Jennifer Dawn Dubow
08/02/1974 - 11/15/2019
It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Jennifer Dawn Dubow.
Jennifer Dubow was born in Queens, New York on August 2, 1974 to Lawrence and Estelle Dubow. She attended “Crocheron” Public School 41 and “Marie Curie” Middle School 158 in Bayside, NY, Townsend Harris High School located at Queens College in Flushing, NY, and she graduated from Cornell University in 1996, majoring in Human Ecology. Jen loved to travel and was very interested in other cultures. During her undergraduate studies, Jen spent a year abroad living in Madrid and became fluent in Spanish.
After graduation, Jen worked in England for Amoco UK (now BP) and later as a consultant for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). In 2007, Jen earned an MBA degree from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jen then worked for eight years at IBM. In 2011, she lived for two months in Almaty, Kazakhstan as part of IBM’s Corporate Service Corps. Jen ended her tenure at IBM as a Social Business Transformation Leader, managing several global programs.
From 2016 to 2019, Jen served as a Coach/Mentor in the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business Startup-UNC, Soft Launch, Carolina Challenge and was a guest lecturer in MBA and undergraduate business classes.
Jen loved dogs. From 2016 to 2017, she was the Director of Marketing at Dognition, a small startup in Durham, NC. Dognition offered a canine cognition assessment done at home by pet owners to identify the best approach to training their individual dogs based on a dog’s particular cognitive style. In 2017, Jen volunteered at the Independent Animal Rescue in Durham, NC, fostering dogs and assisting with marketing and fundraising efforts. Jen was also an informal and professional pet sitter for many dog friends.
Jen loved to share her knowledge and experience through numerous volunteer and outreach efforts in her community. She served as an Admissions Ambassador for the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador’s Network from 1997 to 2019, talking to high school students who had applied to Cornell. In 2015 and 2016, Jen served as a career counselor for the Compass Center for Women and Families in Chapel Hill, NC. From 2016 to 2018, Jen served as a Committee Member for the Ignite Talk Series at the Levin Jewish Community Center in Durham, NC, and in 2019 she volunteered at Girls on the Run and The Book Harvest in Durham, NC.
Jen cared deeply about supporting and empowering women entrepreneurs in both their personal and professional lives. In 2017, she started her own consulting company called Jennifer Dubow Consulting. She specialized in tapping into informal social networks on and offline to maximize word of mouth marketing, identify new opportunities for referral partners, and create targeted networking strategies for business development. Jen counseled professional women to align their authenic life with their career goals. She offered a unique, fun, eclectic, multi-sensory and interdisciplinary approach to women-owned businesses. She incorporated a wide variety of modalities into her discussions with clients that were based in the latest neuroscience and positive psychology research, including mindfulness, somatic experiencing, spirituality, an evidence-based design thinking method for career and life design (from the Design Your Life approach developed at Stanford University), and Internal Family Systems, an evidence-based psychotherapy model.
From 2015 to 2018, Jen was a certified mentor at SCORE Mentors. She provided expert advice to new and existing small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs. She mentored clients on a variety of topics including business plans, marketing strategy, business development, and sales. Jennifer was awarded the national SCORE Platinum Award, the highest SCORE honor, for her work with clients and the leadership roles she played in taking the Chapel Hill Durham SCORE chapter to the next level.
In the past few years, Jen was involved in women’s networking groups in the Durham area, including the WE Collective, where small groups of business owners meet once a month to discuss their challenges, support and celebrate each other, and share skills, knowledge, and advice. Jen was her group's representative for the majority of her time with the organization. Her role involved checking with the leadership about any of her group's needs and sharing information between her group and the management team. Jen brought passion, expertise, and wisdom to the program and was full of ideas on how to improve the organization and provide better support to its members. She was a member of Ellevate Network as well.
In 2018, Jen organized a small group of women who wanted to learn and practice the principles from the book “Designing Your Life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. This Design Your Life group met regularly for almost 2 years. This was yet another way that Jen brought people together to form deep and meaningful relationships.
Jen’s Jewish heritage was an important part of her social, cultural and spiritual life. She was a member of the Beth El Synagogue congregation in Durham, NC. Throughout graduate school and in the years following, Jen was very active in organizing social events for young Jewish singles. She loved bringing people together to create a sense of community and to create networks of friends.
Jen loved oracle cards, astrology, and tarot readings. She practiced spirituality in her daily life. She was an active, caring member of the Outrageous Openness Forum created by Tosha Silver, an author and spiritual teacher. Jen served as the group’s historian. Jen also practiced yoga daily, attending regular classes at local yoga studios including Durham Yoga Company and Sahaja Space and Yoga Off East in Durham, NC.
Jen loved books and the cinema. She joined the Neighborhood Women's Group, participating in movie outings as well as a book club.
Jen loved nature. She enjoyed taking long walks in the woods with her friends and canine companions. She frequently visited Sandy Creek Park, Durham, NC, the Eno River State Park in Durham, and the Al Buehler trail at Duke University.
Jen had a passion for food and cooking. She attended the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City in 2002 and earned a certificate as a Natural Foods Chef. She enjoyed cooking healthy meals for her friends, family, and her beloved dogs. Before business school, she worked briefly in a 4-star restaurant and in catering.
Jen will be remembered fondly by many people. Jen was a great listener, a quick thinker and very resourceful. She was intelligent, astute, perceptive, energetic, enthusiastic, generous, empathetic, kind, caring, considerate, warm and loving... especially to her canine friends! Her greatest strengths lay in networking and connecting friends and acquaintances together in the community. Jen employed her creative and spiritual problem-solving and analytical skills and her strong business savvy skills to help effect positive changes in the lives of others. Jen was an amazing woman who touched many lives. She will be remembered as one to help others wherever and whenever she could.
Jennifer is survived by her sisters Michele Dubow of Durham, NC and Holly Dubow Martin of Burlington, MA; Holly's husband Kevin Martin and daughters Alison and Kara Martin; stepsister Michelle Rozsa of NYC, NY, and her partner Lynne Figman; stepsister Francine Trachtenberg of Middletown, NJ, her husband Joe Trachtenberg and daughter Julianna and son Daniel Trachtenberg; stepmother Judith Dubow of Jackson, NJ, and the countless friends, co-workers, clients, and business associates and professionals whose lives she touched over the years.
Jen generously donated to several local charities, including NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) in Chapel Hill, The Compass Center for Women and Families in Chapel Hill, Planned Parenthood in Chapel Hill, and Dress for Success - Triangle in Durham, NC. Other local organizations that had special meaning for Jen include the following: The Beth El Synagogue, SCORE, The Eno River Association, Pennies for Change Thrift Store, Girls on the Run, The Book Harvest, and The Independent Animal Rescue, all in Durham, NC.
We know Jen would be honored and grateful if you made a donation in her name to one of these organizations, or another of your choosing. Please see the list below for information about these organizations and links to make donations in Jennifer Dubow’s name.
For Donations in Jennifer Dubow’s name
1) NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
NAMI Durham
P.O. Box 967
Durham, NC 27702
(919) 231-5016
https://www.namidurhamnc.org/donate
NAMI Orange County
P.O. Box 4201
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-4201
(919)-929-7822
https://namiorangenc.org/donate_now/
NAMI provides national and local advocacy, education, support, and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives.
2) The Compass Center for Women and Families in Chapel Hill, NC
210 Henderson St, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 968-4610
https://compassctr.org/contributions/donate/
Compass Center for Women and Families helps all people navigate their journey to self-sufficiency, safety, and health. We empower individuals and promote equal access to opportunity regardless of gender or economic status. Our services include career and financial education, domestic violence crisis and prevention programs, assistance with legal resources, and youth health programs.
3) Planned Parenthood in Chapel Hill, NC
1765 Dobbins Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 942-7762
https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/onlineactions/2U7UN1iNhESWUfDs4gDPNg2?sourceid=1000063&_gl=1*nmnwm7*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE1NzkxMDUwMTEuQ2owS0NRaUFqZnZ3QlJDa0FSSXNBSXFTV2xPWUdwR1JScUNIX09VZnhoVnR4cFl3ZWhURHlseHZwTjMtTVROemVRNkZfdHdTbldJMGxDMGFBdDZlRUFMd193Y0I.&_ga=2.178548460.972976205.1579105011-46600614.1579105011&_gac=1.57652696.1579105016.Cj0KCQiAjfvwBRCkARIsAIqSWlOYGpGRRqCH_OUfxhVtxpYwehTDylxvpN3-MTNzeQ6F_twSnWI0lC0aAt6eEALw_wcB
Planned Parenthood is one of the nation’s leading providers of high-quality, affordable health care, and the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With or without insurance, you can always come to us for your health care.
4) Dress for Success Triangle, NC
1720 Guess Rd #14, Durham, NC 27701
(919) 286-2128
https://dress-for-success-triangle-nc.networkforgood.com/projects/26538-website-donations
Our mission is to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and development tools to help women thrive in work and life.
5) Beth El Synagogue, Durham, NC
1004 Watts Street, Durham, NC 27701
(919) 682-1238
https://betheldurham.org/support-us/donation-form/
Beth El Synagogue is a pluralistic and diverse congregation welcoming all who wish to enjoy an enriching experience through spiritual growth, observance and mitzvot. We seek to create a Kehilla, a Jewish village, molding responsible citizens of our local communities and the larger world.
6) SCORE
104 S. Estes Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516
(919) 240-7765
https://chapelhilldurham.score.org/content/donate-score-chapelhill-durham
SCORE is the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship. SCORE is a non-profit organization that has more than 10,000 volunteers in 300 chapters.
7) The Eno River Association, Durham, NC
4404 Guess Rd, Durham, NC 27712
(919) 620-9099
http://www.enoriver.org/donate/
The Eno River Association’s land protection program is at the heart of our mission. Since 1966, the Association has worked actively to conserve the lands and waters along the Eno River and its tributaries. We protect water quality, wildlife habitat, and ecological diversity, while also working to provide recreational opportunities and scenic open spaces that connect people to the natural environment of the Eno River basin.
8) Pennies for Change Thrift Store,
2715 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd, Durham, NC 27707
(919) 237-2167
https://www.durhamcrisisresponse.org/donate
PenniesforCHANGE is a thrift store that specializes in women’s clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, furniture, home decor and books, with an extra touch of fun, creativity, warmth and style. Our mission is to generate a strong on-going stream of revenue to help fund Durham Crisis Response Center (DCRC) programs and services. The Durham Crisis Response Center works to end domestic violence through advocacy, education, support, and prevention. We also provide our DCRC clients with gift certificates and home goods as needed. We attribute our success to our generous donors, our faithful customers, our incredible volunteers and a dedicated small staff.
9) Girls on the Run,
1415 West Hwy 54, Suite 211, Durham, NC 27707
919-401-6307
https://www.gotrtriangle.org/Donate
At Girls on the Run, we inspire girls to recognize their inner strength and celebrate what makes them one of a kind. Trained coaches lead small teams through our research-based curricula which includes dynamic discussions, activities and running games. Over the course of the ten-week program, girls in 3rd-8th grade develop essential life skills. The program culminates with girls positively impacting their communities through a service project and being physically and emotionally prepared to complete a celebratory 5K event.
10) The Book Harvest,
2501 University Drive, Durham, NC 27707
(252) 497-BOOK
https://bookharvestnc.org/support/donate-money/
The Book Harvest provides an abundance of books and ongoing literacy support to families and their children from birth and serves as a model for communities committed to ensuring that children are lifelong readers and learners.
11) Independent Animal Rescue in Durham, NC
Post Office Box 14232
Durham, NC 27709-4232
(919) 403-2221
https://animalrescue.net/donate-online/
Our mission is to rescue and provide safe and responsible care for homeless, abandoned, and abused animals.
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