At this year’s Women’s Philanthropy CHOICES event on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, Lisa Mintz will receive the prestigious Golda Award in recognition of her extraordinary leadership and community involvement and ability to inspire others to serve.
Among her many volunteer roles over the span of more than two decades, Lisa served on the JEWISHcolorado Board of Directors for eight years, holding different positions including Annual Campaign Chair and Women’s Philanthropy Chair. As Campaign Chair, she helped raise more than $14 million. In 2023, she was recognized as Volunteer of the Year. She also served as CHOICES co-chair. She represented Colorado nationally on the Jewish Federations of North America National Women’s Philanthropy Board. Lisa has also taken active leadership roles at Temple Emanuel and the Denver Jewish Day School.
Recently, we talked with her about her reaction to receiving the Golda Award and her thoughts about JEWISHcolorado’s role in the world today.
Congratulations on receiving the Golda Award! What was your first reaction when you heard about it?
Honestly, I was shocked. I had a lunch planned with Diana Zeff Anderson. The two of us had gone to Israel together on a Temple Emanuel trip, and I thought we were getting together to follow up on the trip. When I got to the restaurant, Judy Altenberg and Ruth Malman were there—but no Diana! Judy and Ruth surprised me with the news. Honestly, I felt like I was on a time delay and couldn’t mentally connect with what they were saying. I’m not sure it has sunk in yet.
You have been very active in volunteer circles, especially with JEWISHcolorado for decades. Why did this come as such a surprise?
I always think that other people are more worthy. I look at other Goldas and they seem to be so accomplished. I put them on a pedestal, but I don’t put myself on a pedestal. I do what I do because I love it. I love JEWISHcolorado. I have spent so much time there over 20 years in an effort to make a difference and that is what is important to me. I have never done anything because I expect an award.
Lisa Mintz receives Volunteer of the Year Award at JEWISHcolorado’s 2023 Annual Meeting
I have read that your lifelong connection to your Jewish community began when you were a child going to Pinemere Camp in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Is that true?
I was eight years old when I started to go to camp, and I went there for nine years. I grew up in the small town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, with only about 100 Jewish families. Pinemere recruited kids from towns in Pennsylvania that had small Jewish populations. I just loved going to camp. My parents were very secular, but camp was a consistent experience every summer, and the continuity of Judaism just got into my bones with singing, the beautiful outdoors, and friendships. I have read that Jewish professionals believe that Jewish camp and Jewish day school are the two most influential factors that make Judaism important to kids and keep them Jewish. It worked for me.
Have you kept up a connection with Pinemere?
When I got married, I said to my husband, “If we have kids, they have to go to my camp.” After we moved to Denver, we sent our children back to Camp Pinemere. Just recently, I was watching some Federation videos of Israeli children who had been brought to the U.S. for summer camp to get away from the war. All of a sudden, I realized I was watching Camp Pinemere! I started screaming like a kid.
Mintz at the 2025 Leadership Gifts & Fundholders Dinner
What was your first volunteer experience in Colorado’s Jewish community?
I started as a volunteer at Temple Emanuel preschool when I had little kids. All my friends were doing it, and I became really involved. I wasn’t working and this gave me purpose beyond taking care of my immediate family. It was something bigger than myself, and it was fun.
What drew you to volunteer at JEWISHcolorado?
My late husband Rob found out about Jco from one of his associates at work, Lisa Reckler Cohn. One day, she said to him, “How do you give back?” And he said, “What?” And she said, “How do you give back to the Jewish world?” And he said, “Well, I kind of don’t.”
She told him, “Well, you have to get involved.” She was an associate at the law firm working for Rob, but he always joked that he felt like he was working for her. She is really a powerhouse. Rob listened to her. He got involved in what was then the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, and as he got more involved, I got more involved.
Mintz at 2024 Lion/Pom Luncheon
You started by becoming involved with Women’s Philanthropy.
Women’s Philanthropy spoke to my values. Community was important to me. I don’t have family here, so I was seeking to meet people and get connected. It is all about relationships and values and generosity.
Was there a learning curve for you?
I had to learn about all the JEWISHcolorado and Federation programs, and I had to learn about the Jewish community here. I am not from here, so I had to figure out who everyone was. I was fortunate to have mentors—Carol Karsh, Gloria Husney, Debra Weinstein, Nancy Gart, Dottie Resnick, Amy Morris, and Judy Altenberg. What I learned from them is the power of collective philanthropy and how important women can be.
Mintz at JEWISHcolorado’s 2023 Signature Event
How long have you been a Lion of Judah?
A very long time! My husband surprised me by adding to my gift, and they made the Lion presentation at a women’s event. At the time, I didn’t even realize that you had to buy the pin! I remember saying, “I’m not sure we can afford the pin!”
You have also endowed the pin, which makes you a member of Lion of Judah Endowment (LOJE).
Rob did that as well. We made the decision together, and we documented it in our will. It was important to both of us to know that our children will understand our intentions and our gift would support our community for many years to come.
Mintz speaks at JEWISHcolorado’s Signature Event in 2023
As the Chair of Women’s Philanthropy, you served on the JEWISHcolorado Board, and you also served as the Annual Campaign Chair.
Yes, I was around JEWISHcolorado so much I began to feel like a pseudo staff person! But I am proud to have given back to our community. I am motivated because women now have a larger seat at the table thanks to our involvement and our giving. We have strong voices, we get things done, and we are good at having conversations. That is what giving is all about—connecting people and their values to what we offer in our community.
You were also asked to be on the Federation’s National Women’s Philanthropy Board.
That was truly an honor. It was a privilege to open my tent larger. I could meet more people and learn about what’s happening on the national level and see best practices from Federations across the country. Dignity Grows™ is a good example of that.
Mintz volunteering at a Dignity Grows™ packing party
Tell me about Dignity Grows™.
It did not even have that name when I first heard about it. The Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford Women’s Philanthropy Committee had just developed the program to eliminate period poverty in the United States through direct product support. The program embodies the Jewish values of tikkun olam (repairing the world) and tzedakah (charity and justice) and brings those values to the community at large through distribution of menstrual and hygiene products to women and girls in need.
I was Women’s Philanthropy Chair at the time, and we were looking for a volunteer project to attract new members. We started it right before the pandemic hit, and we distributed the products we collected through Jewish Family Service. The program is getting larger each year, and we are involved with schools and organizations across the community. We are also helping outside the Jewish community, and at this moment, I think that is really important so people can see what we do.
Mintz at JEWISHcolorado’s Cultivating Hope Luncheon in 2022
Even as you are receiving an award for your service, you continue to serve.
Just as I had mentors, I try to support the amazing women who have come after me. I have worked with this year’s Campaign Chair, Adriane Greenberg, for a long time. She came to me and asked if I would help by co-chairing the Development Committee of Women’s Philanthropy. I am happy to help with philanthropy because that is what JEWISHcolorado is all about. Yes, we do many things, but if we don’t have the funds, we cannot support programs or help people in Colorado, Israel, or around the world. It takes a village to raise funds. You have to connect to people, be authentic because they don’t give just to give. They have to feel it, they have to be involved, and women get people involved.
Your two little preschool children who first motivated you to volunteer at Temple Emanuel preschool must be all grown up by now.
Molly is 28 and Noah is 25. I think the future of philanthropy is getting younger people involved. We have to ask them how they see the world and what is important to them, and we have to listen to their voices if we want our organization to continue and our community to flourish. They see things differently from the way we do, just as I saw things differently more than 20 years ago.
How is the JEWISHcolorado of today different from the one you first encountered more than two decades ago?
We are in the national spotlight all the time now. Renée [Rockford, President and CEO] makes everyone feel seen and heard, and she does it in the most loving, quiet way. Under her leadership, we are thriving. We are able to mobilize and show up during both the best and most challenging times.
So after this conversation, has the Golda Award sunk in yet?
A couple months ago, Arlene Hirschfeld held a gathering of Goldas, and I was invited. I thought it was lovely that she was doing this, and I was talking to someone about it beforehand. They had to tell me that it was in my honor! I didn’t even understand it was for me. People said such wonderful things. I am just extremely honored and humbled.