COMMUNITY CALENDAR

About Us

How We Work

We educate, empower, and advocate for our community by building strong relationships with leaders, sharing trusted resources, and standing together in times of need. Through these efforts, we ensure our voices are heard, our members are supported, and our community remains informed and engaged.

Educating

Others

By establishing meaningful and enduring relationships with elected officials from both sides of the aisle, faith-based and communal leaders, we ensure that the voices of our community are heard and respected, both in times of joy and in crisis. Embracing our elected officials allows us to educate them on issues that impact our daily lives and equip them with tools necessary to better respond to our needs.

Ourselves

Through our non-partisan engagement with elected officials, we learn about their own views and perspectives which, in turn, allows us to build stronger bridges and make more informed decisions at the ballot box.

Empowering

It Takes a Village

By gathering, curating, and sharing trusted tools and resources from a wide breadth of experts, we make it easier for members of our Jewish community to have more impactful interactions with friends, colleagues, public officials and elected representatives.

Advocating

When Crises Arise

We leverage trusted relationships and the collective power of the entire OC community to assist those in need, whether it’s legal support, mental support, media access and other resources as needed.

Through our partner 501(c)4 organization, we support and facilitate advocacy initiatives, helping community members take active roles in shaping policies or running for elected office.

What We Stand For

We stand for safety, pride, and unity in the Jewish community.

A steadfast commitment to ensuring that every member of the Jewish community has the freedom to practice their faith safely and free of harassment.

Empowering every member of our community to proudly stand up for their Jewish identity.

Leveraging the power of the collective by fostering allyships with government, community and faith leaders from all walks of life and across the political spectrum.
Partnering and complementing work already in place through collaboration, respectful dialogue, and transparency. We strive to share and amplify existing resources rather than reinventing the wheel.

We are here to help! Reach out to us if…

  • You are interested in running for office and you don’t know what to do.
  • You are interested in representing the interest of the Jewish community in your town/school.
  • You would like to learn how to become more engaged in local government (whether by attending city/school council meetings and connecting with elected officials).
  • You’re looking to learn more about candidates’ views and perspectives on antisemitism in Orange County and their responses to targeted questions about issues near and dear to our hearts.
  • You would like to know about or advocate for Ethnic Studies curriculum in Orange County.
  • You or your organization are seeking support for training opportunities on issues related to antisemitism, Ethnic Studies education, or other related topics.
  • You have new ideas or wish to provide additional resources for us to share with the broader Jewish community. We’d love to work together and share any and all programs and initiatives!

Our Team

A dedicated team committed to supporting and protecting the Orange County Jewish community.

Ilana Meirovitch

CEO

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Julia Heiman

Director of Policy, Legal, and Government Affairs

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Ilana Meirovitch

CEO

Ilana has over 30 years of executive leadership experience working with large and small organizations, both in the for-profit and nonprofit space. Ilana’s career includes over 25 years with Deloitte, starting out as a CPA and ultimately leading the firm’s HR operations in the US and India. In addition to leading JCAN, Ilana is involved in multiple national programs and initiatives, including the Focus Project, a collaboration of leading Jewish organizations sharing consensus based talking points about issues facing Israel and the Jewish community, Echoes & Reflections, the US’ leading provider of holocaust education, and combating antisemitic and anti-Israel bias in Ethnic Studies education. Born and raised in Israel, Ilana and her family have made Orange County home for the past 35 years.
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Julia A. Heiman

Director of Policy, Legal, and Government Affairs

Julie is an attorney who spent nearly 17 years focusing on national security and other constitutional cases at the United States Department of Justice. Prior to that, Julie spent 3 years as a litigator at O’Melveny and Myers, in the Newport Beach and Washington DC offices. She came to the United States as a refugee from the Soviet Union, and grew up largely in Orange County. After spending years in DC, she was grateful to return home to Orange County in 2014. Julie has long been politically engaged to help ensure the relationship between the United States and Israel remains strong. She expanded her focus to include the safety of the local Jewish community in 2023, after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught. Julie served on JCAN’s Board of Directors from its inception, and left the Department of Justice to focus full time on JCAN’s mission in October 2025.
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