Founder, social entrepreneur, author, and Duke parent Jessica Seinfeld to speak at Jewish Baccalaureate
Jewish Life at Duke is delighted to announce that Jessica Seinfeld, P’23, ’25, ’28 will deliver the 2025 Duke Jewish Baccalaureate Ceremony keynote address.
Jessica Seinfeld is a founder, social entrepreneur, and author who is committed to dedicating her time and resources to helping solve problems that affect families and communities. She is the Founder and Board Chair of Good+ Foundation, a leading national non-profit combating multi-generational poverty, with a special focus on engaging fathers and families of color living on low-incomes. Now approaching its 25th anniversary, the organization’s unique model combines tangible goods and cash grants with transformational services to create opportunities for long-term economic growth for the whole family. To date, Good+ has distributed more than $112 million in new products and critical gear to strengthen families.
Jessica is also focused on using storytelling as a way to elevate important issues. She is an Executive Producer on Daughters, a documentary that follows a group of incarcerated men and their daughters as they prepare for their first Daddy Daughter Dance. Illuminating the human costs of the criminal justice system, the film debuted at Sundance in 2024, winning both the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and The Festival Favorite Award. An early supporter of Jonathan Haidt, Jessica helped kickstart the movement around the Anxious Generation and is currently partnering on projects with Jonathan connected to this mental health epidemic.
Jessica lives in Manhattan with her husband, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and has three grown children who still FaceTime her during dinner, and who are all current students or recent graduates of Duke: Sascha ’23, Julian ’25, and Shepherd ’28. She is a graduate of NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and is a New York Times bestselling author who has published six beloved cookbooks.
About the Jewish Baccalaureate Ceremony:
Jewish Life at Duke is thrilled to host the 42nd annual Jewish Baccalaureate Ceremony for graduating Jewish seniors and their families at the Freeman Center this spring on May 9, 2025. Remarks by Jewish Life at Duke leadership and students, a keynote address, blessings, and presentation of gifts are included. As our graduates prepare to embark on their next chapter, we look forward to celebrating their time at Duke and their many contributions to our Jewish community.
Class of 2025 students, families, and friends, and members of the Duke community, can RSVP here to the Class of 2025 Jewish Baccalaureate Ceremony.
The first Jewish Baccalaureate at Duke started as a walk-out protest by a handful of Duke seniors in 1983. Forty-two years later, it has transformed into an annual ceremony to recognize and celebrate the contribution of graduating students to Duke’s Jewish community, taking place in the home for Jewish Life at Duke, the Freeman Center. Read the whole story here.
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About Jewish Life at Duke
Jewish Life at Duke (JLD) is the hub for all things Jewish on Duke’s campus. An accredited Hillel as well as a department within Duke University’s Division of Student Affairs, Jewish Life at Duke is guided by a mission to empower Jewish students to learn and grow intellectually and spiritually; to inspire and nurture personal paths to Jewish identity; and to cultivate community and friendship. Comprising the Freeman Center for Jewish Life and the Rubenstein-Silvers Hillel, JLD takes a pluralistic approach to Judaism to ensure that all Jewish students, regardless of affiliation, are welcome and included.
100% of JLD’s operating budget comes from donations from alumni, parents, and friends.
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