Category: Leadership & Philanthropy

I was inspired this week to put together my own Top 10 list as way to look back at 2025 and jump into 2026. I hope you enjoy this snapshot of ideas, content, and ruminations that captured my mind this past year:

1. The moment that stopped me in my tracks: Watching the return of the last living hostages on October 13 as part of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. The deal was announced in the days after I had the honor of joining hostage families in praying for their release.
2. The link I sent to the most people: Dan Senor’s State of World Jewry address at the 92nd St Y.
3. The books I’m still thinking about: People Love Dead Jews by Dara Horn; Abundance by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein; and The Marshall Plan by Benn Steil.
4. The idea that changed my mind: Sometimes the most innovative thing is to scale a known idea rather than create something new.
5. The question I found myself returning to all year: What does THIS moment call on us UNIQUELY to do as The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington?
6. The artist I had on repeat: The Idan Raichel Project
7. The news from Israel that made me smile: Hebrew University scientists discover an RNA molecule that can help fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And the top Hebrew baby names in 5785 were Lavie and Avigail, channeling the strength of lions and overwhelming joy.
8. The assumption I think we’ll need to let go of: That we won’t be able to overcome our divisions and work together to address critical issues.
9. The offbeat trend that will take hold in 2026: As someone who occasionally finds themselves on the cutting-edge (I had been pushing Fanny Packs for years before their triumphant return), I am going to predict that analog alarm clocks will be all the rage as people begin to resist screens and carve out time away from the digital world.
10. The top baby name for 2026: Whatever my future grandson is going to be named!

Bonus Round

• The Federation team’s favorite vocab words: Connection, relationship, or belonging.
• The paint color Pantone should have picked for color of the year: Pomegranate Red in honor of my homegrown pomegranates I picked from my fruit tree (and let’s add fig, lemon, blueberry, and olive in anticipation of my summer harvest).
• The best new dish I made: Peruvian Roasted Chicken (I skipped the cilantro sauce).
• The item that gives me hope: My son having just won his fantasy football league after years of trying.
• The other item that gives me hope: The depth of commitment in this community to each other and to building a vibrant Jewish community today and for tomorrow. I am constantly in awe of this community and its many incredible people.

Have an answer to any of the above? An offbeat trend prediction of your own? Send them my way, I would love to hear them!

Last week, I wrote about how fed up I felt in the wake of the Bondi attack and how imperative it is that leaders take the threat of antisemitism seriously. My frustration holds as we continue to see leaders dismiss antisemitism as simply “free speech” or as reasonable debate. But today, I want to linger on a more life-affirming note.

I’ve been marveling at all the stories coming out recently about people who, without hesitation, have stood up to help others. The accounts are humbling, inspiring, and serve as testaments to the good inside us. There’s Ahmed el Ahmed who singlehandedly disarmed one of the Bondi shooters and in doing so saved lives, rebuked ISIS ideology, and offered the world a stunning example of heroism. There’s Boris and Sofia Gurman who also confronted one of the Bondi gunmen, giving their lives to save others just weeks before their 35th wedding anniversary. There’s Spencer Yang, a first-year student at Brown who was shot in the leg and still managed to take care of the guy next to him, keeping him conscious until help arrived. And so many more.

I am also, like many of you, thinking about Rob Reiner. My family and I love his movies. Watching The Princess Bride as a family is a core memory for me. Rob’s films always leave me feeling better about people. He had a knack for exploring and celebrating our common instincts and potential for love, including our tendency toward empathy, in ways both subtle and heartwarming. As one commenter wrote on Stephen King’s tribute to the filmmaker, “Rob Reiner’s humanness was turned up to 11.” (If you know, you know…).

This, to me, is the whole game, to find a way to crank up our humanness as high as it will go. In this age of isolation and online rage, there will be no greater power than our ability to tap into our uniquely messy, endearing, creative, loving human traits. There is no foe too great that cannot be bested with our humanity.

In these final days of 2025, I’m holding onto this thought and looking around at all the light piercing through the darkness. We can each of us make a difference in astounding ways (to this end, there’s still time to give to Federation’s Annual Campaign!). I may not have the courage of those heroes at Bondi or the artistic skill of a filmmaker, but I love my community and look forward to serving it alongside all of you in the year ahead. As Rob Reiner might say, storming the castle to build a better future is best done together.

Shabbat Shalom and wishes for a happy, safe, and healthy new year.

When Jen Kulkin stood up to speak, she had just 45 seconds. No slides, no long bio—just one image and a powerful prompt: Describe a time you felt a part of a community.

Her answer? A deeply personal story, told through a single photo. It was part of a rapid-fire activity called Pecha Kucha (Japanese for “chit chat”) that marked the opening night of Federation’s second Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort, held earlier this month at the Pozez JCC. One by one, each of the 17 new cohort members took their turn—revealing, in just under a minute, a glimpse into what “community” means to them.

Everyone’s story about community was different, yet the idea was the same: a place to belong, feel safe, and bond over shared experiences. That’s exactly what we’re aiming to create, and support, in Northern Virginia.

And that’s exactly the point.

Not Your Average Leadership Program

Over the next few months, these leaders—representing Pozez JCC, JSSA, Temple Rodef Shalom, Rodef 2100, George Mason Hillel, Beth El Hebrew Congregation, Federation’s Network NoVA Alliance, Gesher, Agudas Achim, Olam Tikvah, AIPAC, Congregation Beth Emeth, and Capital Camps—will gather for four sessions led by master facilitator Rae Ringel. They’ll explore the real drivers of leadership: how to listen, build trust, inspire action, and approach communal challenges with creativity and collaboration.

But before any of that, they’ll get to know each other. Not through titles or résumés, but through lived experience and through moments like PechaKucha, where vulnerability becomes the starting point for connection.

Championing Northern Virginia

Federation launched the Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort as part of our bold vision to ensure NoVA continues to grow as a vibrant hub of Jewish life—where leaders, donors, and community members feel connected, supported, and seen.

This cohort is a key investment in that future. By convening diverse leaders across institutions, we’re strengthening the web of relationships in Northern Virginia that makes Jewish community resilient and helping build the kind of trust and collaboration that can only be nurtured.

Because leadership isn’t just about strategy. It’s about showing up, listening deeply, and building something bigger together.

Cheryl Cook brings an unmistakable sense of joy into her work—and into any conversation about Avodah. As CEO, she meets young adults right as they’re deciding who they want to be in the world. “There’s a lot to do in our country,” she says. “There are a lot of challenges, always.” But for Cheryl, that reality isn’t discouraging. It’s motivating.

What excites her is watching young people step into purpose. “We reach people at the beginning of their career and help them find work with purpose.” Her energy makes it clear: this isn’t just a program. It’s a launchpad—for meaningful work, for Jewish community, and for the kind of leadership Federation aims to nurture across Greater Washington.

Finding Purpose Through Service

Cheryl’s take on Avodah’s impact echoes what we see across our partners: early, hands-on experiences shape the kind of Jewish leadership our community needs. “Avodah means work, or service, or holy work,” she says. “How you start your career often feeds what you do in your life.”

The outcomes are striking. 98.6% of participants stay involved in social justice work, a number Cheryl still delights in repeating. She shares the story of Aaron, who joined Avodah simply because he wanted to do something Jewish. His placement introduced him to immigration law; today he stands beside people facing detention and deportation. “I never would have done this work without Avodah,” he says.

What DC Brings to the Experience

For many Corps Members, Washington, DC isn’t just a placement site—it’s the place they’ve dreamed of living. Some come for politics, some for activism, some for the city’s energy. Cheryl sees how DC shapes them.

She recalls a participant on a homelessness street team who began carrying Narcan because of what she saw daily. Another said that protesting on the National Mall felt like stepping into history. Even when the federal government shut down this fall, the learning didn’t pause; the cohort explored parks, found hidden corners of the district, and quickly felt embraced. In Cheryl’s telling, DC is more than a backdrop. It’s a teacher.

Why Community Matters

If the service year is what placements do, the community is what helps them stay.

“Justice work is hard,” Cheryl says plainly. “It takes being in community, and getting the joy and sustenance of Jewish life—celebrating Shabbat, being together—to stay in this work.”

Avodah designs that community with intention: shared homes, shared meals, shared questions about who we are and who we want to become. Participants arrive for a year, but Cheryl knows the relationships will outlast the program.

Strengthening the Field

For Federation, partners like Avodah strengthen a broader ecosystem of agencies working toward dignity, justice, and inclusion. Avodah’s impact extends far beyond its Corps Members.

Cheryl describes Avodah’s antisemitism trainings for social‑service partners—sessions that illuminate how antisemitism connects to other forms of hate. After one training, immigration advocates shared they had never connected the chant “Jews will not replace us” with anti‑immigration rhetoric. “We were able to connect the dots,” Cheryl says. The room shifted.

For her, helping secular partners understand Jewish identity within the broader landscape of equity and inclusion is both timely and hopeful.

A Partnership That Feels Like Partnership

When Cheryl talks about The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, her gratitude is unmistakable. “DC is really exceptional at seeing us as a partner,” she says. “It makes us feel really valued and cared for by the Greater Washington Jewish community.”

She describes a partnership built on trust, storytelling, and shared purpose. Federation lifts Avodah’s work; Avodah lifts Federation’s impact. “How do we hold you up, how do you hold us up, how do we elevate our work together? It really works.”

Cheryl also names the joy of seeing Avodah alumni featured in Federation stories. “Thank you for holding up so many Avodahniks,” she says.

Rooted in Jewish Values and Human Dignity

At the core of Cheryl’s leadership is a set of values that feel both timeless and urgently needed. She names b’tzelem Elohim—the dignity of every human being—as a guiding force, especially for Corps Members meeting people experiencing homelessness or poverty.

She also emphasizes holding complexity. “You don’t all have to be the same,” she says. “You can hold an array of difference and also see each other as full humans.” Her favorite teaching, inspired by Pirkei Avot, captures it simply: “When nobody else is being human, be human.”

The Work Ahead

Cheryl sees Avodah as a place where young adults connect what lights them up with what the world needs—and where Jewish community helps sustain them for the long haul. “I feel very humble and lucky to be in this role,” she says.

Through its partnership with The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Avodah helps strengthen Jewish life, develop emerging leaders, and shape a more just future for our region and beyond.

My family and I purchased an electric menorah to use this Chanukah. We’ll be employing our beloved wax-adorned menorahs too, of course, but this way we can place the electric one in the window without setting the curtains on fire. I already feel good about it. Instead of worrying about what hazards might befall us, we can display our menorah with pride the way Chanukah tradition encourages us to do.

Even if you choose not to display your menorah publicly, the holiday offers a timely opportunity to reconnect with what it means to take up space in this world and use our agency for good. At a time when we are having to defend our place in society, Chanukah offers us the chance to stand proudly as Jews as we work to illuminate a brighter future for ourselves and all communities—skills we are going to need in the year ahead.

Our hypothesis at Federation is this: the more we can help individuals connect with their Jewish identities, be part of strengthening their communities, and come together to address crucial needs, the better off those individuals, the Jewish people, and the world will be. In growing Jewish life, we sustain ourselves and the world around us.

We therefore strive to take the messy, ambiguous work of community building and infuse it with strategy, resources, and meaningful connections. You could think of us as a communal windowpane, helping to refract light inward, outward, and onward.

With all this in mind, I want to invite you to make the most of this Chanukah and give to Federation. We have just a few weeks left in our Annual Campaign, and we need as much metaphorical light and literal funds as we can get. It’s clear 2026 will be a consequential year for the American Jewish community and we want to be ready.

For all the challenges, I feel incredibly privileged to help shape and shepherd Jewish life through this chapter. I know many of you feel the same. I remain eternally grateful for your partnership and wish you joy, warmth, and an abundance of inspiration this Chanukah season.

On their first Shabbat in DC earlier this fall, 13 young adults gathered in Rock Creek Park not just to meet each other, but to ground themselves in purpose. Under the trees, they sang Hashkiveinu together in a ritual led by Rabbi Gita Karasov, an alumna who once stood where they now sit.

That moment marked the start of a year that will challenge, stretch, and shape them as individuals and as leaders.

These 2025–26 Corps Members are part of Avodah, a Federation partner that places young Jewish changemakers in a year of immersive service. They live together in the DC bayit (house), explore Jewish pluralism in daily life, and serve at local nonprofits including Bread for the City, Jews United for Justice, and Higher Achievement.

Their orientation alone included a walking tour of U Street to learn about the legacy of Black Broadway and a deep dive into disability justice with Rabbi Lauren Tuchman. More than just training, it was a week of becoming rooted into community, justice, and Jewish values.

We believe Jewish leadership must reflect the urgency, diversity, and moral clarity this moment demands. Through your support, we’re helping these young adults lead with purpose, live their values, and build something bigger than themselves—right here in Greater Washington.

This is what happens when generosity meets action. Together, we’re shaping a Jewish future built on justice, belonging, and bold leadership.

In a time when conversations often feel like battlegrounds, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is charting a different course: creating space for humility, respect, and the quiet power of listening.

The Community Leadership Council (CLC)—a group of 100+ community builders from across Greater Washington—is at the heart of that shift. And now they’re launching a bold Listening Campaign. The goal? Not to agree on everything. But to understand each other more fully and build real trust, even when we don’t land in the same place.

Who’s in the room

The CLC isn’t just another leadership committee. It’s part of a new model for how Jewish Greater Washington shows up, listens in, and makes decisions together.

Its members span more than 100 organizations: synagogues, schools, service agencies, and grassroots groups. They come from different generations, professions, political beliefs, and religious identities. Some are longtime Federation partners, others are new to this work.

They were brought together to reflect a broader range of voices. And now, they’re listening—with purpose and intention—not just as individuals, but as a new kind of leadership collective committed to understanding and learning together.

By design, CLC members wear two hats: the “community member” hat, representing their own lived experiences, and the “community leader” hat, bringing in and analyzing the voices of an even wider circle. The goal? To surface critical issues and insights that Federation and other organizations can address in the years ahead.

Listening is harder than it sounds

Most of us think we’re pretty good listeners. We nod, we wait our turn, we make eye contact. But real listening—the kind that helps people feel heard and seen—is a lot trickier than it looks.

And when the topic touches on deeply held values—identity, politics, Israel—it’s even harder to stay open. But that’s exactly when it matters most.

That kind of listening takes more than good intentions. It’s a skill, one that can be practiced, honed, and strengthened over time.

Practicing the hard stuff

That’s what CLC members set out to do this fall by joining workshops with two organizations that specialize in the art of tough conversations: Resetting the Table and For the Sake of Argument.

These weren’t lectures—they were labs.

• Resetting the Table’s Speaking Across Conflict training focused on real tools for navigating charged conversations, especially around Israel and the current political climate in the U.S.
• For the Sake of Argument used a curriculum built on stories designed to provoke disagreement—on issues central to Israel and Jewish life—then helped participants stay curious, reflective, and in relationship.

For many, the most eye-opening lesson wasn’t just how to listen. It was realizing how much difference exists even among people who think they’re aligned.

When it gets real

“One of the most surprising takeaways was how much difference there is even among people who think they’re on the same page,” said one participant. “It reminded me how important it is to keep asking, not assuming.”

Another brought the experience home. At a recent Shabbat dinner, when the conversation got tense, she didn’t change the subject or shut it down. She stayed curious. She listened. And the conversation stayed open.

As Lisa Silver-Kopit put it: “In such a charged moment, it’s a relief to have tools that help us talk and listen with respect. These skills don’t make disagreement go away, but they make it possible to stay in relationship even when we see things differently.”

What’s next and how you can be part of it

Between now and the end of February, the CLC is hosting listening gatherings across Greater Washington.

These aren’t forums or focus groups. They’re small, meaningful conversations about what matters to you. What’s working. What’s missing. What makes you feel connected—or left out. What kind of Jewish community you want to build next.

And the insights shared won’t disappear into a spreadsheet. They’ll directly inform how Federation—and our entire ecosystem of Jewish life—moves forward.

Want in? Interested in joining a listening group or bringing a few people together to host your own? Let us know!

We’re building something new together. A more open, connected, and resilient Jewish Greater Washington. That can’t happen from the top down or from behind a podium.

It starts with listening. And it starts with you.

As Marla Schulman, Chair of the 2025-2026 Inaugural Community Leadership Council put it:

“This campaign is about discovering the community we all want to build together. When we really listen to each other, we learn that we don’t have to agree on everything to care about each other. And we find the common ground to move us forward. That’s where real connection begins.”

Last month, we stumbled onto something extraordinary: a set of original minutes from the very first meetings of the United Jewish Appeal in Washington. Hand-typed pages from 1948 and 1949 outlining early allocations, emergency support for Israel, and the names of families who stepped up to lead, many of whom are still shaping Jewish life in our region today.

A Time Capsule of Responsibility

Reading these documents feels like opening a time capsule. The issues were different, the world was different, but the heartbeat is the same: people coming together, pooling resources, and taking responsibility for one another.

Urgency, Action, and One Afternoon

One moment stands out. In April 1949, local leaders gathered at the Ambassador Hotel for what the minutes called a “special meeting.” The purpose?

“Obtain permission of the Executive Committee to borrow an additional half million dollars to advance the United Jewish Appeal… with regard to the deplorable condition of the new immigrants entering Israel.”

Half a million dollars, approved in one afternoon—a community stepping in without hesitation. You can almost feel the urgency in the room and the shared understanding that their choices mattered; that lives depended on them getting this right.

When Community Meant Everyone

Another set of minutes from late 1948 details the young community’s first major campaign: 16,163 contributors giving more than $2 million, an astonishing act of collective generosity. Their allocations spanned Israel, local agencies, national advocacy, and emerging Jewish institutions.

And even the follow-up work tells its own story. One line notes the need to “intensify collections” and clean up the outstanding gifts still considered “gettable.” It’s a reminder that closing gaps and meeting the moment has always been part of our work. It’s as true now, at year-end, as it was then.

They debated, they decided, and they built the foundation we’re still standing on today.

A Year-End Reminder of Who We Are

As we approach year-end, this history hits differently. It reminds us that our community has always risen to the moment—not because someone told us to, but because collective responsibility is who we are. We give, we show up, and we build together.

Every gift today continues a legacy of care, courage, and shared purpose.

And now, just as they stepped up then, we’re called to do the same. Two year-end matches are helping every gift go further to strengthen belonging, community life, and security across our region:

• Jewish Life & Belonging (including Northern Virginia): Every dollar is matched 1:1 up to $750,000, supporting community-building, engagement, and especially the fast-growing needs in Northern Virginia.
• Community Security: Every gift is matched at 50 cents on the dollar up to $1 million, helping protect our synagogues, schools, and gathering spaces with training, assessments, and critical security investments.
• Together, these two opportunities can unlock nearly $1.5 million in additional support for Jewish Greater Washington, amplifying our shared legacy of responsibility and care.

Make a gift today to support belonging, security, and our nearly 100 years of communal investment.

More and more young adults aren’t waiting to be asked in. They’re showing up with questions, ideas, and a real desire to help shape a vibrant, inclusive Jewish future.

We’re also seeing this nationally: the latest Slingshot survey shows that Jewish young adults crave agency, community, and meaningful ways to live their Jewish values out loud.

That’s what NEXUS offers—a chance to explore identity, giving, and belonging in a way that’s personal, real, and rooted in what matters most.

More Than Belonging

If you’re in your 20s or 30s, you probably know the feeling: you care about Jewish life and want to live your values with intention, but it’s not always clear how to turn that into real impact. Where do you begin? What does it look like to shape the community when you’re still figuring out your own path?

That’s the space NEXUS fills. It offers a framework to explore personal values, community connection, and what meaningful participation looks like today.

Seeing the Bigger Picture

What makes NEXUS different is how it connects you to the full landscape of Jewish Greater Washington. At the center of that landscape is the work we do together through Federation to strengthen partnerships, power collective giving, and respond quickly when our community needs support.

When you plug into that ecosystem through NEXUS, your impact doesn’t stay in one corner. It ripples out.

NEXUS is the moment when people begin to see that bigger picture and understand the role they can play in it.

Where It Starts to Feel Real

One moment from a past cohort still stands out to me. Someone said, “I’m not sure I’m the kind of person who leads in the Jewish community.” Before I could respond, another person said, “You already do. You just needed a space to see it.”

That’s NEXUS in a single sentence.

This program creates space for meaningful conversations—about identity, belonging, philanthropy, and community responsibility—and gives participants tools to navigate them with empathy and authenticity. Not because we hand out answers, but because we build the conditions where people can explore them together.

Learning That Feels Real and Human

Throughout the experience, participants hear from people whose work embodies inclusive, values-driven impact. They see how belonging, purpose, and impact show up in real life—from organizations building accessible workplaces to those creating pathways for Jewish connection across the region.

It’s learning that feels grounded, practical, and genuinely connected to the needs of our community.

A Cohort That Becomes Community

Every NEXUS cohort becomes its own small ecosystem of support. People show up as individuals and quickly become a group that listens, challenges, questions, and encourages one another. Real friendships form. Real conversations happen. Real growth takes place.

By the end, participants don’t walk away with a formal roadmap. They walk away with something more lasting: a clearer sense of who they are, a better understanding of what they value, and a deeper confidence in the role they can play in shaping Jewish Greater Washington.

Stepping In—Together

NEXUS is one powerful doorway into that journey of connection and meaning—but across Next Gen, there are so many ways to step in, show up, and shape what comes next.

Big news: Sarah Klein, our Senior Director of FRD (Financial Resource Development), has been selected for Cohort III of JFNA’s Executive Accelerator, a national leadership program for the Federation system’s most promising senior professionals.

If you’ve worked with Sarah, you already know what makes her extraordinary. She builds relationships with heart and hustle. She leads with integrity, warmth, and a clear sense of purpose. And she brings deep experience and fresh thinking to everything she does.

This next step for Sarah is about all of us. Through this yearlong program, she’ll gain new tools, fresh perspectives, and a powerful peer network that will help move our work—and our community—forward. And with Federation supervisors and leaders actively engaged in the learning process too, we’re making sure that growth gets embedded across our team.

We’re super-proud to see Sarah recognized, and excited about what this opportunity makes possible for our Federation and our collective future.

Many have asked how they can celebrate this milestone. If you’d like to honor Sarah’s leadership, you can make a tribute gift in her name.