We’ve been living through a period of significant transition in the Jewish nonprofit world, with executive shake-ups announced across our landscape over the past two years, the shuttering of treasured partners like Bamidbar and the Gender Equity in Hiring Project this year, and now swings from optimism to cynicism as we follow news coming from the Middle East.

At Moving Traditions, we aren’t strangers to this type of change. In February 2025, Moving Traditions acquired jGirls+. It was a coming together of two Jewish, youth-serving, feminist organizations, one which was thoughtfully covered in this very publication. 

Lynn Renee Photography for Moving Traditions

Jewish teen editorial and photography fellows gather to learn, collaborate, and build community at the jGirls+ Magazine retreat in Fall 2025.

Eight months into the acquisition, we are flush with pride at how seamless and easy the transition has been and how it has already enabled us to reach more teens, leading to the most successful year of programmatic and participation growth in Moving Traditions’ history. It presents a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what has allowed this merger to be so successful and to share those learnings with the broader Jewish institutional world.

1.) Rethink how you define power

“These hard conversations don’t feel that hard.”

It’s something Elizabeth said to Shuli in the midst of the discussions about the merger that held the most potential for conflict: negotiations around salaries and drafting terms about what happens if the partnership does not work out. We were both advocating, zealously and strenuously, for the organizations and programs we loved; but at the same time, throughout the negotiation process, there was still a sense of non-judgment and inclusion — we were welcoming of each other to speak transparently and truthfully. What usually feels very hard just didn’t feel that hard. 

One of the reasons our tough negotiations felt relatively easy was because we both came into the conversations embracing feminist notions of power, which are radically different from the conventional dynamic for these interactions. In conventional negotiations, power is a zero-sum game: one person gaining it means the other party is losing it. But our negotiations recognized that the sharing of power could be additive. That is true because we both think of power, not as something to be wielded over others but as having access to the space, tools and support to step into one’s own strength, influence in the boldest and most effective way and create opportunity for others to grow alongside us. Both of our organizations and both of us as professionals came into the negotiations pursuing this kind of power; with the knowledge that we would each get to do more of the work that nourishes us, and less of the work that is hard for us, if we started working together. That would mean we would bring more joy and energy to the work itself, benefiting all the Jewish teens we reach, and in turn the communities in which they live. 

2.) Engage in cheshbon ha’nefesh (inquisitive introspection) to make sure your actions reflect what you believe

Both of us have had the unfortunate experience of working with or for people who espoused feminist values — who talked the talk of empowerment and decentralizing authority — but then failed to act in alignment with those values. They hoarded power, distrusted the judgment of those around them and exercised inflexibility around how and when work was done. 

Something we each tried to bring to the acquisition was a desire to learn from one another, acknowledge areas of growth and use that growth to support one another. That orientation toward continuous learning and introspection is hard, but it cemented our understanding that we would be collaborative colleagues who would always enjoy and grow from each other’s thought partnership. 

3.) Take your time

When we first started discussing the acquisition, we hoped to come together within a few months. Instead, we followed the advice of Aliza Mazor, chief philanthropic engagement officer of UpStart, to slow down and take our time. This allowed us the space to hammer out the difficult details described above, without the pressure of an arbitrary deadline. Additionally, over a 15-month period, we were able to learn in depth about each other’s organization, work style, culture, goals and vision. The staff members of both organizations had the opportunity to get to know one another, ask questions, share concerns and hopes. By the time the acquisition went through, we all felt comfortable and confident and were able to hit the ground running.

4.) Question your assumptions 

After the merger was announced, we were surprised to see hesitation and fear peppered among the joy expressed in feminist Jewish circles online. As some rightly pointed out, the Jewish feminist sector is shrinking, and this partnership means there is one less Jewish feminist nonprofit out in the world. That fear is not completely unfounded. Jewish feminist programming is woefully underfunded, and we all know of much-needed Jewish feminist organizations that have not been able to sustain operations in the recent past. 

But in this case, both organizations came into the collaboration from a place of strength: strong financials, strong programs and strong staff. The result, therefore, has been a joint organization that is stronger, more effective and more impactful than the sum of its parts. While we decry the shrinking of the Jewish feminist landscape, we see this partnership as a corrective to this trend, not a contribution to it. 

5.) Embrace the idea that feminist leadership is not just for feminist organizations

We are proud to be two feminist organizations pursuing collaboration through a feminist vision of power. But we believe this is a model for all organizations, even those that aren’t feminist.

Our hope in writing this article is that organizations of all kinds will strive for a different kind of leadership and power-sharing. We hope sharing our own paths to success will serve as a powerful example, not only for the Jewish feminist ecosystem, but for all curious and ethical organizations that want to grow sustainably and in pursuit of a stronger Jewish community. 

Shuli Karkowsky is the chief executive officer at Moving Traditions, bringing extensive nonprofit management experience from organizations including UJA-Federation of New York, 70 Faces Media and Hazon, as well as prior legal experience at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.  

Elizabeth Mandel is the vice president of feminist programs at Moving Traditions, bringing extensive experience in media and community building, including founding jGirls+ Magazine, as well as prior work with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the United Nations and the Asia Foundation.