Alice Lillie Seligsberg (August 8, 1873 – August 27, 1940) was an American

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

er, and president of

Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jews, American Jewish volunteer List of women's organizations, women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organi ...

from 1921 to 1923.

Early life and education

Alice Seligsberg was born on August 8, 1873, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to Louis and Lillie (Wolff) Seligsberg. Her parents were affiliated with the

Ethical Culture Movement The Ethical movement (also the Ethical Culture movement, Ethical Humanism, and Ethical Culture) is an ethical, educational, and Religious humanism, religious movement established in 1877 by the academic Felix Adler (professor), Felix Adler (185 ...

, and the values of this movement guided Seligsberg throughout her life and career. She graduated from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

with a bachelor's degree in 1895 and did graduate work at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and Friedrich Wilhelm University in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Work with Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America

In 1918, Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America founded the

American Zionist Medical Unit American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, with Alice Seligsberg in charge of its administration. From 1921 to 1923, she served as Hadassah's national president. She was later an honorary associate of the national board. In 1920, Seligsberg was instrumental in founding Junior Hadassah; she served as an adviser to Junior Hadassah from 1924 until her death.

References

External links

Guide to th
Executive Functions Records in the Hadassah Archives (RG 13)
at the

American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...

at the

Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City, namely the American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva Univ ...

. American Zionists Barnard College alumni Zionist activists 1873 births 1940 deaths {{US-activist-stub