Marta Kauffman is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning television writer, producer and showrunner. She recently completed shooting the seventh and final season of her Netflix comedy Grace and Frankie, which stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
Prior to Grace and Frankie, Kauffman was best known for creating NBC’s long-running hit Friends with David Crane (with whom she also created HBO’s Dream On). The iconic series, which ran for 10 seasons, earned 63 Emmy nominations, winning Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002.
The Writers Guild of America, West awarded Kauffman and her Friends partner David Crane the 2016 Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for lifetime achievement in television writing. She also earned the 2016 Outstanding Television Writer award at the 23rd annual Austin Film Festival & Screenwriters Conference as well as the Kieser Humanitas Award.
Kauffman is a long-time member of the Oakwood School’s Board of Trustees, having served as its Chair for three years. She has also served on the Board of Big Sunday (as its first Chair after becoming a 501c3) as well as currently serving on the board of Jewish Story Partners and The Lung Cancer Foundation of America. As a board member, Marta brings energy and is an avid protector of an organization’s mission. She is a tireless ambassador and a moral compass for the institutions she has served.
Marta met Rabbi Brous on a trip to Israel a number of years ago. She had the incredible opportunity to learn from Rabbi Brous and, on many hours on a bus, got to hear her perspective on Israel. A number of years later, Marta was looking for a new spiritual home. But she was also looking for home that stood for equity and social justice, not just in word but in action. IKAR was that place. Marta is grateful for having been accepted into this extraordinary community and realizes that the best way to get something out of a place is to put something into it.