About our Honorees

Eva Cowen was the Director of Inclusion at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, in Rockville, Maryland, from 1989 to 2009. This summer will be her 40th summer working at Lessans Camp JCC as part of the Inclusion Leadership Team. Eva was a member of the Maryland State Developmental Disabilities Council for 10 years and has also served on the advisory committee for the Sunflower Bakery and on the Federation of Greater Washington’s Inclusion Committee. Eva is serves on the board and is Past President of Makom (formerly Jewish Foundation for Group Homes) and is the current Board President of Linclusion.

Eva has done consulting work around inclusion for many national organizations including National Inclusion Project, The Jewish Community Centers Association, Matan, The Bender Jewish Community Center, Anti Defamation League, The Sunflower Bakery, Balancing Life’s Issues, Howard County Department of Recreation, Foundation for Jewish Camp, The Friendship Circle and other and is also the Director of Camp Erin Montgomery County, a grief camp for children and teens who have lost a significant person. Eva also currently volunteers on the National Crisis and Suicide Hotline.

Eva feels particularly honored to be receiving this award because Sara Milner has been her professional and life mentor for over 40 years during which time they had many conversations about Sara’s dream of opening Sunflower Bakery.

A native of Toronto, Canada, Sheila received her BA in Psychology from York University, and her Master’s from the State University of New York in Albany. What followed was a fulfilling, challenging, and enjoyable 48-year career in Jewish communal service, the last 31+ of which were here in Maryland, initially at the Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington followed by 20 years as Executive Director of Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County. Sheila’s retirement began about three months into the Covid pandemic in 2020 (although had been planned a year in advance), and she then spent almost a year as a semi-hermit (!), like much of the rest of the world.

Emerging from the pandemic, Sheila started to volunteer at the Jewish Council for the Aging as a driver and then volunteered as the Volunteer Coordinator at Sunflower Bakery. She has served on the board of the Baltimore-Washington Kashrut Council since its inception in 2018, and has been on her condominium board since 2023. Her retirement travels have taken her to Morocco, Argentina, and Israel, with (hopefully) more to come. And, of course, she hasn’t given up her annual “beach week” in Rehoboth!

Sheila believes much of her success is thanks to the life lessons of her father, Morris Bellack^z”l, and the professional mentorship of Rupert Shriar^z”l at the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, and she dedicates her honor in their memories.

Tatte Bakery & Café was founded in 2007 by Tzurit Or in her home kitchen in Boston and today has 44 cafés, including 17 in the DMV. The dream since day one has been to offer a warm, welcoming place where people can gather around great Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and European pastries, scratch-made meals and barista-crafted drinks.

In the communities Tatte calls home, the company is proud to partner with local organizations like Sunflower Bakery that work to improve the lives of young people and their families. Tatte employs 2000+ passionate and diverse team members who carry out this shared purpose: To Inspire, Care for, and Nurture life. Every Day.