interview.
The Den Collective
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF)
Maryland Hillel
GatherDC
The Impossible Dream Award is guided by an accomplished Selection Committee whose members reflect the values of leadership, vision, and service that the award seeks to recognize. Drawing on their expertise across philanthropy, public service, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement, committee members carefully review nominations and select the recipient whose achievements best exemplify the transformative impact celebrated by the award.
The Foundation is grateful for their partnership in continuing the legacy of the Impossible Dream Award and honoring the extraordinary professionals who strengthen Jewish life throughout Greater Washington.
For over 40 years, Ted Farber helped organizations achieve lasting success through transformational change and organizational management. His extensive career included 17 years as the CEO of The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and 20 as the President of TBF Consulting. Ted holds certificates in negotiations and executive education from Harvard and Vanderbilt Universities, and a Masters of Social Work from New York University.
In retirement, Ted lives in Potomac, MD with his wife, Ronni where they are within 10 minutes of their children and grandchildren.
Sarah Hurwitz is the author of As A Jew: Reclaiming Our Story From Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try To Erase Us, which is a New York Times bestseller and won the Natan Notable Book Award and a National Jewish Book Award, and Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life—in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There), which was a finalist for two National Jewish Book Awards and for the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. She was a White House speechwriter from 2009 to 2017, starting out as a senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama then serving as head speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama. Prior to working in the White House, Hurwitz was the chief speechwriter for Hillary Clinton on her 2008 presidential campaign. Hurwitz is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She has also completed training to be a chaplain, which she does on a volunteer basis at a hospital near her home.
Joshua Maxey is the Executive Director of Bet Mishpachah, DC’s LGBTQ+ Synagogue.Building communities of inclusivity and belonging is Josh’s passion. Josh is a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation where he sits on the SEA Change Racial Equity Committee, Co-Chair of the Internal Audit Committee, co-leader of the Jews of Color Cohort, and a member of the Board of Directors. Josh is also a member of the Board of Directors for The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, the National Bell Festival, an organization that works to restore bells and towers throughout the Washington, DC area, and Franciscan Mission Service, a lay catholic organization that sends adults overseas to serve in marginalized communities.
Robert Satloff has served since 1993 as the executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, our nation’s foremost research institution focused on Middle East politics and U.S. regional policy. An expert on Arab and Islamic politics as well as U.S. Middle East policy, his books include Among the Righteous: Lost Stories of the Holocaust’s Long Reach into Arab Lands, the best-selling account of Arab “heroes” and “villains” of the Holocaust that was made into a PBS documentary broadcast nationwide. In addition, Dr. Satloff is the creator and host of Dakhil Washington (“Inside Washington”), a news and interview program that has appeared weekly since 2005 on al-Hurra, the U.S. government-supported Arabic satellite television channel that beams throughout the Middle East. In that capacity, he is the only non-Arab to host a program on an Arab satellite channel.
Susan Turnbull of Bethesda, Maryland has dedicated close to 40 years to community activism at the local and national level through both political and philanthropic efforts. Susan currently serves as a Board Member of Integrity First for America which was instrumental in the lawsuit against the conspirators of the Charlottesville disturbances in 2017.
Previously, Susan served two terms as Chair of Jewish Women International and chaired the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. She also served on the executive committee of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, was a board member of Hillel International, and was a longtime board member of the Jewish Social Service Agency and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Washington.
In the political arena, Susan represented Maryland on the Democratic National Committee for 19 years, serving as DNC Vice Chair, Chair of the DNC Women’s Leadership Forum and Women’s Caucus, and Chair of the Maryland Democratic Party. In 2011, she co-founded Emerge Maryland, an organization dedicated to training Democratic women to run for office. She was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland in 2018.