Tag: community leadership

My lemon tree started blooming, which is exciting. I planted it a year ago and now it is officially on its way to producing fruit. I have learned, however, that it takes eight months after flowering for a lemon tree to produce a lemon. I have newfound respect for such a citrus.

I’m also waiting on an avocado tree to arrive. Though, I know that will likewise take some time to warm up and it could be months if not years before I see any avocados (for those keeping track, my pomegranate tree took six years to produce any pomegranates).

There’s an obvious metaphor here about the importance of planting for the future and looking forward to the fruits of one’s labor. But the small white lemon flowers currently gracing my backyard have me thinking less about legacy and more about faith. Perhaps it’s because I was recently introduced to a Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z”l, quote, “Faith is the belief in the power of possibility over the power of probability.”

Gardening is an enjoyable way to live in the realm of the probable. If I take care of my plants appropriately and combine the key ingredients of soil, water, sun, and nutrients, there is a good chance that they will grow and thrive and produce something beautiful (though never a given). My olive trees have yet to produce olives. But I’m pretty sure they will, and this is comforting.

It’s much harder, though, to have that same peace of mind when it comes to the possible—that which has a chance of occurring but only if dedicated people make it so.

There are a lot of things headed in the wrong direction. And as we ramp up to America’s semi-quincentennial and another election cycle, it all seems to be reaching a fever pitch. Finding our way forward as we build Jewish life in the context of uncertainty and political extremism will be hard and messy work, and success is certainly not guaranteed.

But for all the very real challenges facing the Jewish people, we have everything we need in Jewish Greater Washington to make the possible real. Our collective creativity, leadership, resources, and commitment have never been greater. Jewish history, in fact, is a compendium of the less likely thing happening, so it wouldn’t be out of character for us to believe in new possibilities and bring them to fruition.

In the next few years, we will wrestle with questions that cut to the core of who we are and what we aspire to be as individuals, citizens, a community, and the Jewish people. And while we need to be clear-eyed about what’s going on around us, it’s also part of our mandate to see things as they could be.

That’s a driving force for us at Federation, to support our community in grappling with and responding to what is unfolding while also working to realize our shared vision of the future. We must take the probable seriously, but it is equally important to feed and water the possible and, together, help it take root.

Shabbat Shalom, with a twist.

On any given day in Northern Virginia, there may be a young professionals happy hour in Arlington, a family challah bake in Fairfax, a food packing event in Alexandria, or an Israeli dance class in Reston.

The challenge isn’t whether Jewish life exists across Northern Virginia. It’s whether people know how to find it.

When someone decides they want to get more connected, if they’re new to the area, looking to meet other young families, searching for Jewish experiences for their children, or simply hoping to find community the next question is often:

“Where do I even start???”

Do you Google? Scroll Instagram? Check three different community websites? Or find out about something amazing an hour after it already happened?

Making Jewish Life Easier to Find

That’s the opportunity behind JLive, a new digital platform coming to Northern Virginia later this year through a partnership between the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and the Pozez Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia.

Launching first in Northern Virginia before a future rollout across Washington D.C. and Maryland, JLive is designed to make discovering and sharing Jewish programs, events, and experiences easier than ever before. From Shabbat dinners and cultural events to volunteer opportunities, family programs, and young adult gatherings, the platform will serve as a centralized hub for Jewish life across the region.

Building Connection Across Northern Virginia

“Our community spans a wide geographic area, and JLive has the potential to make Jewish life feel more connected, accessible, and visible than ever before,” said Vanessa Sax, Federation’s Senior Director of Strategy and Community Building for Northern Virginia. “It’s not only about helping people find events, but also about helping people find one another and discover the incredible Jewish experiences already happening across Northern Virginia every day.”

For years, Pozez JCC Executive Director Jeff Dannick has been thinking deeply about how to make Jewish life easier to navigate and more accessible. While the region is home to a thriving Jewish ecosystem, many residents still experience Jewish life in silos, connected to one organization, neighborhood, or stage of life without visibility into the broader community around them.

JLive can help change that.

“One of my greatest hopes has always been to make Jewish life across Northern Virginia easier to access, easier to navigate, and easier to feel part of, no matter your zip code, background, or stage of life,” said Dannick. “Northern Virginia is home to a dynamic and growing Jewish community, and JLive will help shine a brighter light on all that’s already happening while creating new opportunities for connection and belonging.”

Creating More Pathways into Jewish Life

The initiative reflects Federation’s broader role as a connector, convener, and community builder across Greater Washington: investing in tools and partnerships that help lower barriers to participation, amplify the work of local organizations, and create more pathways into Jewish life.

“JLive is a powerful tool to amplify the incredible work happening across our community,” said Gil Preuss, Federation CEO. “Jeff’s leadership and vision have been instrumental in bringing this initiative forward, and we are proud to partner with the Pozez JCC to launch a platform that strengthens connections, lowers barriers to participation, and helps more people find meaningful pathways into Jewish community.”

There’s a whole community out there waiting to be discovered—opportunities to learn, try something new, meet new people, and build lasting friendships. Through initiatives like JLive, Federation is helping more people find their place within it.

See what’s happening in our community and how you can get involved through Federation’s Community Calendar.

How do we build a healthier Jewish community rooted in respect, trust, and constructive dialogue, when it feels like we can barely agree on anything?

That’s the one million dollar question, and it’s exactly what brought 22 local leaders from throughout Greater Washington together over the last four months. From February through May, this group took part in the Courageous Leadership Fellowship, a partnership between Federation and the Shalom Hartman Institute, to sharpen their ability to lead with empathy, courage, and respect in a world that feels increasingly polarized.

Grounded in shared values of mutual understanding and encouraging belonging, participants explored what courageous leadership looks like in practice and left better equipped to lead meaningful change and foster constructive conversations across our community.

Instead of just talking about these ideas in theory, the sessions got down to the intricate reality of community work. Led by Hartman scholars Sara Labaton, Elana Stein Hain, and Masua Sagiv, the group explored various themes, including finding inner clarity, leadership in polarities, the challenges and importance of maintaining a big tent community, and finally the future through two lenses: repair and transformation. Through a “where do you stand” activity, they moved past case studies and tackled real communal dilemmas, followed by small group discussions.

By the time the fellowship wrapped up, these leaders walked away feeling far more confident in their ability to facilitate difficult dialogues and communal decision-making, and just as importantly, deeply connected to the leaders and institutions who are actively shaping the future of Jewish life across Greater Washington.

This work gets to the heart of one of Federation’s core commitments: creating a community where everyone feels like they belong, that they’re listened to, and that they can contribute to a vibrant Jewish future, not in spite of our differences, but with them.

A strong community doesn’t require us to always see eye-to-eye. It requires us to know how to talk to each other when we don’t. By investing in leaders and relationships across our communal landscape, Federation is helping cultivate the trust, respect, and connection our community needs to stick together and thrive.

Learn more about Federation’s work to build a strong, inclusive community here.

As Federation begins to look ahead to the priorities that will guide our work in the coming months and years, we are taking stock of what we’re hearing from our community. In fact, our Community Leadership Council recently concluded a monthslong listening tour to surface views and insights from across the community.

What they found was a widespread desire for Jewish life to be more accessible, affordable, and easily navigable. Just as we saw in our 2025 Community Impact Survey, people across almost all demographic, geographic, and socio-economic backgrounds want to be more engaged in Jewish life and community, but many aren’t sure where to turn or feel discouraged by barriers to entry. This is a sentiment we take seriously at Federation and one that will inform our continued efforts to ensure anyone who is interested in Jewish life can easily find what they’re looking for.

One project that is already underway is our work to make Jewish day school more affordable by taking advantage of a new Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program. We expect this program to complement and amplify Jewish day school’s current tuition assistance and fundraising efforts and provide opportunities for more students to pursue a Jewish education, which we know also has positive ripple effects on families looking to dive deeper into Jewish life.

Starting in January 2027, eligible taxpayers may receive a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 per year by contributing to an approved Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). Unlike a taxable donation, a tax credit provides a 1:1 reduction in taxes owed. These SGOs, which will operate as independent 501(c)(3)s, will then distribute need-based scholarships to participating schools and eligible families, who can then use those funds toward tuition or other education-related expenses.

Federation is working in close partnership with local day schools to set up SGOs in our region to ensure our community can benefit from this new program. We are also working with other Jewish organizations, public school leaders, and community non-profits to help them understand the changes and opportunities that come with the legislation.

Our work in this arena is only one part of a broader agenda to make sure that all members of the Jewish community seeking to engage in Jewish life are able to do so. As we consider the future, we can’t let a lack of information or inability to pay keep anyone from participating.

There is a lot of coordination going on behind the scenes, bringing together schools, partners, and community leaders to tackle crucial communal issues. Ultimately, this is where Federation thrives, aligning efforts, building and strengthening infrastructure, and helping turn opportunity into access. We don’t consider any of our work finished—far from it—but we are confident that as we move forward with a clearer sense of what’s getting in the way, and what it will take to address it, we can do so with an ear to the ground and eye toward progress.

A special thank you to the inaugural members of the Community Leadership Council. More to come on their findings from the listening tour!

For many families in our community, scholarship funding is what makes education at a Jewish day school possible. Across the region, our Jewish day schools are providing close to $25M in tuition assistance. Now, a new nationwide initiative has the potential to reshape how families access scholarship funds and afford that education.
 
The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, set to take effect in 2027, creates a new opportunity to increase scholarship funding through a new donation mechanism. Through the program, eligible taxpayers can contribute to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) and receive a federal tax credit, generating new funding for scholarships. In turn, this helps schools reach and sustain more students over time—strengthening their long-term stability.

Expanding Access for Families

At its core, this effort is about expanding access—for families, for students, and for the future of Jewish education in our region.
 
“This opportunity has the potential to expand access to Jewish education, helping more families afford the education they want for their children while supporting the long-term strength of our school,” said Rabbi Mitchel Malkus, Ed.D., Head of School at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School.

Preparing as a Community

While the opportunity is still ahead, the work to prepare is already underway.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is leading a coordinated regional effort to set up local SGOs for our community, ensuring they’re built thoughtfully with the right structure and oversight needed to serve our community well.

By bringing together Jewish day schools and key partners for this process, Federation is helping to build the infrastructure, systems, and shared approach needed to implement the program effectively and responsibly.

“Regional coordination makes this easier for our community to understand,” said Rabbi Dr. Hillel Broder, Head of School at Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy. “Not everyone in our community has children in day school, but many care deeply about Jewish education. A coordinated approach helps make this opportunity easier to navigate.”

Building Thoughtfully, Together

Leaders across the region strongly believe in the importance of approaching this work collaboratively and thoughtfully.

“As the only Jewish day school in Northern Virginia, having a shared approach matters,” said Jodi Hirsch Rein, Incoming Head of School at Gesher Jewish Day School. “Preparing together allows us to navigate this opportunity thoughtfully and in alignment with our values.”
 
“At Milton, we see this as part of a broader commitment to access and excellence,” said Deborah Skolnick Einhorn, Head of School at Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School. “This opportunity has the potential to open more doors for students, and both the public/private school partnership and regional collaboration help ensure we can do so in a way that is both responsible and sustainable.”

Federation is ensuring that this opportunity is not only accessible but clear, coordinated, and built to last.

“Our role is to build the shared infrastructure that allows schools to participate effectively and transparently,” said Joel Frankel, Federation’s Senior Director of Community Capacity. “By coordinating governance and compliance across institutions, we can help ensure clarity and accountability, creating more opportunities for students and families across Greater Washington to benefit from Jewish day school education.”

Looking Ahead

In the months ahead, Federation and partner schools will continue working together to thoughtfully build and implement the program, so that families can understand how it works and can access its benefits as soon as the tax credit becomes available.

Photo credit: Gesher Jewish Day School

Northern Virginia is one of the fastest-growing centers of Jewish life in our region. With more than 120,000 Jewish residents, a rich and vibrant fabric of Jewish life is already taking shape. But for this community to truly thrive, leaders need to be connected, supported, and equipped to work together to tackle shared challenges. That’s where Federation’s experience in developing leaders and strengthening community-wide connections plays a critical role.

Bringing Leaders Together Across NoVA

In April, Federation marked the completion of its second Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort, bringing together 16 leaders from across the region, representing synagogues, Jewish communal organizations, social service agencies, campus groups, and other institutions serving Jewish life across NoVA. While these leaders come from different institutions and backgrounds, they share a common goal: strengthening Jewish life in Northern Virginia together.

Over the course of the program, participants built their leadership skills, deepened relationships, and explored new ways to collaborate across their organizations. But the true impact goes beyond any single session or workshop. The cohort was facilitated by executive leadership consultant Rae Ringel, whose approach helped participants translate these conversations into practical leadership strategies.

From Parallel Work to Shared Vision

Federation’s NoVA leadership initiative brings leaders together to help them move from parallel work to shared vision. By creating space for connection and coordination, the cohort helps leaders better understand one another’s challenges, identify opportunities for partnership, and align around the broader needs of the community.

“[The program] was really great and helped me better understand what I need to work on,” shared one participant. “It’s diverse enough that you have people from all parts of NoVA Jewish life.” Another noted, “It helped introduce me to other community leaders who are experiencing the same challenges and are already thinking about ways to resolve them.”

Looking Ahead: Sustaining Momentum

This year’s program built on previous momentum by bringing together participants from both the 2025 and 2026 leadership cohorts for a shared evening of connection and future visioning. In that room, leaders weren’t just reflecting, they were imagining what the future of Jewish life in Northern Virginia could look like.

That continuity is intentional. As Federation prepares to launch a third cohort this fall, participants from past cohorts will remain connected as an alumni network, continuing to collaborate, support one another, and help shape what comes next.

Through initiatives like the Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort, Federation is helping to cultivate a more connected, collaborative, and forward-looking network of leaders—ensuring that as Northern Virginia grows, it does so with the vision and coordination needed to support a thriving Jewish future.