Next week Patricia Werthan Uhlmann will be recognized, along with 78 other Jewish women, as a Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award recipient. Established in 2004, The Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award recognizes extraordinary women who have set a high standard for philanthropy and volunteerism. These women have been chosen by their communities as “women of valor” with lifetimes of commitment to the Jewish world. The award ceremony will be held at the International Lion of Judah conference in New York in which 18 people from Kansas City will be in attendance.
Uhlmann joins an elite group of Kansas City women — Elaine Polsky, Shirley White and the late Maria Devinki — who have been so honored. Yet honors were the farthest thing from her mind when she chose a path of volunteerism.
“Both sides of my family were always involved in the community. Their biggest foot was in the Jewish world and their smaller foot was in the general community because they felt it was very important to do good works and be visible and have the privilege to give back in both the Jewish and general communities,” Uhlmann explained.
She credits her father, Howard Werthan and his family from Nashville, Tenn., and her mother, Heloise Pfeifer who hailed from Little Rock, Ark., for setting the stage, the tone and the example for everything she does.
“I had really amazing role models. That’s why I think it’s important to be a role model for others. You have to actually do things, not simply preach,” Uhlmann explained.
Uhlmann came to Kansas City as a young married woman and really didn’t know anyone except her husband’s family — she married John Uhlmann (who passed away unexpectedly in 2009) in 1972. Her first opportunity to volunteer came from the local Jewish Federation.
“People were wonderful to me and very inclusive and tried to teach me about the community,” Uhlmann recalled. “I credit Debbie Granoff with getting me involved here. Debbie was the president of the Women’s Division and she called me and asked me if I would chair the Young Married’s division. I said yes and that was the beginning of the Federation experience for me.”
From there Uhlmann moved on to serve as Women’s Division campaign chair and then president. She later became the Jewish Federation’s general campaign co-chair. Today she continues to serve on the board of directors and is planning and allocations chair. Her volunteer work also includes serving on the board of the Jewish Heritage Foundation. Previously she served on Planned Parenthood, the Center for Practical Bioethics and The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah boards.
Uhlmann said participating in communal activities for the past 40 years has given and continues to give her life great satisfaction.
“I think we’re all looking for things that give our lives purpose and meaning. Kansas City should be incredibly proud of the relationships that they have made around the world through the work that we do. We’re a stellar Federation. Other communities look to us for best practices. We’ve won a lot of awards for our programming. Our leadership is always of the top caliber. It’s a privilege and it’s a responsibility and it’s fun to work with the Federation,” she said.
Jewish Federation Executive Vice President and CEO Todd Stettner said Uhlmann’s efforts personify the agency’s mission to sustain and enhance Jewish life at home and around the world.
“Trish Uhlmann captures not just the heart of our work but also the soul. She is deeply passionate about community and understands the true meaning of kol Yisrael aravim ze leh ze — all Jews are responsible for all others.”
Through Jewish Federation, she met and worked with those she now considers her best friends.
“I really can’t imagine living in a community that’s as blessed as our community is and not feel the desire, the sense of privilege and responsibility to give back to this community to ensure its future,” Uhlmann said.
She points out that while she is being honored personally, she doesn’t work alone on any project.
“It’s all done with the support of an incredible community,” she said.
Uhlmann has extended her family’s volunteer tradition to encompass other areas of the world, taking to heart her family’s mantra, “Don’t just take up space, make a difference in your community and your world.” She has done so through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Since 1995 she has been active on the JDC board of directors serving as chair of the Europe Committee and currently as chair for the International Development program, the non-sectarian arm of JDC. In February, she co-chaired a fact-finding mission to Ethiopia and Rwanda.
Through Jewish Federation and JDC, Uhlmann worked behind the scenes to establish a connection between the two Jewish organizations and Kansas City-based Heart to Heart International. A medical social worker by training, she has traveled with Heart to Heart to disaster-ravaged areas such as Haiti, and just last week was keeping tabs on the status of the hurricane damage there through Heart to Heart representatives.
“We’re constantly close to the pulse of what humanitarian needs are in the world,” Uhlmann explained.
A course she took this summer at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem reinforced what she already knew, that the volunteer work we do in the Jewish and general communities is not just about us.
“We really are a role model and a bellwether for the world. The way we treat each other and the way we treat other people in our community and people outside our community is critical for our wellbeing and for the world’s wellbeing. I think we’re so often judged on what we do, how we do it and what we say,” Uhlmann said.
Uhlmann, who grew up in a classically Reform Jewish household and is a member of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, said she never forgets that she lives in the best country in the world where “we are blessed to live freely as Jews.” She is proudly passing on her Jewish values to her children and grandchildren and is also a role model to younger members of the Kansas City Jewish community.
“It’s so important to me that the next generation understands and respects the Jewish community’s sacrifices and successes of the past and are willing to embrace the mantle of leadership in the future. Our community will not thrive without this commitment,” she adds.
When Uhlmann uses the term “our community,” she means the local, national and international Jewish community.
“I urge people to get involved in projects here in Kansas City,” she said. “And when they are traveling to other parts of the world … Berlin or Prague or Budapest … call us and we’ll help arrange a meeting with other Jews in that area. We are trying to keep the windows and doors open to the world and we are doing a great job.”
Uhlmann is determined to make sure the Jewish community here remains vital and viable and sustainable for her daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren who live here. (Another daughter lives with her husband and three children in Massachusetts.)
“There’s a very clear purpose for the reasons that I do what I do. I’m very proud of this community. I’m very proud of the work that is done by this community and on behalf of the Jewish community in the general community.”