Lee (AKA Gromzy) with two of six grandchildren

In July 2022, Lee Meyerhoff Hendler, Co-founder of the Jewish Grandparents Network with Executive Director David Raphael, stepped down as President. Lee handed over the reins to incoming President and master educator Ilene Vogelstein.

The Board paid tribute to Lee’s vision and dedication.

Below are some of their words.

Pirkei Avot Chapter 1 says: 
עֲשֵׂה לְךָ רַב, וּקְנֵה לְךָ חָבֵר, וֶהֱוֵי דָן אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם לְכַף זְכוּת
Find a teacher and acquire a companion and judge all people with the scale weighted in their favor. Lee has been a magnificent teacher-mentor, a thoughtful and kind friend, and she honors and respects everyone. 
                 – Ilene C. Vogelstein, President, Jewish Grandparents Network

Lee is far ahead of many of us in her thinking. Most notably, she recognized the need for the Jewish Grandparents Network long before she and I sat in her backyard and launched the organization. I like to describe Lee’s thinking as symphonic — there are deep nuances of understanding that most of us come to comprehend long after she has moved on to the next remarkable insight. Matching this awareness with a commitment to seeing things through with excellence makes her an amazing leader. Combining this awareness and commitment with a deep love of the wisdom and values of Judaism and a commitment to k’lal Yisrael makes her an exceptional Jewish leader. I have the great joy of calling Lee a teacher and a friend.
                 – David Raphael, Co-founder and Executive Director, Jewish Grandparents Network

In the good fortune I have enjoyed to work with so many exceptional individuals in the Jewish community, Lee is a standout: whip-smart, passionate, dedicated, and action-oriented with an uncanny ability to see around the corner. It is a delight to work with Lee, to be in her company, to count her among my friends.
                 – Chip Edelsberg, Vice President, Jewish Grandparents Network

Throughout my professional 30 year career, I have had the privilege of working with some of the Jewish community’s greatest philanthropists. Nobody stands out more than Lee Meyerhoff Hendler. Her sharp intellect and passion coupled with her personal leadership and philanthropic investments in the Jewish Grandparents Network is profoundly gratifying to witness. She leads by example. She walks the walk. She exemplifies and embodies the highest virtues of Chesed (caring), Kavod (respect), and Kehilla (community). The Jewish community is blessed by Lee’s devotion, leadership and action to expand our collective understanding of family and community. May Lee continue to inspire all of us and together may we go from strength to strength.
                 – Lee Rosenfield, President, Rosenfield Consulting

Lee Hendler has been a mentor to our family for the past 35 years. She helped us discover the best possible ways of involving our next Gen, then in their teens, to be a thoughtful part of our family planning and giving. Her wisdom, warmth, and critical thinking are a gift to all who are blessed to know her.
                 – Lisa Feldman Brill, Jewish Grandparents Network Board member

When Lee told me about the incredible gap in attention and resources for Jewish grandparents and her dream of creating a network for us, I knew immediately that with her smarts, her talent, her enthusiasm, her creativity, and her indefatigable energy, the Jewish Grandparents Network would become a reality, once again inspiring and educating thousands upon thousands of people about the joys of Jewish living.
                 – Dr. Ron Wolfson, Jewish Grandparents Network Board member