Jan Tuttleman
San Diego, California
How is your Hero working to make the world a better place?
Jan is the chair of Jewish Federation of San Diego County, and president/co-founder of Women Give San Diego. She serves on the boards of Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Sanford-Burnham Institute for Medical Research, Foundation for Women, and San Diego Jewish Women's Foundation.
Jan founded Jewish Women’s Foundation and Women Give and currently serves on both as she continues her dedication to engaging and empowering women in philanthropy. It is her personal mission to improve the lives of women by giving them the ability to help their families and strengthen their communities.
An inspirational philanthropist, Jan works tirelessly behind the scenes and uses her education and business savvy to benefit organizations. Her incredible ability to bring people together to help those in need is awe-inspiring. When Jan isn’t spending time with her husband and two daughters, she is an active visionary, out in the community, meeting with influential leaders and instilling in them a sense of awareness and obligation to San Diego and the Jewish community. Jan’s dedication to community is selfless, and inspirational.
Jan is filled with tremendous talent and epitomizes leadership. Her altruistic dedication to helping those who cannot help themselves truly makes her a hero, and an exemplary human being. It is not enough for her to empathize with a bad situation; she goes out into the community and makes a difference. Jan is a loving soul with a generous heart who makes our world, and our community, a better place.
How has your Hero impacted your life and inspired you?
Jan’s philosophy on life is “Set your sights high and reach for your dreams. Be passionate, courageous and adventuresome.” Since being diagnosed with stage-four brain cancer in September 2011, Jan has been nothing short of a true Jewish Hero. Dubbing herself “The Brain Warrior,” Jan, always interested in others, is discovering ways to help others who are battling cancer. Even as she suffers, her irrepressible spirit has provided those around her with a sense of strength, hope and most importantly, faith. She is a role model to her daughters, family, friends, colleagues and the community. Jan has been truly inspirational.