Roselle Ungar
As assistant executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, Roselle Ungar helped evacuees maintain community and find aid from basic necessities to scholarships for children. Ungar began her career as a registered nurse for a brief time in 1979 before shifting her focus to Jewish leadership. She served as president of Congregation Beth Israel’s sisterhood and national vice president of Hadassah, and in 1997 became the assistant executive director of the Jewish Federation. She had been in the midst of creating an interactive website for the organization when Hurricane Katrina hit, and this quickly became the best way for evacuees scattered across the country to find aid and maintain community. When the executive director left in 2006 shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Ungar became the interim director, then left to become director of community and philanthropic affairs for Crescent Bank and Trust from 2007–2013. In the wake of the storm, she also became president of Congregation Beth Israel and chaired their capital campaign to build their new congregational home in nearby Metairie. In 2013 she created Strategic Nonprofit Consulting, helping New Orleans-area nonprofits plan fundraising and board development. In 2015 she also became executive director of Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans.