9:15am–10:45am: National Young Leadership Cabinet Session (by invitation only)

11:00am–12:30pm: Young Leadership Chairs and Directors Brunch (by invitation only)

1:30pm: Opening Plenary - Viewing Tikkun Olam through a New Orleans Lens, Doubletree Hotel

Being in post-Katrina New Orleans gives us the opportunity to observe and engage in hands-on efforts to repair the world. The community’s leaders take us beyond the headlines into the reality of what it takes to rebuild a devastated community.

Speakers: Rabbi Uri Topolosky, Congregation Beth Israel of New Orleans; Julie Wise Oreck, President Elect, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans; Scott Cowen, President, Tulane University

2:45pm: Afternoon site visits to post-Katrina New Orleans

The tour will explore the Lower Ninth Ward, with a side venture into the Arabi section of St. Bernard Parish and to Musician’s Village in the Upper Ninth Ward.  Each bus will have one or two stops for people to walk around and take photos.

Local residents and activists will lead the Lower Ninth Ward tour, which will explore the cultural, environmental, social and economic features of the post-Katrina community.

The buses will go on a loop through the Ninth Ward, seeing the steamboat houses on the river, the levee, the devastated neighborhoods, and Brad Pitt’s new homes.

6:30pm: Ben-Gurion Society Reception (by invitation only)

Ben-Gurion Society members gather for drinks and a special guest speaker.

7:30pm: New Orleans Conference Reception at the National World War II Museum

Join us for a light dinner with an emphasis on local flavors.

Monday, March 16, 2009

6:45am–7:45am: Breakfast at Doubletree Hotel

8:00am: Board buses for all-day service project

4:30pm: Leave service project for Doubletree Hotel

6:30pm: Dinner on your own or by community - explore the sites, sounds, and tastes of New Orleans.

10:00pm: Monday night event at Republic (828 South Peters Street; New Orleans, LA 70130)

Join us at Republic for a night out with fellow NOLA participants after our day of volunteering. Republic is opening their doors especially for conference participants, and it will be a spectacular evening.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

7:30am–8:45am: Breakfast at Doubletree Hotel

9:00am: Breakout Sessions

1. Partnering to Meet Overseas Needs
Everything our dollars accomplish in Israel, the FSU, and a total of 60 countries all over world is done through our long-term, successful partnerships with the Jewish Agency for Israel and JDC. Find out more about our overseas partners and the amazing work they do on our behalf.

Speakers: Michelle Kohn, Regional Director, Jewish Agency for Israel; Will Recant, Assistant Executive Vice President, JDC

2. Bricks, Mortar, and Spirit
In places like New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, where the infrastructure of Jewish life has been damaged and the people displaced, rebuilding involves both physical efforts and spiritual work to reestablish and heal the community.

Speakers: Rabbi Myrna Matsa, D. Min., Rabbinic Pastoral Counselor – Hurricane Katrina Relief, NY Board of Rabbis in partnership with UJC; Rabbi Yonah Schiller, Executive Director, New Orleans Hillel; Rabbi Corie Yutkin, Congregation B'nai Israel, Baton Rouge

3. Be Prepared
Do you keep an emergency kit in your home and have a family disaster plan? Has your local Jewish community done any planning for a disaster? Find out how to prepare for a disaster and how to talk to your kids.  Learn from experts about the important roles you can play before, during, and after an emergency.

Speakers: Sharon Kirkpatrick, Clinical Social Worker, Jewish Family Service; Michael J. Weil, Executive Director, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans; Fred Zimmerman, Chair, UJC Emergency Committee; Kay Wilkins, CEO, American Red Cross Southeast Louisiana Chapter

4. What’s Next for Jewish Service?
Alternate spring break and gap year programs are just the tip of the iceberg—the values that are propelling young Jews toward service projects are about to create a revolution. Hear from speakers on the cutting edge of the Jewish service movement.

Speakers: Michelle Lackie, Weinberg Tzedek Hillel, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life; Joshua Lichtman, Program Director, New Orleans AVODAH; Rabbi Brent Spodek, Director of Jewish Communal Relations and Rabbi in Residence, American Jewish World Service; Jessica Dodge, Senior, Colgate University

5. Social Entrepreneurship: Dreaming Big and Doing Good
You don’t have to be Bill Gates to turn a good idea into a project that really makes a difference. With the right combination of vision and hard work, you can bring your own dream project to life. Young social entrepreneurs will inspire you with their stories.

Speakers: Lauren Baum, The Idea Village; Gill Benedek, Co-Founder Moishe House Mission NOLA and Programs Manager, Neighborhoods Partnership Network; Jordan Hirsch, Executive Director, Sweet Home New Orleans

6. Engaging and Empowering Volunteers
This interactive session offers a deeper understanding of why volunteering matters and how to recruit and motivate volunteers. You’ll learn from your peers as well as experts about strategies that work, and take home a marketing plan to share with your Federation.

Speakers: Judy Portnoff Braunig, Newcomer/Volunteer Coordinator, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans;
Ashley Klapper, Director, Jewish Volunteer Connection, THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore; Andrea Fram Plotkin, Director, Jewish Peoplehood & Identity, UJC

10:45am: Closing Plenary - The New Orleans Effect
New Orleans changes people—let it change you. How can we take home the strategies and insights learned here to inform our work creating change in our own communities? Get inspired to make tikkun olam not just a special project but an integral part of your everyday life.

Speakers:
Rabbi Uri Topolosky, Congregation Beth Israel of New Orleans; Dr. Michael Wasserman, President, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans; Arnie Fielkow, City Councilmember At Large for the City of New Orleans