Marlene A. Schillinger has served as Executive Director of Jewish Family Service of Buffalo & Erie County since 1995 and was named President in 2007. 

Ms. Schillinger is an active member of the Jewish and non-Jewish community and participates on numerous committees and boards.  Among others, she is a board member of the National Association of Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies, Niagara Behavioral Healthcare Network, Hebrew Benevolent Loan Association, Food Bank of Western New York and Amherst Senior Center; and a task force member of the Greater Buffalo Partnership on Casino Gambling.  

Ms. Schillinger also is an alumna of the Leadership Buffalo Class of 2000, and was a 2005 fellow of the Community Health Foundation Health Leadership Program.  In 1997 she received the prestigious Outstanding Humanitarian Award from the Chabbad Leavitt of Buffalo. 

Originally from Bayside, Queens, NY, Ms. Schillinger holds a Master of Education degree from the University at Buffalo and lives in Snyder, NY with her husband David Spiezer and son Matthew. 

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Message from the Leadership

For nearly 150 years, Jewish Family Service of Buffalo and Erie County has partnered with families, children, elders and individuals to enhance their dignity and to help them successfully navigate through life transition and personal change.

We are a Jewish-sponsored agency whose core values are informed by our Jewish heritage. The edicts of our faith guide the universality of our vision. In keeping with a key commandment of Judaism, we believe that no one should stand idly by a fellow human being in need.

As such, JFS offers to all a lifeline that leads to new hope and compassionate care – regardless of religious affiliation, ethnicity or ability to pay. We hold firmly that each client, employee, volunteer, contributor and community partner is deserving of dignity, respect and fairness, and that there is a fundamental need for families of every kind to grow and thrive.

To meet these critical objectives, we are committed to helping people help themselves to resolve individual life issues. We operate responsibly toward this end, maintaining strict confidentiality, adhering to all legal and professional standards, and providing services in an ethical manner that does not set false expectation.

Our compassionate health care and social service professionals administer comprehensive programs that offer comfort, counseling and access to a broad network of support. In every service area – from Elder Care to Refugee Resettlement to Behavioral Health – JFS focuses on client-directed treatment of the whole self. We are guided by the intrinsic connection between mental well-being, physical wellness and positive self-worth.

The integrity of our success is based on the high achievement rate of client goals. It also is reflected by our collaborations with other organizations who share our vision for facilitating societal good. In the eloquent words of Elie Wiesel: "All are entitled to live with dignity and respect. All are entitled to live without fear or pain.”

From our beginning, the JFS mission has been to strengthen families and individuals at every stage of life as a reflection of the core values of the Jewish faith.

We continue to grow in this vision with the help of our talented staff, committed supporters and the people we serve. At the end of each day, our goal is for Jewish Family Service of Buffalo and Erie County to become the Western New York agency where all will find a lifeline to remain strong through times of challenge and change.