Lois Roisman

Lois Roisman (March 29, 1938 – June 2, 2008) was an American philanthropist, playwright and poet.

Background

Lois Levin was a native of Fayetteville, Texas, and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. Following her marriage to Arnold Fagin, with whom she had three children (Barry Fagin, Dan Fagin and Lisa Fagin Davis), she spent much of her early life in Oklahoma City, where she was a medical editor, ran a charitable group and helped start a summer arts program for grade-school students. Following her divorce in 1976 she married Anthony Roisman and relocated to Washington, DC in 1980.

Career

Roisman was the first executive director of the Jewish Funds for Justice, the first national Jewish grant-making organization focused on supporting non-Jewish causes in the United States. Roisman was previously executive director of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. Roisman spent over 20 years in the field of philanthropy. The American Jewish Committee in 1986 reported that Roisman believed that "political and religious developments were causing Jews to reassess their position in American life. "The Moral Majority's call for the Christianization of America underlines the importance of a more active Jewish participation in efforts to create a just society", she said.

Initial grants made by the fund were to Navajos in Arizona, homeless African-Americans in Boston, and low-income Mexican-Americans in Colorado." The group was also an early funder of a young community organizer in Chicago named Barack Obama.