Barbara Goldberg is President of O’Connell & Goldberg, one of South Florida’s top independent public relations firms, which she co-founded in 1993.   Although running a busy firm takes up significant time, she has been involved with Jewish Federation for as long as she can remember. 

“I helped out with Super Sunday as a teenager, growing up with USY in North Miami Beach, and attended my first General Assembly while in college at the University of Miami, representing the National Hillel Secretariat,” she said.  Her participation in Jewish organizations evolved and she soon became associated with the Young Leadership Division. 

Barbara moved to Broward County in 1991 and served on the marketing/ communications committee.  She has held a score of other leadership positions including co-chair of Super Sunday for two years.  “I also joined the newly-formed WEC, Women’s Executive Circle, which is a wonderful group of professional Broward women who support Federation, while juggling careers,” Barbara added.  She serves as the current as co-chair of this group.  In 2010, Barbara says she took a big step forward by becoming a Lion of Judah and had the pleasure of attending the annual International Lion of Judah Conference.

Supporting Jewish causes has always been near to her heart.  “Federation, in particular, enables so many organizations to benefit at once and it’s rewarding to touch an array of Jewish agencies with an annual gift, instead of just one,” she said.  In addition, she also feels that it’s vital her children experience the importance of giving back to the community and to Israel. 

“My daughters attend David Posnack Hebrew Day School, which receives some support from Federation, so we see how important the funding is in keeping our small, Jewish community intact, and hopefully, growing,” she commented.  “With so many Jews unaffiliated and society’s many needy causes vying for the same dollars, it’s so important that we do our part to help our own Jewish communities not only survive but thrive.”

Barbara is a proud Miami native and has lived in Plantation since 1991.  She and her husband Michael, who is the CMO for Zimmerman, the area’s largest advertising agencty, have three daughters — twins Emily & Carly, age 16 and Hannah, age 10. 

The girls have also made a commitment to Judaism.  They were youth co-chairs of Super Sunday and volunteer their time for many Jewish causes and organizations.   They have been to Israel and attend Camp Ramah and JCC.    Barbara also enjoys assisting with the communications efforts of other Jewish agencies, such as Jewish Family Service of Broward County.

 Email This Article