The Latest From The Foundation

PENINA GRSSBERG IS AN ALUMNA OF THE THE WEXNER GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP, CLASS 5. PENINA IS AN EDUCATOR AND ACTIVE COMMUNAL VOLUNTEER IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY.  PENINA CAN BE REACHED AT:  PENINAG@OPTONLINE.NET.? Beyond loosening my stiff back, yoga offers tools for navigating leadership challenges.  Set an intention.  At the start of a yoga practice, students consider what they want to get from the experience.  Intentionality encourages me to make personal meaning

David A. Mersky is Managing Director of Mersky, Jaffe & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm that solves problems in marketing, communication and resource development for non-profit organizations and private businesses. He can be reached at: www.merskyjaffe.com. The single most important committee of a nonprofit organization's board is its committee on governance and leadership development (whatever it may be called). It is charged with identifying and successfully engaging the future leadership

David is an alumnus of the Wexner Heritage Program, Chicago 2006, a financial advisor on the North Shore of Chicago and teacher of spirituality classes in the Jewish community. He can be reached at dstrulow@gmail.com. What I’ve been thinking about lately is my enduring need to connect my lifelong study and practice of Judaism with spirituality. By way of background, I feel like I woke up one day to a

Jamie Borstein is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship (Class 18).  Jamie is the Assistant Director of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, North America, and can be reached at james.bornstein@gmail.com. If Roger Schwarz had a dollar for every marital spat he’s helped me to avoid, he’d be a wealthy man. Roger, President of Roger Schwarz and Associates, and a master of effective communication strategies, taught my class during

Jacob is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship (Class VII), and  Rabbi of Shaare Torah in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  Rabbi Blumenthal can be reached at rabbijacob@shaaretorah.org. I was at a “call back” interview with a rapidly-growing congregation that was seeking its first assistant rabbi.  After a lovely and warm Shabbat, the search committee organized an “ask the candidate” session on Sunday morning.  It turned out that this involved sitting in

Barat Ellman is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program (Class XII).  A rabbi, she received her Ph.D. in Bible from JTS this past spring.  She is teaching as an adjunct professor at JTS and Fordham, and is actively looking for a full-time position. Barat can be reached at barat@mindspring.com. As we begin the book of Shemot this week, my thoughts have turned to Moses.  Not the Moses of

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Class XV, and the Executive Director of Mechon Hadar (www.mechonhadar.org). Elie served as scholar-in-residence at this year’s General Assembly. He can be reached at kaunfer@gmail.com. Years ago, when I was preparing for my Wexner interview, I gathered a few friends in my apartment for a mock interview. One of the questions my friend asked was: If you could address

Stephen Arnoff is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, Class XXII, and the Executive Director of the 14th Street Y in New York City. He blogs at http://talkinhavanagilahblues.blogspot.com/. I am a big football fan, not only because I enjoy watching and understanding the game, but because at some of the most formative moments of my life, I lived the game. I played on tremendous teams throughout high school. We

Howard Lohner is an alumnus of Wexner Heritage Montreal 09.  Howard is married, has three children and runs an accounting practice in Montreal, Canada.  He can be reached at hlohner@hlohner.com. “Worshipped is He Who spoke, and created the world ... worshipped is He Who speaks and does; worshipped is He Who proclaims and accomplishes...” -  extract from the Pesukei D’Zimrah portion of daily morning services. How does this extract from

Yehuda Kurtzer is an alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship/Davidson Scholars Program, Class XV.  He is the President of The Shalom Hartman Institute which is a center of transformative thinking and teaching.  They address the major challenges facing the Jewish people and elevate the quality of Jewish life in Israel and around the world. He can be reached at yehuda@shalomhartman.org. I suppose it is common, when starting something new, to