by Daniel Bloom and Ariel Beery The movie Moneyball sets a scene that could be easily adapted for a gathering of educators in the teacher’s lounge. Around a paper-packed table, older, more experienced individuals are trying to dissuade a new up-and-coming manager that his approach using technology to determine what the right composition of the baseball team was not going to work. “We’ve been doing this a long time,” one of the more wizened coaches told Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt. But Billy pushes back, “You don’t even understand the problem.” What Billy realized is that his experienced advisers were looking at the world as it was yesterday, as opposed to what it could be tomorrow. Experience, in times of rapid change, can bring as many challenges as it brings solutions. New … Continue Reading
Apply Today for a Local PresenTense Fellowship
Too many great ideas never leave the back of the napkin. Don't throw yours away! Turn your passionate idea into a venture that engages and inspires the Jewish Community to make your city a better place. Apply today to be a fellow at one of PresenTense’s 10 Local Fellowships where you will learn the tools, practice the skills, and connect with the community that will help you launch the venture that keeps you up brainstorming late at night. Choose your city below to learn more and apply! Application deadlines are coming up this week, so don’t delay in sending yours in! Boston CJP Fellowship: Nov 21 Chicago Fellowship: Nov 16 Cleveland Fellowship: Nov 20 Jerusalem Fellowship: Nov 20 Kaet Moscow Fellowship: Dec 4 NYC Fellowship: Dec 11 Tel Aviv Fellowship: TBA Threshold … Continue Reading
Back to the (Jewish) Future
Back to the (Jewish) Future: The Six Demands of the Next Generation of Lay Leadership by Ben Wiener [Earlier this month, I was named one of the two winners of the 2011 Jewish Futures Competition, sponsored by the Jewish Education Project and JESNA's Lippman Kanfer Institute. As part of the competition, my winning video was shown at the Jewish Futures Conference held at the GA in Denver this past week, and I also presented my venture (tenpartners.org) and my view of the Jewish Future. Here are my remarks.] I’ve been asked to give my view of the Jewish Future. Now I’m not a prophet but it seems to me that at least with regard to young lay leadership the Jewish Future does not look good. You know as well as I do that the numbers are headed in the wrong direction. The Federation had a … Continue Reading
The Power of Network Development
by Deborah Fishman After being a part of the ROI conference for Jewish innovators last June, David Brown, Social Action Coordinator at JHub in London, came home inspired - and filled with questions. How do these young Jews and the initiatives they represent relate to the establishment? And what is “Jewish” about Jewish innovation, anyway? There are many approaches David could have taken to seek answers. Ultimately, I encouraged him to conduct a SurveyMonkey.com survey of around 70 innovators he was in contact with, the results of which he distilled for PresenTense Magazine. By utilizing the power of his network, David learned what his peers were thinking about the issues on his mind - resulting in a new consciousness of the “why” behind what he does that will inform his sense of … Continue Reading
A Full Clip for the Jewish Future
by Naomi Korb Weiss and Shelby Zitelman For a moment, imagine yourself a shareholder of a multinational corporation that has been in a state of gradual but perpetual decline. Over the past two decades, the customer base has been cut by half. Revenue hasn't declined significantly but it is generated by increased sales to customers who are quickly aging out of the market. New customer acquisition strategies have centered on advertising and marketing, but the conversion rate is lower than replacement value. Despite an investment in ongoing training and development, your executive class is aging out almost as quickly as your customer base, and at the moment it is pretty clear that there isn't a succession plan in place for the majority of company divisions. If you were a shareholder of this … Continue Reading
Applications Open for PresenTense SocialStart Trainers
PresenTense is opening its doors for applications for SocialStart Trainers in North America. SocialStarters train community entrepreneurs and organizational professionals, providing them with skills and tools to launch innovative ventures to impact the Jewish community. Ideal candidates are professionals or graduate students who enjoy speaking and presenting and are passionate about making the Jewish world a better place. Through PresenTense, SocialStarters have the opportunity to develop critical skills, gain visibility, access a dynamic network of innovators and earn supplementary income. SocialStarters participate in a Trainers Course facilitated by PresenTense where they are trained in pedagogy, facilitation and venture development. Upon certification SocialStarters will have the … Continue Reading
Two Upcoming Perspectives Study Tours Announced
Perspectives Israel is opening registration for two study tours during the upcoming academic year, funded through a grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. Perspectives Israel is a platform for enabling emerging leaders and activists dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict to engage with the Jewish-Israeli spectrum of the conflict. Containing a kaleidoscope of viewpoints, Perspectives does not advocate any particular solution to the conflict, but rather promotes the values of dialogue, understanding and empathy along with critical thinking. Perspectives Israel was founded by ROI member and PresenTense alumni Chaim Landau. … Continue Reading
PresenTense to Launch in Seven New Cities
Jerusalem, Israel, Sept 7, 2011 - PresenTense is excited to announce that in the 2011-12 season, it will expand its social entrepreneur fellowships to reach 13 programs in 10 cities around the world. In addition to seven new programs in Chicago, Washington DC, Cleveland, Kansas City, Nachlaot Jerusalem, Moscow, and a global fellowship with the WCJCC, PresenTense will also renew its partnerships with existing communities in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv, and will operate its sixth summer Global Institute. The fellowships, run as part of the Community Entrepreneur Partnership (CEP) developed by PresenTense, are owned and managed by local partners in each of the cities, including Federations, JCCs, and in Moscow, the JDC. The Community Entrepreneur Partnership is a … Continue Reading
Five Years and Who Knows What’s Changed
In the summer of 2006, I was set on pitching a new magazine in what I was told would be a four-day global contest for funding held in Jerusalem. The magazine, of course, was PresenTense, an effort a few friends of mine and I started in December of 2005 in Morningside Heights of Manhattan. After months of unsuccessful attempts to raise $10,000 for the first print run and distribution, we ended up printing it ourselves. For $5,000 that a friend and mentor gave me, and around $5,000 that lived on as a (growing) debt on our credit cards, we printed 1000 copies of what we called 'Issue Zero' and tried to leverage these copies to gain subscribers and advertisers. We saw this conference as our chance to shine. It brought 120 innovators from around the world and was structured around a series of pitches and … Continue Reading
PresenTense Summer Fellowship Launches Cultural/Educational Projects
This summer’s cohort at the PresenTense Global Summer Institute included three fellows whose ventures touch the Jewish cultural/educational field. Here’s a look at two projects recently launched: from Los Angeles, California, Anne Hromadka: Anne holds dual masters degrees in Jewish Communal Service (Hebrew Union College, LA) and Public Art Studies (USC). Anne is working on NuART [Insert Jewish Culture Here] that, once completed, will be a fully functional art gallery and educational space set-up inside an altered RV. This mobile art space will house cutting edge installations, sound-pieces, performances, paintings, sketches and videos. One year from now, Anne tells eJP, "NuART will be touring in the SoCal area - headed to a street near you, bringing Jewish art and education to all our … Continue Reading
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