Doing good has always been part of Jamie Caplis’ DNA. As a young child, she was inspired by her parents whose commitment to social justice and equality would shape the woman she would become.
Upon graduating from Johns Hopkins University, she spent almost her entire career in the nonprofit world. And since retiring, she has turned her former vocation into an avocation, joining the Jewish Women’s Giving Foundation (JWGF)and chairing its recent multi-year grant committee.
We caught up with Jamie to learn more about her upbringing, her work with JWGF and what it means to be retired.
I understand your parents in some ways were trailblazers in the 1960s.
Yes. When I was a child, my mother was asked to become president of the Baltimore Music Club, an organization that brought music into public schools and gave scholarships to young, up and coming musicians in the city. She debated whether to accept this position because the Music Club was not integrated. Ultimately, she informed them that she would not accept the position unless the organization became integrated. Under her leadership, it did.
And your father?
My father was an attorney and CPA who used to say to me and my brothers that “All you have in this world is your name.” To him, personal integrity was paramount. Growing up, he also always told me I could do, and be, anything I wanted. My female gender was never considered an obstacle. You have to remember this was the ‘60s and a lot of young women were still not career oriented.
