As the coordinator of the March of the Living Delegation, I have had the privilege of witnessing Mai’s firsthand the remarkable impact and dedication in various areas of volunteer work and community engagement. Mai was a recent delegate to the March of the Living (MOTL) 2023 cohort, in which, through various activities and tours within the program, she has consistently demonstrated a steadfast commitment to strengthening and enriching the Australian Jewish community. What first captured me about her commitment to her strong Jewish and Zionist values was her service in the IDF as a lone soldier and continued service to the Australian Jewish community upon her return from Israel. In truth, she mentioned that her volunteering journey began well before she enlisted into the Israeli army, when she volunteered throughout middle school and high school as a JNF student fundraiser. This early philanthropic engagement laid the foundation for her future as a dedicated changemaker, even then. Throughout university she was involved in executive roles in AUJS and I was impressed to hear about her participation in the AJC Global Forum in 2022 as a student delegate and her completion of the B’nai B’rith and WUJS IMPACT: Emerging Leaders Fellowship, which led her to represent B’nai B’rith International at the UNHRC when she addressed the council on anti-Israel bias in 2022.
During the delegation this year, on the March of the Living Program, Mai used every opportunity to convey the importance of contributing to and strengthening the Jewish community. Her passion for making a difference and her willingness to take on significant responsibilities in pursuit of positive change made a significant impact on the other MOTL participants. Today, she continues to work professionally at the Zionist Federation of Australia and for the United Jewish Education Board and volunteers on the Keren Hayesod-UIA Young Leadership Executive and is a member on the AJC Global Campus Board. She is also a fellow of the KKL-JNF and WZO Zionist Leadership Academy and a member of the ECAJ Jewish Advocacy Leadership Corps. Despite all of her commitments, Mai has rarely turned down an opportunity to take part in our MOTL events and initiatives. She is always willing to lend her time and diligence for our organisation and I see her involvement and work in most events and organisations around our community.
Mai is an exceptional young woman whose dedication to volunteerism and community engagement has left an indelible mark on myself and on many others from our most recent MOTL cohort. It is my sincere belief that Mai is an ideal recipient for the Young Adult Volunteer Jewish Changemaker Award. Her extraordinary accomplishments and unwavering commitment to her community, to the betterment of world Jewry and Israel make her a shining example of what a young Jewish changemaker can achieve. I wholeheartedly endorse her nomination and am confident that she will continue to be an inspiring force for positive change in the future.