Photo: Dana Kresel
Spertus Welcomes Dana Kresel as Director of the Center for Jewish Leadership
As the Director of the Center for Jewish Leadership, Dana will oversee the offerings and strategic growth of the Center, which features an MA in Jewish Professional Studies, Leadership Certificate in Combating Antisemitism, Certificate in Jewish Leadership offered in partnership with Northwestern University, as well as a range of professional training programs.
Most recently, Dana served as Executive Director of SketchPad, Chicago’s Jewish collaborative co-working community. Prior to that, she served as the Associate Director for Columbia University’s Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and as the Development and Program Associate for the Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel.
For over a decade, Dana held various leadership roles in the independent minyan Kehilat Hadar in New York City. Dana holds an MS in Nonprofit Management from Columbia University. She is also a graduate of the Joint Program of the Jewish Theological Seminary and Columbia University, where she earned BAs in Modern Jewish Studies and History.
“Dana has a deep commitment to excellence in Jewish nonprofit organizations and Jewish education. She has a rich and broad range of experiences that will be a great asset for all of our important work,” says Dr. Keren E. Fraiman, Spertus Institute Dean & Chief Academic Officer. “I know that Dana will be an essential part of the leadership team at Spertus and that her passion will help us drive forward the growth vision at the Institute.”
Dana lives in Chicago with her husband and young daughter. Outside of work, Dana loves finding and cooking vegetarian dishes, listening to a wide variety of podcasts, and reading fiction (although nowadays, children’s books are on heavy rotation). As a Southern ex-pat, she regularly says “y’all.”
Welcome, Dana!