Simone Joy Friedman

As the Head of Philanthropy for EJF Philanthropies, Simone Friedman has been coordinating the grantmaking for the foundations under the EJF Philanthropies umbrella for 13 years. She is a frequent speaker about philanthropy at conferences and other events, and her writing has appeared in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, eJewishPhilanthropy, the Jewish Journal, and the Milken Institute’s Power of Ideas.

Specializing in using media and storytelling to catalyze change, Simone’s philanthropic giving has three current priorities: 1) increasing testing access for G6PD Deficiency, a genetic condition that affects those with African, Asian, and Middle Eastern ancestries (both Arabs and Jews); 2) fostering partnerships among Black and Jewish communities; and 3) supporting efforts to close racial wealth gaps and advance the inclusivity of the American Dream. She is the founder of the Opportunity Zone Impact Institute.

Through her philanthropic work as an impact producer, she created, funded, and managed the impact campaigns for Christopher Quinn’s film Eating Animals, which was narrated by Natalie Portman and based on Jonathan Safran Foer’s book by the same name. After the film won the Environmental Media Association’s Documentary Award, Simone turned her attention to creating an impact campaign for Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2019 book, We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast. This led Foer to write that “Simone Friedman, is as my grandmother would have said, ‘a force of nature’. Her energy, wisdom, ambition, and optimism bring even the most idealistic visions with reach.”

Prior to her involvement with EJF Philanthropies, Simone founded and later sold an analytics company. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the George Washington University, which she attended as part of the school’s Presidential Honor academic scholarship program. She later earned a Master’s of Urban and Environmental Planning degree with a concentration in Policy Analysis from the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture.

In addition to being a trustee of the foundations under the EJF Philanthropies umbrella, Simone serves as an advisory council member for the Philanthropy center at the Milken Institute.