Jane Eisner

Jane Eisner, a pioneer in journalism, became editor of the Forward in June 2008, the first woman to hold the position at the influential Jewish national weekly newspaper. Under her leadership, the Forward has won numerous regional and national awards for its original journalism, in print and online.

Before joining the Forward, Eisner held executive editorial and news positions at the Philadelphia Inquirer for 25 years, including stints as editorial page editor, syndicated columnist, City Hall bureau chief and foreign correspondent. In 2006, she joined the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where she served as vice president for national programs and initiatives, with responsibility for all adult programming, the Liberty Medal, and the Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution.

She also has deep roots in academe, serving as the first Koeppel Fellow in Journalism at Wesleyan University, where she teaches journalism and non-fiction writing. From 2002 through 2006, Eisner was a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Robert A. Fox Leadership Program, as well as an adjunct professor in the school’s political science department. In 2006, she was one of three women chosen to be the first fellows of the new Katharine Houghton Hepburn Center at Bryn Mawr College, where she led conferences and workshops and was the college’s 2007 commencement speaker.

Eisner’s editorials have won national and regional awards, including the 2010 Sigma Delta Chi award for editorial writing from the Society of Professional Journalists and the 2011 award for opinion writing from the Deadline Club, SPJ’s New York chapter. In 2009, she was one of 20 fellows in the Punch Sulzberger Executive News Media Leadership Program at the Columbia School of Journalism.

Her book, “Taking Back the Vote: Getting American Youth Involved in our Democracy,” was published by Beacon Press in 2004.

Eisner also serves as host of The Salon, the first-ever women’s program produced by The Jewish Channel, which debuted in 2009.

In addition to her Inquirer column “American Rhythms,” which was syndicated to 100 newspapers, Eisner has also written for the Washington Post, Newsday, Brookings Review, Columbia Journalism Review, Ma’ayan and the Reconstructionist, and served as a regular panelist on the WPVI television talk show “Inside Story.”

An active member of her local community, Eisner is a board member of the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, a past president of the Pennsylvania Women’s Forum, a former trustee and secretary of The Philadelphia Award, and a mentor with Philadelphia Futures. Nationally, she is a member of the Columbia School of Journalism Alumni Board, the National Conference on Citizenship’s advisory committee, and the Encore Leadership Network.

Eisner received a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of Journalism and graduated from Wesleyan University cum laude in 1977, where she was the first female editor of the college newspaper and was a member of the board of trustees. She recently was the first woman to win Wesleyan’s McConaughy Award for contributions to journalism and public life.

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