Belonging Learning Cohorts Initiative

Supporting Leaders and Organizations to Build a Culture of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and our Jewish Community Foundation’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is guided by these core ideas:

B’tzelem Elohim

The dignity of all human beings, that all people are created (in God’s image), and that all humans are unique, equal, and have infinite value.

Tikkun Olam

That we must be a positive force in repairing what is broken and continuing to break in the world.

Anavah

That we must approach our work with humility and recognition that our understanding of the world is framed and, in turn, biased by our individual experiences.

Following a year-long inquiry into the evolving nature of Jewish life, there emerged a resounding theme of the desire for people to truly feel they “belong” to a community. (See Gil’s statement and Community Report).With this in mind, we set out to engage our communal leaders in creating communities of belonging for the increasingly diverse members of our Jewish community. Federation partnered with the Shalom Hartman Institute to host a Leadership Convening and Public Lecture in May 2022. Following the Convening, 76% of respondents stated that continuing to engage around topics of belonging while acknowledging the diverse voices in our Jewish community was a high or essential priority. The responses also indicated there were many different desired paths towards building a culture of belonging. Based on this feedback, we appreciated that there should not be a “one size fits all” approach. The Belonging Learning Cohorts Initiative is a pilot project that responds to this community need.

We seek to support community leaders and organizations to meet them where they are in their exploration of DEIB. Our Belonging Learning Cohorts Initiative is intended to build confidence and competence among our leadership in pursuing DEIB goals, provide a shared understanding about DEIB approaches, and use Jewish frameworks and community to support our learning. We seek to elevate the successes of those who have been engaged in DEIB work and invest in opportunities to catalyze leaders to take the next step in their journeys. Ultimately, the Belonging Learning Cohorts Initiative is designed to enhance a culture of belonging in the Greater Washington Jewish ecosystem.  

The Belonging Learning Cohorts Initiative offers opportunities to:   

  • Participate in one of curated list of DEIB-related cohort learning experiences    
  • Build a network with other leaders/organizations to support one another through the experience and beyond  
  • Choose among a selection of different DEIB-related approaches to accommodate different leaders’ and organizations’ distinctive needs   

The overall Belonging Learning Cohort Initiative has been designed for Federation and communal leaders, both professional and lay – leaders of partner organizations, synagogues, day schools, Federation, and individual leaders. Specific eligibility requirements vary per cohort opportunity.  

Please read the cohort descriptions below for information on the specific intended audience of each cohort and whether you meet the eligibility requirements. 

The Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation serve a large and diverse Jewish community across DC, MD, and Northern VA, and work to address pressing needs locally and around the world. As we live and operate in a multi-racial and multi-ethnic America, we draw strength from our community’s diversity. We are committed to ensuring that all community members feel that they belong and can fully participate in Jewish life as their most authentic selves. Our unique identities and perspectives enrich us and allow us to build a collective culture in which we all thrive, together.

Grounded in these values, Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation use our resources, platform, and influence to nurture a multi-generational culture of diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging.

“It is notyour responsibility to finishthe work, but neither are you freeto desist from it.”
Pirkei Avot

Program Descriptions:

Building Racial Stamina in Jewish Community
Transform for Equity

An interactive facilitated discussion group designed to raise self-awareness of race to spur antiracist change. Participants will begin or continue their personal transformation towards antiracism and equity through deep connection, deep learning, activators, and discussion.

There is no cost to participate.

Intended Audience/Eligibility Requirements: 

  • One organization will be selected to participate in this experience with Transform for Equity 
  • The organization will be required to create a “team” comprised of a minimum of 8 different leaders (executive, professional staff, lay leaders, etc.)

Sessions: 

  • March 28, 2023: in-person kick-off session 
  • Five Zoom sessions on Tuesdays from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM* 
    • April 18, 2023 
    • April 25, 2023 
    • May 2, 2023 
    • May 9, 2023 
    • May 23, 2023 

*Timing of the cohort can be flexible based on the needs of the participating organization

Building Community Through Relationships
Gather, Inc.

This cohort learning experience will explore the principles and guiding frameworks of relationship-based engagement (RBE) and increase your capacity to connect more people more deeply to one another and to Jewish life. Each session will center one concept in the cycle of relationship-based engagement and provide you applied learning and tools to deepen your RBE in your community. Participation in the cohort also grants each person two 1:1 coaching hours with Gather, Inc. relational practitioners to support your continued learning and implementation. Program goals: 

  • Cohort members will develop an understanding of relational engagement as a deeply Jewish way to build meaningful community 
  • Cohort members will bring a relational lens to their engagement work and deepen their relational skills through practice and experimentation  
  • Cohort members will be in relationship with one another and continue to learn with and from after the cohort is over

There is no cost to participate.

Intended Audience/Eligibility Requirements: 

  • People who are actively meeting community members and/or developing experiences or programs for their community members  
  • People who can commit to the in-person kick off, the six cohort calls, and 1 to 3 hours a week in direct contact with community members (either through phone calls, coffee dates, or other 1:1 settings)  
  • Can be a professional or lay community leader  
  • Only one member of your organization can apply  
  • Cohort members are expected to share their relational learnings with their colleagues and/or supervisors throughout the learning experience  
  • Cohort members’ supervisors not only approve and support an individual joining this cohort but are also committed to learning themselves 

Sessions: 

  • April 17: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM – Cohort Kick-Off at the GatherDC Townhouse (in-person) 
  • May 4: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – “Meet” (virtual) 
  • May 18: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – “Listen” (virtual) 
  • June 1: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – “Connect” (virtual) 
  • June 15: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – “Reach & Expand” (virtual) 
  • July 6: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM * – “Co-Create” (virtual) 
  • July 20: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM * – “Deepen” (virtual) 

*Summer dates subject to change depending on group availability 

  •  Coaching calls: 
    • These sessions will be 1:1 calls between a Gather trainer and cohort member to support their continued learning and implementation of relational work. Each cohort member will have two (2) sessions between August and December of 2023. Supervisors may be invited to these calls. 

Leading for Justice
Listen to Lead

This cohort learning experience is for individual leaders who want to build their awareness and capacity to lead for justice. Topics include increased self-awareness along lines of identity, culture, lived experience, and more; increased awareness of how systems of supremacy and oppression shape our experiences and those of the communities with whom we partner. Participants will also dive into topics such as cultural patterns, bias, power, race, and gender and have an opportunity to learn with and from other individual leaders who are committed to leading for justice.  

There is no cost to participate.

Intended Audience/Eligibility Requirements: 

  • Individual community leaders who are interested in building their leadership capacity from the inside (starting with the self) out. 
  • This cohort experience is for you if: 
    • You understand that self-awareness is the foundation of effective leadership. 
    • You are committed to dismantling systems of supremacy and oppression (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, etc.) and want to learn skills to do that in your everyday leadership practice. 
    • You want to explore the complexities of whiteness for white Jews, holding the truths that white Jews are targeted by white Christian nationalism AND experience the unearned advantages of having access to whiteness. 
    • You want to learn to leverage your unique set of identities, experiences and power in a way that is aligned with your equity goals. 
    • You want to learn in a way that meets you exactly where you are on your journey and does not use shame or blame as teaching tools. 
    • You are excited to build your awareness and skills alongside other leaders whose identities may be similar to and different from your own. 
    • You want to do the hard and rewarding work of looking inward. 

 Sessions: Five monthly Zoom sessions, Tuesdays from 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM  

  • May 16, 2023 
  • June 6, 2023 
  • July 11, 2023 
  • August 8, 2023 
  • September 12, 2023 

Shivyon: Keshet’s Equality Project
Keshet

Keshet’s equality project is a one-year cohort-based program that gathers, trains, and support Jewish organizations to move towards LGBTQ+ equality and belonging. Through their year of participation, participants will: 

  • Be guided through an organizational self-assessment of LGBTQ-affirming policies, programming, and culture. 
  • Receive five coaching calls with a Keshet coach, with individualized support, resources, and problem-solving related to their action plan. 
  • Become empowered to create sustained change for LGBTQ equality. 
  • Develop independence and confidence to identify ongoing goals. 

There is no cost to participate.

 Intended Audience/Eligibility Requirements: 

  • Participating organizations will be required to create a “team” of 2-4 individuals comprised of different leaders (executive, professional staff, lay leaders, etc.) 
  • Organizations must complete an institutional self-assessment and a pre-launch call with a member of Keshet’s Education and Training team to review assessment and to discuss the Leadership Project 1-2 months prior to the cohort launch 
  • Once admitted to the cohort, sign-off from Executive Director is required 

Sessions: 

  • May 3, 2023: full-day, in-person kick-off session 
  • May 2023 – May 2024*
  • Five monthly virtual individual coaching calls* 
  • One virtual two-hour training from Keshet’s core training menu for each organization’s full staff (or subset of staff) *  
  • Two virtual opt-in office hours* 
  • End-of-year gathering (date TBD) 

 *Dates will be scheduled directly with Keshet and the participating organization 

SEA Change
JOIN for Justice

This program will train synagogues as they learn how to organize for inclusion, racial equity, and belonging in their own institution and in the world around them, build capacity, and act collectively on DEIB values. The SEA Change Model is a three-part process: Study, Engage, Act. Throughout each of these stages, SEA Change participants receive coaching to help them operationalize and put into practice what they are learning and navigate inevitable stumbling blocks along the way. 

Intended Audience/Eligibility Requirements: 

  • This program is exclusively for synagogues in Northern Virginia. There is a maximum group size of 4 synagogues. 
  • There is a $5,000 – $10,000 sliding scale supplemental participation fee per synagogue. Federation is supporting the additional cost of the program. 
  • Participating synagogues will be required to create a “team” of 12 – 15 individuals comprised of different leaders (clergy, executive, professional staff, lay leaders) 

 Sessions: 

  • June 4, 2023: kick-off, in-person session (2:00 PM – 6:30 PM) 
  • July – December 2023 
    • Two half-day, in-person sessions (Sundays, 2:00 PM – 6:30 PM) * 
    • Seven virtual two-hour sessions* 
    • 25 hours of one-on-one relationship building with cohort members* 
    • Additional direct coaching 

*Dates will be scheduled directly with JOIN and the participating organizations 

This cohort is to empower those working with teen madrichim in supplemental Jewish education programs, with the knowledge and skill to train and support them to work successfully with students with diverse learning needs in the classroom. The goal is to provide supplemental schools with the tools they might need to elevate the role of their teen madrichim in the classroom and to allow those teens to serve as ambassadors for inclusion within the religious school and their broader community.  

There is no cost to participate.

Intended Audience/Eligibility Requirements: 

  • Synagogue staff members who are responsible for Teen Madrichim in their supplemental school settings: designated person, youth group leaders, religious school director, etc.  

Sessions: 

  • June 21, 2023: kick-off session, virtual, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM 
  • September 2023 – June 2024 Cohort Sessions* 
  • Seven bi-monthly virtual sessions over the course of the academic year 
  • One-hour 1:1 coaching calls will be subsidized by Federation  

*Dates will be scheduled directly with Gateways and the participants 

Application Process to Join a Belonging Learning Cohort:   

To apply, please first submit the Interest Form below by February 14, 2023. Once we receive your Interest Form, a Federation staff member will be in touch to review the next steps of the application process, which differs by each Belonging Learning Cohort. (Applications are due by February 21, 2023.)

We encourage applicants to select more than one choice in the Interest Form.  

Once we determine there are sufficient eligible registrants for a given cohort learning program, we will confirm which programs are going forward in the initial pilot year no later than February 28, 2023. 

Belonging Learning Cohort Interest Form

Fill out my online form.

We are deeply grateful for our extraordinary Advisory Group whose generous and profound insights have shaped the vision and design of Federation’s ongoing belonging work:

Johanna Chanin, Robyn Garnett, Rachel Gildiner, Rabbi Esther Lederman, Yolanda Savage-Narva, Rabbi Sid Schwarz, Jessica Sher, Rabbi Lauren Tuchman, and Naomi Yadin-Mendick 


Together, and by prioritizing this essential work, we continue to pursue our vision of an open, connected, and vibrant Jewish community that cares for each other, fosters Jewish learning and journeys, embraces Jewish peoplehood and Israel, and acts as a force for good in the world.