Roberta Gassman received the 42nd annual Manfred E. Swarsensky Humanitarian Service Award on Nov. 8 at the Rotary Club of Madison’s weekly meeting at the Park Hotel.
The award commemorates the contributions of the late Rabbi Swarsensky, a Rotary member of 22 years recognized for his great ability to bring people from varying religious faiths and the community together. Each year since Swarensky’s death in 1981, the Swarsensky Award honors an individual in the Greater Madison community who has, through voluntary efforts, made outstanding contributions to humanitarian service and built bridges between people of diverse backgrounds.
Roberta Gassman has performed volunteer community leadership work and public service at the highest levels of local, state, and federal government. Within the Madison area, she has served on many boards, often in leadership roles, including for major civic organizations such as the Madison Community Foundation, United Way of Dane County, Edgewood College, Overture Center, Madison Equal Opportunities Commission, Temple Beth El, Jewish Federation of Madison, UW–Madison School of Social Work Board of Visitors, Downtown Madison Inc., Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison Repertory Theatre, Chancellor Becky Blank’s task force to address history of bias at UW, and the Rotary Club of Madison. Gassman has won numerous honors over the years and has been active in mentoring young women.
Along with this award, a $2,500 grant is presented by the Madison Rotary Foundation to an agency of the recipient’s choice. Gassman selected the Madison Community Foundation to receive this grant for the YWCA Endowment to support its Racial Justice Summit.
