Eskow Volunteer Award Winners Demonstrate Commitment to Community and Youth Leadership
For almost 25 years, the NCJW/Essex Nancy and Robert Eskow Volunteer Awards have recognized graduating high school seniors in Essex County for their advocacy and community service. The 2025 program attracted dozens of stellar applicants from almost 20 schools. Our award recipients demonstrated a deep commitment to their communities across issues including voting rights, food insecurity and leadership among Jewish teens. Each Eskow Award recipient received a $1,000 cash prize.
Thank you to Eskow Award Committee Co-Chairs Jill Sorkin Johnson and Jeanne Gordon, as well as the entire committee – Carol Borker, Sarah Brooks, Elisa Madorsky, Lisa Santola and Alison Slone – who read, evaluated and chose these outstanding recipients. Read more about the Awards here, and about our 2025 recipients below.
Nathaniel Esubonteng, Science Park High School
Democracy is not an event one merely watches from afar – it is one we need to participate in directly. Nathaniel Esubonteng put that into practice following an open forum for school board candidates in Newark. He realized that he, as a student directly impacted by what they were proposing, had no vote in the matter. He sought out the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and added his voice and commitment to the Vote 16 Newark project, which led to an historic law that allows 16-year-olds to vote in school board elections. Nathaniel testified before the Newark City Council, advocating for the rights of his fellow students so they had a voice on policies that directly affect their lives as students and citizens. The impact has been significant beyond securing the opportunity to vote. Students across the city are more engaged in school board matters and young people now see politics as something not just for adults, but something in which they have a stake and a voice.
Riley O'Sullivan, Glen Ridge High School
Riley O’Sullivan’s work with Toni’s Kitchen began as a mitzvah project for her Bat Mitzvah but grew into so much more. She began by making lasagna and focaccia for donations, then helped with the dinner service in the soup kitchen while meeting people from backgrounds different from hers. Over the years she volunteered with the Choice Panty Grocery program sorting, organizing and distributing donations and eventually running the Sunday pantry session. Working at Toni’s Kitchen raised Riley’s awareness of other issues in the community. Many guests asked for period products, but those items were not always readily available. Inspired, she created the Period Movement Club at Glen Ridge High School, working to destigmatize menstruation and collecting more than 5,000 products for members of the community. Riley’s time at Toni’s Kitchen reframed her concept of community, saying the people she sees each week and with whom she has grown close made the biggest impact. She learned that even though people have different life experiences, our differences do not seem to matter when sharing a meal and supporting each other.
Ophir Filhart, Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School
Ophir Filhart is deeply committed to the idea that change comes from the ground up, driven by leaders who care deeply and act boldly. He believes when young people are empowered to lead, lives are changed. He served as International President for USY (United Synagogue Youth), leading thousands of Jewish teens in service, learning and advocacy. His responsibilities involved working with peers across North America to make the community more inclusive, socially conscious and driven to action. Ophir convened several multi-regional conferences, a conference for all USY teen leaders and mentored new leaders, all aimed at building a more just and compassionate Jewish teen movement. He began with USY as a first-year high school student, organizing food drives and other local service events. A series of other projects included year-long campaigns to bring awareness to issues affecting teens, allocating funds raised across the country and empowering young people to be agents of change. Ophir also volunteers with synagogue youth programs, local food banks and school clubs. Projects have included collecting thousands of books for underserved children in New Jersey, organizing toy drives and facilitating conversations about identity and inclusion.