Spertus is on the move! In mid-July, Dana Kresel, Director of the Center for Jewish Leadership, traveled to the St. Louis and Kansas City Jewish communities for an array of community visits.
While Spertus calls Chicago home, we are proud to serve communities across North America and beyond! In addition to regularly hosting students from across our graduate and certificate programs at our campus, our staff intentionally schedule community visit to meet our students, alumni, and Jewish communal leaders directly in the spaces where they live and work every day.
During her recent visits, Dana met with Jewish communal professionals from local federations, social service agencies, synagogues, public affairs and advocacy offices, and many other organizations that serve the Jewish community. Meeting with students, alumni, and mentors across our programs (including CSEL, CJL, and MAJPS) offers invaluable insight into what makes each community special and ensures our programs are directly responding to and reflecting the needs of Jewish communal leaders. There’s nothing better than experiencing the energy and creativity of each community firsthand and celebrating the diversity of Jewish communal life!
This past year, we visited Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Tucson, Toronto, Boston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland, and Seattle. We continue to cover the map and are far from done!
We love visiting you in your hometowns and seeing the incredible impact of our network in action. Watch out — we might just be in your community next!
Pictured:
Top – Dana’s visit to St. Louis:
- Jewish Federation of St. Louis (upper left) – Michael Lourie, VP Public Affairs and Marci Eisen, Director of Leadership Initiatives & JPro staff
- JFS (upper right) – Matt Schindler, interim CEO, and Stephanie Harris, Human Resources Director
- United Hebrew Congregation (lower left) – Cori Neidenberg, Executive Director and Certificate in Synagogue Executive Leadership program alum
- Faculty Meet-Up (lower center) with Ed Reggi, who teaches in the Certificate in Jewish Leadership
- The Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum (lower right) – Helen Turner, Director of Education
Bottom – Dana’s visit to Kansas City:
- Mentor Meet-Up (upper left) with Todd Stettner, former President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Kansas City, who mentors students in the MAJPS program
- JFS KC (upper right) – Angela De Wilde, Executive Director & CEO, and Moshit Snir, incoming MAJPS Student and Jewish Chaplaincy Program Manager and Social Worker
- Jewish Community Relations Bureau | AJC (lower left) – Neta Meltzer, Executive Director and alum of the Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism
- Beth Torah in Overland Park (lower right) – Damien Timms, Executive Director and Certificate in Synagogue Executive Leadership program alum.