Nina Tassler - Susie Forer-Dehrey Spirit of Humanity Award Honoree

Hi everybody, I'm Geena Davis and I'm here with someone incredibly special to me and to all of you, I'm sure: Nina Tassler, who I've known almost 50 years, unbelievably. And we are here to celebrate Nina getting the Susie for a Dairy Spirit of Humanity award. So let's talk to Nina. Maybe tell us a little bit about how you got involved with JFS.

And that's you too, you know. You've always, always led with your heart and that's just inherent in who you are.

Yeah, and I've been a fan ever since you became involved with JFS. I've become such a fan of... well, you.

It's wonderful for you to point out how important JFS is and all the incredible things they do.

Nina is amazing. I think the best way to think about Nina is she's a person who sees everyone in the room. She's one of my favorite people, an incredible human being, and someone that you want to hang out with all the time. Probably one of the biggest hearts and one of the fastest minds and one of the strongest wills of anybody I've ever met. I have always been seduced by her eyewear. It has been bold and audacious, just like her. Nina's like a whirling dervish of activity and thoughts and emotions, but with gravitas and focus and dignity. She might appear to be petite, five foot nothing if that, which makes me feel like a giant of a man until you start to get the force of that personality. Throughout her life, Nina has never stood down and has always sought to empower those around her. Nina is as real as real can get. She's been a real role model in the social justice world. When someone throws a gauntlet down before her, she gets this little grin on her face and then you know, oh, Nina just thought, I can do this. She is one of the strongest, most powerful, passionate women I know. And once you are in her world, you never leave it.

Well, exactly. Oh my God. How do you feel seeing that?

So we know each other because we met as freshmen, indeed, when we were studying acting. That's right. And I don't know how long it took us to become inseparable. It might have been really very fast.

Hello, darling. Hello, darling. I'm good. So what are we doing here tonight? Is it game night?

Yes. I want to thank you both for doing this in your home.

So Jerry, we met in a video also. And you guys, how soon did you start to become friends?

Well, I think I met you first. First you, I did an audition with. So I met you right the first movement class. You were in a green leotard. That's right, I did. And we used to get in trouble all the time in our History of the Theater class because it was nine o'clock in the morning. You know who wants a nine o'clock class? I made it one of my missions to get you to laugh. You'd laugh, which I seem to remember.

Jerry, you're involved with JFS in a big way. Talk about your involvement and one of your particular clients.

Yeah, yeah. I got involved with JFS through Nina. She introduced me to the Connect program, who introduced me to a woman named Maxine Heller, who was about 90 something at the time. And her granddaughter Rachel Mason is with us here tonight. So as standard, we lost Maxine about two years ago because she just, you can't live to a thousand years old. And it was an incredible experience for me. And it was more for me. I got more out of it, I think, than Maxine. But we argued about that, who got more. You know, the idea of the program is to help your buddy do things that they necessarily can't do for themselves. Maxine got pretty quickly got the idea that she could do things for herself and she would rather go out to lunch or to the movies or double date with me and Nina at a coyote restaurant. And she loved her margaritas. I didn't drop them off. And she would have her friend Owen, who we've lost also, he was with us as well. With me forever.

Well, you guys mean everything to me for so long. You're my life. And you are also responsible for the lives of some other people. And we have another video that we'd like to show you. So stay for that chair. Thank you.

Unconditional love is something that I've always felt for my parents. I've never felt that there was anywhere or anything that I could do wrong that they wouldn't always try and teach me something about it or still always let me know that they love me at the end of the day. I always felt seen and respected as an individual more so than just a son. They're very loving. They've also welcomed my family with open arms. I don't think there is anything more important to Nina than her family. She's also a really good dog mom. Yes, thank you. Tell me what you think of my mom, Nina. She's always there for anybody and she's a great listener. Both my grandparents were very tolerant, progressive people. The way that Nina grew up with her activist parents and her family values, it totally made sense for her to be part of Jewish Family Service. She always taught me how women were discriminated against and to look out for it. And through what she did with her career and with her social justice, I just saw that so clearly. Someone who affects change or wants to affect change starts with being able to listen and be tolerant and humble to other people. I'm really proud of all the things that she's done and her relationship with JFS and how far she's gone with you guys. Congratulations, mom. We love you. We're super proud of you and we think that you're great.

Yes, and his children. That's right. Beautiful, beautiful kids. And so I think that finishes me for the night. Congratulations, Nina.

So that was wonderful, learning a little bit more about your family and how they feel about you. How about we talk about your career in the industry for a bit? Okay, studied acting and then moved to California and pursued a different path.

But something that you really enjoyed the most and it meant the most?

Speaking of which, we have a final video for you to see. Okay.

Her secret to her success at CBS or in the television industry is the same secret that makes her the great leader she is at JFS. Not only do the best you can and make the best TV shows you can, but to make a difference. This is a good and kind and decent, integral person in a position of power. And I love that some of the best TV shows in the history of the business, audiences got to enjoy it because Nina wouldn't give up. Nina wouldn't take no for an answer. She's truly a creative visionary and has made a huge imprint on network television. She was a huge reason Big Bang Theory got to live. The one thing I will say is that the first time I sat down with Nina, I felt like a great energy and intuitively I felt like, you know what, this is someone that I want to work with. She just was so excited and open and whispered in my ear, I knew they wouldn't kill you off. Of course you were going to stay on the show. And from that moment on, she had me in her back pocket at all times. When she puts herself out to organizations that are serving communities, you quickly realize what you've got. She's putting herself and her sweat equity into it all the time. I met Nina at CBS Television City. I think I was going to dinner with Debbie Barrack. She was telling us a story that just made us crack up and laugh so much and I just thought how lucky Debbie is to get to work with this woman all the time. A marriage that I think was forged initially by Debbie Barron, who recruited us, but also recruited a lot of people. And probably the star of all the people she recruited was me. She just takes the mission of JFS so seriously. Much of her tenure as board chair was during COVID. Usually the tenure for the chairperson is two years, and because of COVID and Nina's ability to pull people in, we asked her to stay on for a third year. We were dealing through COVID with real basic needs: food insecurity, housing insecurities, and mental health issues. And JFS was there under Nina's leadership and not only survived but thrived, serving hundreds and thousands of people. And nothing was going to stop Nina. Nothing was going to stop JFS. So I just want to congratulate you on receiving the Spirit of Humanity award. They know that this has been a special year for all of us. And I have so gratefully appreciated all of your support, your love, and your friendship. And it has just made my life so much fuller. And I hope that you always go from strength to strength and that your world and our world is a better place because of the work that we've done together.

A little bit. So beautiful. So beautiful. Oh, you so deserve it.

I love you.