Spertus Institute announces the Jewish professionals selected for the third cohort of its Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism
Jewish leaders need tools and training to respond to the troubling rise in antisemitism.
To address this urgent need, Chicago-based Spertus Institute is training Jewish leaders to address antisemitic incidents with expertise and nuance.
The third cohort of Spertus Institute’s Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism (LCCA), which began in August 2024, includes nineteen leaders who hail from twelve U.S. states, as well as Ontario, Canada.
These leaders work for a diverse range of organizations, including Jewish education organizations, Jewish Community Centers, Federations, the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, foundations, interreligious centers, synagogues, museums, and Jewish social service organizations.
These front-line leaders will work together with a team of experts over a period of four months. The LCCA program will equip them to respond to antisemitism with knowledge, strength, and skill.
LCCA Cohort 3 participants. Image: Spertus Institute, Chicago.
LCCA Cohort 3
The nineteen leaders (pictured above, left to right) selected for the third cohort of Spertus Institute’s Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism are:
Amy Amiel of New York, NY
Chief Program Officer, The Jewish Education Project
Elana Berlin of Skokie, IL
Program Officer, Jewish Life, Walder Foundation
Susan Berman of East Hills, NY
Vice President Community Engagement, Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center
Talyah Breslin of Thornhill, ON
Chief Executive Officer, Jewish Family and Child Service of Greater Toronto
Lael Gray of Foster City, CA
Chief Operating Officer, Peninsula Jewish Community Center
Stephanie Hague of Providence, RI
Chief Policy Officer, Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island
Ariella Loewenstein of Los Angeles, CA
Deputy Regional Director, Anti-Defamation League, Los Angeles
Neta Meltzer of Overland Park, KS
Director, Community and Government Relations, Jewish Community Relations Bureau | AJC Kansas City
Dr. Ted Merwin of Pikesville, MD
Senior Writer, Jewish Federations of North America
Wendy Miller Gamer of Huntington Woods, MI
Senior Education Program Associate, Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
Jared Mintz of St. James, NY
Vice President of Communications, Commonpoint Queens
Tara Ohayon of Dallas, TX
Assistant Executive Director, Aaron Family Jewish Community Center of Dallas
Rabbi Joseph Prass of Dunwoody, GA
Director of the Weinberg Center for Holocaust Education, The Breman Museum
Jacob Rosenblum of Denver, CO
Director of Jewish Community Grants & Partnerships, Rose Community Foundation
Rebecca Saidlower of Brooklyn, NY
Executive Director, Community Mobilizers and Regional Planning, UJA-Federation of New York
Rabbi Jack Shlachter of Los Alamos, NM
Rabbi, Los Alamos Jewish Center
Ardyth Sokoler of Sacramento, CA
Director of Education, Congregation Bet Haverim
Allison Steinberg of Maple, ON
Chief Executive Officer, JVS Toronto
Dr. Scott Taylor of Fort Lee, NJ
Chief Program Officer, YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood
Responding with Skill and Nuance
Learning at Spertus Institute combines theory and practice. LCCA gives leaders the context to understand the development, complexities, and expression of antisemitism, its impact on Jews and Jewish communities, and the relationship of antisemitism to other hatred. The program helps participants develop communication strategies to respond to antisemitism, as well as tools to build bridges and alliances within and beyond the Jewish community.
Sessions are taught and facilitated by accomplished Spertus faculty members, who have significant academic expertise and real-world experience. Case studies give leaders a chance to work through antisemitic incidents in a practical and applicable way. The cohort-based program also gives students a network of institutional leaders who can leverage each other’s talents, resources, relationships, and support.
“The program provides leaders in the Jewish community the knowledge, tools, and network to be able to do their work. They develop the skills to understand, contextualize, and develop strategies to respond to antisemitism,” says Dr. Dean P. Bell, President & CEO of Spertus Institute. “We don’t just talk about the issues. We prepare our students to combat antisemitism in context-specific and nuanced ways that make a difference.”
Visionary Programs
Well before the Hamas attacks of October 7, Spertus recognized a need for a program that would give leaders across North America the background and tools they need to respond to the rising threat of antisemitism. Spertus launched LCCA in January 2023.
In another exciting initiative, Spertus recently launched the Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism for Lay Leaders (LCCA-LL) to help non-staff board members and trustees of Jewish organizations address antisemitism. These lay leaders guide organizations but don’t always have access to the training that executives and professionals may have. Applications are open now for the first cohort of LCCA-LL, which will begin in February 2025. Those interested may contact Spertus Institute’s Associate Director for Recruitment Amie Barrish at abarrish@spertus.edu. Application fees are waived until October 15, 2024.
Spertus Institute is a partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community.
The Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism is a program of Spertus Institute’s Center for Jewish Leadership, made possible in part by a grant from the Crown Family.