2025 ANNUAL GALA

Honorees
Esther Safran Foer
David M. Rubenstein

Hosted by Dana Bash

Thank you to those that join us to support the Museum’s mission: exploring the Jewish experience in the national capital region and inspiring visitors to Connect personally and collectively, Reflect on the relevance of the past to today, and Act on behalf of their communities and values.

For information about the 2026 Gala, please contact Malki Karkowsky, Chief Advancement Officer, at 202-290-2593 or [email protected].

Meg Flax, Co-Chair
Tina Small, Co-Chair
Nancy Robinson Breuer
Elisa Glazer
Melissa Hausfeld
Sherry Bindeman Kahn
Jeffrey Z. Slavin
Chris Wolf

Councilmember Charles Allen
Representative Jake Auchincloss
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Representative Suzanne Bonamici
Councilmember Anita Bonds
Mayor Muriel Bowser
Councilmember Wendell Felder
Councilmember Matthew Frumin
Councilmember Christina Henderson
Representative Sara Jacobs
Representative Mike Levin
Councilmember (Chair) Phil Mendelson
Governor Wes Moore
Representative Jerrold Nadler
Councilmember Brooke Pinto
Representative Brad Sherman
Senator Chris Van Hollen

David M. Rubenstein is an investor, philanthropist, interviewer, author, and historian. He is Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms. Established in 1987, Carlyle now manages $453 billion from 29 offices around the world.

Mr. Rubenstein is a Baltimore native and is the Chairman, CEO, and principal owner of Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles. A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Mr. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Gallery of Art, the Economic Club of Washington, and the University of Chicago; a Trustee of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Brookings Institution, and the World Economic Forum; and a Director of Moderna, Inc. and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, among other board seats.

Mr. Rubenstein is a leader in the area of Patriotic Philanthropy, having made transformative gifts for the restoration or repair of the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Monticello, Montpelier, Mount Vernon, Arlington House, Iwo Jima Memorial, the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, the National Archives, the National Zoo, the Library of Congress, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Mr. Rubenstein is an original signer of The Giving Pledge; the host of The David Rubenstein Show, Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein, and Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories with David Rubenstein; and the author of The American Story, How to Lead, The American Experiment, How to Invest, and The Highest Calling.

Esther Safran Foer was the Executive Director and CEO of Sixth & I for ten years, where she led the creation of what the national media called “a new paradigm for Jewish life.” In 2008 Ms. Foer was recognized as one of the “Forward 50” Jewish leaders in the country and in 2015 she was named one of the most powerful women in Washington by Washingtonian magazine.

Prior to being recruited to Sixth & I by its founders, Ms. Foer spent most of her professional life in all aspects of the public relations profession, eventually running her own firm representing Fortune 500 companies. She was involved in politics as a state press secretary and state director for a major presidential campaign. She is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, the wife of Bert Foer (an attorney and public interest advocate), the mother of three sons who are all storytellers—Frank, Jonathan, and Joshua Foer— and the grandmother of eight.

Her post Holocaust memoir, I Want You to Know We’re Still Here was a National Jewish Book Award finalist and named one of the best books of the year by NPR and the Religion News Service in 2020. It was also a BBC Radio book of the week. The book has been published in 9 languages.

Most recently, she deftly led the Museum as Board Chair when it first opened to the public in June 2023 and then as she navigated it through a time of flux, delivering it to success today.

Dana Bash is CNN’s chief political correspondent and anchor of Inside Politics with Dana Bash. She also co-anchors the Sunday show State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Based in Washington, D.C., she covers U.S. politics, moderates debates and town halls, and anchors major election coverage. Bash created CNN’s Being… and Badass Women of Washington series, spotlighting influential figures in politics and culture. She’s known for high-profile interviews and breaking Capitol Hill news, and is a recipient of the National Press Foundation’s Sol Taishoff Award. Bash graduated cum laude from The George Washington University.

Previous Honorees
Senator Ben Cardin and Mrs. Myrna Cardin, 2024
Josh and Marjorie Harris, 2024
Pinchas Zukerman, 2024

See highlights from the 2024 Inaugural Gala