By Julie Finkelstein and Andrew Fretwell Late summer means two things for our social media feeds: leaving camp and arriving to college. Seasonally vacated cabins and yet to be filled dorms will settle upon our screens courtesy of campers, staff, parents, and camp professionals as they transition from their summer affairs back to the realities of autumn. Too few will recognize that camp is not only a joyful reprise from the drudgeries of academics and career preparation; it is a wellspring for personal and professional development. … [Read more...]
It’s Time To Talk About Gender … Again
By Dr. Hal M. Lewis As a Professor and the CEO of an Institute dedicated to growing lay and professional leaders, I am increasingly concerned that even our most enlightened programs of training and development are failing to address critical issues related to gender in the nonprofit workplace.[1] Approaching this season of introspection and reflection, my hope is that as a Jewish community we can shine a new light on these matters, which we ignore at our peril. I arrive at these conclusions not because I am so sophisticated or progressive, but because, as Rabbi Hanina might say[2], I have learned the most about this issue from my female graduate students and alumnae. My concerns go well beyond the issues first brought to our attention several years ago by the pioneers in the field, Shifra … [Read more...]
Exit Strategies – 10 Strategies for Successful Leadership Change
By Richard Marker Readers, students, and clients all know that I urge all funders to take “exit strategies” seriously as an indispensable component of effective grantmaking. A workshop on this subject is a popular unit of our courses and a frequently requested conference presentation. An attendee of one of those conferences who did not attend my session had heard that I had spoken about exit strategies and contacted me to see if I would share the PPT. While I was open to do so, I learned that her interest was not about exit strategies for their grantmaking but her own. Approaching retirement, she was looking for guidelines to help the foundation she headed have a smooth transition to a successor. In reviewing my funder exit strategies guidelines, it was clear that only some of those apply … [Read more...]
JCC Association of North America and JTS’s Davidson School Develop Leadership Training Collaboration
JCC Association of North America, in partnership with the Leadership Commons, part of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of The Jewish Theological Seminary, announces the launch of the JCC Leadership Training Institute. The JCC Leadership Training Institute is for JCC professionals who seek to advance to senior leadership positions in the next two to five years. The Institute will teach key concepts and skills critical to leadership and management of Jewish communal institutions and engage participants in Jewish learning. “The JCC Leadership Training Institute focuses on developing strong skills in vision, leadership,and management, filtered through the Jewish lenses of text, tradition, history, and culture. The program targets mid-career professionals seeking advancement, as … [Read more...]
CEO Onboarding Program announces Second Cohort
Leading Edge, the Alliance for Excellence in Jewish Leadership, has announced the 14 participants in Cohort Two of its CEO Onboarding Program, a 12-month leadership development experience designed to help senior leaders of Jewish organizations confront the unique challenges and opportunities facing the American Jewish community. These new cohort members represent a diverse swath of executive directors and CEOs from Jewish nonprofit organizations. Over the course of the CEO Onboarding Program, cohort members will forge connections with peers in the American Jewish community; learn with and from expert veterans in the field; collaborate with trained leadership coaches; hone their management skills at the preeminent Center for Creative Leadership; and participate in a one-of-a-kind, on-the-ground … [Read more...]
Leadership Development Programs; Are Funders too Elitist in our Approach?
By Richard Marker Leadership development programs abound. It is a rare week when we don’t read of another one sponsored by an impressive organization and funded by one or more foundations and philanthropists. Why not? If we want to make change, isn’t it best to invest in leaders, either current or potential? Is there a more efficient way than to buy into the “multiplier effect”? If we want innovation, isn’t the mantra to invest in people, not programs? If we want to have inspired institutions, don’t we need inspired and inspiring leaders? And more. Not everyone in our field funds this way, of course, but it is fair to say that the dominant approach to funding change is to do so around leadership models. A closer look reveals something even more telling. Selected a.k.a. future or … [Read more...]
With $3.8m gift, JDC launches Kaplan Leadership Initiative
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) has launched the Kaplan Leadership Initiative, a new Jewish community professional training program focusing on overseas Jewish communities. The new initiative - created through a founding gift from Carol Kaplan, a JDC board member and President of the Kaplan Foundation, together with her husband Ed - will provide the crucial tools and support needed to cultivate leadership among Jewish community professionals in Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Latin America. The Kaplan’s $3.8 million gift ensures a six-year platform with three cohorts of Jewish professionals from 18 countries. The 135 Fellows will be culled from mid-to senior-level managers at a variety of Jewish institutions, including Jewish social service and welfare groups, Jewish … [Read more...]
EdTech Training: Up, Up and Away
[This article is part 4 of the series Continuing Conversations on Leveraging Educational Technology to Advance Jewish Learning. The series is a project of Jewish Funders Network, the Jim Joseph Foundation, and the William Davidson Foundation. For an in-depth look at opportunities in Jewish Ed Tech and digital engagement, read Smart Money: Recommendations for an Educational Technology and Digital Engagement Investment Strategy. Later this year, Jewish Funders Network will launch a new website to help advance the field of Jewish educational technology.] By Smadar Goldstein with Stan Peerless There are many professions that require practitioners to participate in ongoing professional development, and rightfully so. After all, for example, we would not want a patient to be treated by an oncologist … [Read more...]
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