The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has announced an innovative partnership with The Alban Institute of Herndon, Va., that will bring the expertise of Robert Leventhal, an Alban Institute senior consultant, to a United Synagogue team working to create a new continent-wide leadership development program.

The program will launch in June with web-based training materials and resources for current leaders. Later this year, the new leadership program will be expanded with a pilot group of 20 synagogues; it will be open to emerging leaders, people who are not yet serving on committees or synagogue boards. United Synagogue’s new leadership program will expand Sulam, the organization’s current program for synagogue presidents.

Like all components of United Synagogue’s strategic plan approved earlier this year, the leadership program seeks to strengthen and transform kehillot – sacred communities – that make up its membership across North America. Ultimately, the program’s goal over the next three years is to train and develop a corps of 5,000 leaders, deeply committed Jews who know how to respond to today’s challenges to the Jewish community as they invigorate and revitalize Conservative kehillot continent-wide. Together, Leventhal and the United Synagogue team will work on developing partnerships between United Synagogue and Alban’s research, publishing and consulting staff. The Rabbinical Assembly, the International Association of Conservative/Masorti Rabbis, will also participate in development and implementation of the initiative.