Hanna Shaul Bar Nissim, PhD

Hanna is Deputy Director U.S. at the Ruderman Family Foundation. Hanna completed her PhD at the School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with a focus on philanthropic studies. She joined the Ruderman Family Foundation after completing a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Brandeis University, specializing in the research of Jewish philanthropy.

Hanna is focused on documenting and analyzing the activities of multiple foundations and community philanthropies, working closely with hundreds of philanthropists and practitioners of philanthropic organizations in the Jewish world. She researches changes in organized Jewish giving, and has developed a unique database that contains information on the giving trends of thousands of Jewish organizations.

Hanna has been acknowledged worldwide as the expert on American Jewish philanthropy. Her work has been supported by several universities and research institutes, and by American and Israeli foundations. She authors scholarly peer reviewed articles, media publications, and professional reports, and is frequently quoted in national and international media outlets. Hanna is taking an important role in moving the Foundation’s goals forward, based on her extensive knowledge, data and insights of the different dimensions of the US Jewish philanthropy sector, including its grant making institutions, diaspora philanthropy, faith based giving, cross-faith and Israeli philanthropy. In addition, Hanna is a Visiting Scholar and Adjunct Associate Faculty at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis and a member of the Faith & Giving Task Force of the Generosity Commission.

Latest publications and op-eds: