Janice Kamenir-Reznik is a community organizer, activist and the co-founder of the Jewish World Watch, an Encino-based organization with a mission to stop genocide throughout the world.

The Encino woman was recognized earlier this year “as one of Los Angeles’ most influential activists, having dedicated her life to tackling social injustices in an effort to make our community a better, more tolerant place,” according to the resolution signed and approved unanimously by City Council members.

Thursday, she was celebrated on Huffington Post's Impact page as the "Greatest Person of the Day."

Kamenir-Reznik said in an interview with Encino Patch that she is somewhat embarrassed by all the attention. What really matters to her is that her cause has drawn so much attention by the city.

“We can’t just say ‘never again’ for Jewish people alone," she said. "We must never allow a genocide to take place anywhere in the world without activists trying to stop it.”

Kamenir-Reznik said she was one of five children from a family with strong core values about using their time on earth to make an impact, which is one of the reasons she used her education as an Encino attorney to champion other causes, including many women’s issues earlier in her career.

Kamenir-Reznik attributes her current activism to a flash of conscience that came about 6 1/2 years ago, when the visionary founder of Jewish World Watch, 87-year-old Rabbi Harold Schulweis, gave a passionate presentation on the little-known genocide in Darfur. She and Schulweis later had a discussion about genocide that opened her eyes, Kamenir-Reznik said.

“I asked her, during our Holocaust, where were the churches? The pope? The priests and the people of faith? Where were the academicians?” Schulweis said.

“I was mortified. I realized at that moment I had never really thought about anybody else’s genocide," Kamenir-Reznik said. "I was so focused on post-Holocaust issues, I didn’t realize there were genocides happening currently that could be stopped. By the time I was first learning about Darfur, over 200,000 people were already dead.”

From that day on, Kamenir-Reznik went into action mode. She had a clear understanding of what needed to be done from many years as a community organizer. Trusting in the innate goodness of the community, she started by going to synagogues to educate, advocate and fund-raise.

Jewish World Watch focused on Sudan and the Congo and implemented water projects, solar-cooker projects, schools, five medical clinics, safe spaces for kids, and social services to the women and children in crisis, according to the organization's website.

“Star power can help a lot—Clooney has proved that,” Kamenir-Reznik said, referring to actor-director George Clooney.

Kamenir-Reznik met Clooney in 2006 when she was part of an effort to persuade California’s pension funds to divest from oil companies supporting the oppressive Sudanese regime. She was in Sacramento with Clooney and actor Don Cheadle when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed two bills into law requiring the state's public pension funds to shed companies doing business in the war-torn African country. She said she traveled to Congo with Ben Affleck and his organization, Eastern Congo Initiative and hopes to partner up on preventing child soldiers.

“It’s not every day that we can say we are honoring somebody that has actually changed the world for the better, but in Janice’s case, that’s exactly what she has done,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz, who represents the 5th District.

The honor by the City Council came in conjunction with another honor from Jewish World Watch called “Global Soul.” The special event planned by the organization is described on its Web site as a “festive multicultural evening and tribute to Janice Kamenir-Reznik.” The event, which drew more than 500 attendees, was held at Sinai Temple on Wilshire Boulevard in January.

Another accomplishment Kamenir-Reznik spoke about is the implementation of after-school activist-certification and training programs in 60 Los Angeles high schools, designed to empower younger generations with the tools to become community leaders.

“These programs are about building long-term activist skills and making better global citizens,” Kamenir-Reznik said.

She said she is surprised by the momentum of the organization, considering the first years were all volunteer efforts. Now she has 90 percent of Los Angeles synagogues involved, she said, involving 350,000 people. The center employs a staff of 10 and brings in $2 million per year through fundraising. Fifty percent goes directly to the refugee camps in Sudan, Kamenir-Reznik said.

“This award to Janice is a tribute to humanity, the Jewish people and the city of Los Angeles that has so many people who have experienced the horrors of extermination,” Schulweis said.

Kamenir-Reznik’s husband, attorney Ben Reznik, didn't foresee the reach the organization was going to have, but said he isn’t surprised, considering the initial 18-hour workdays she dedicated to the cause.

"It’s so nice to see her tireless dedication publicly recognized,” he said.

“I don’t get to change any laws,” Kamenir-Reznik joked, “but teaching activist skills to the community and our youth is really how you change the world.”