COJECO (Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations) is about to launch the second year of Keystone Fellowship, a program designed to cultivate and nurture Jewish leaders in the New York Metro area.

The Keystone Fellowship is a prestigious leadership experience for distinguished lay leaders and philanthropists – a collaborative cohort including Russian-speaking and American Jewish New Yorkers. Throughout the program, participants will explore their common history, examine various models of applied leadership, tackle some of the current challenges in the Jewish community, and work jointly to steer the future development of Jewish life. This Fellowship is a unique effort to cultivate and nurture leaders committed to shaping the Jewish future and strengthening their nominating organization.

In its second year, the Fellowship will build on successes and lessons from the inaugural cohort and continue to grow and develop exceptional leaders that will create positive impact in the Jewish community.

Funded by the UJA-Federation of NY, the Keystone Fellowship is a unique partnership bringing the experience and reach of COJECO and the reputation and expertise of the NYU Wagner School of Public Service. Upon completion of the program, Fellows will earn a graduate certificate from NYU Wagner – one of the top executive leadership graduate programs in North America.

This year long program will include an intensive three-day retreat, an immersive learning experience in a Jewish community abroad, and 15 evening sessions dedicated to covering the wide range of skills and knowledge critical to contemporary leadership. The entire program will weave together a journey of exploring personal and communal Jewish identity with the practical skills of institutional leadership, deeply rooted in Jewish values.

Fellows are selected through a competitive application process. Individuals who demonstrate strong leadership qualities can be nominated by professionals and lay leaders in the New York Jewish Community. Qualified applicants are invited to apply to create the second cohort of 18 candidates. Application and nomination process is open and the program will begin January 2017. Application is available online at www.cojeco.org/keystone/

An Information Session about the Keystone Fellowship for representatives of nominating agencies as well as potential program applicants will take place on November 3, 2016 at 6:30 pm at Kimball Hall, 246 Greene street, Main Floor, New York.

To RSVP to the Information Session, please email Irina Rakhlis (Program Manager) at irinar@cojeco.org

To learn more about the program, please visit www.cojeco.org/keystone/