Jonah Zimiles
Position: Treasurer
Jonah founded [words] bookstore in 2009 and has incorporated people with autism into its mission from the very start. To date, his bookshop has hired or provided vocational training to more than 100 young people with autism as part of its vocational training program. The store, which he co-owns with his wife, Ellen, also welcomes patrons with autism and other developmental disorders. The couple has two children, including a son with autism. In addition to supporting people with autism, Jonah has also grown [words] to become a nationally recognized independent bookshop. Publishers Weekly named [words] as one of five finalists for Bookstore of the Year in 2020, and the shop consistently welcomes high-profile, award-winning authors to share their work. The Zimiles opened [words] after Jonah graduated from Columbia Business School with concentrations in management and social enterprise. Before opening the bookstore, he spent a dozen years as a practicing attorney, then four years as an endowment director of a major national charity, followed by six years as a stay-at-home Dad managing his son’s autism-services home program.