MORE THAN 220 TOP YOUNG LEADERS MEET TO TACKLE BIG CHALLENGES FOR FEDERATIONS

March 12, 2010

More than 220 young Jewish professionals from across the continent will convene this weekend in Boston for the 2010 National Young Leadership conference of The Jewish Federations of North America. Top volunteers and Young Leadership professionals from 50 Jewish communities will develop leadership skills, identify personal and community visions, and explore ways to engage and inspire others.

“Boston has been home to some of the most revolutionary leaders in American history,” said conference co-chair Amy Chafetz. “It’s fitting that we have gathered young Jewish leaders here to discuss revolutionary ways to inspire our communities and ourselves.”

Speakers and breakout discussions will help guide participants to craft personal leadership strategies, find new ways to engage their communities and identify plans to put their ideas into action. Participants will hear from such illuminating speakers as Michael Brown, CEO and co-founder of the nationally recognized City Year program; Jeffrey Swartz, President and CEO of Timberland; Jerry Silverman, President and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America; and Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Erica Brown.

Participants will also explore how volunteerism shapes leadership by working on a service project with the Boston Public Schools, the Jewish Community Relations Council’s Greater Boston Jewish Coalition for Literacy and the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. Participants will visit three public schools in South Boston and Dorchester to share their love of books with students, reading to them and presenting them with books for their own libraries. Through this project, participants will help repair the world and learn how such efforts engage others and promote the mission of Federation.

“We asked communities all over North America to send us their best and most promising leaders and got a tremendous response,” said Bradley Sherman, co-chair of the conference. “Participants will share three incredible days of leadership and service and can take everything they learn home to their own communities.”

“Our young leaders are the future of the Jewish community,” said Kathy Manning, Chair of The Jewish Federations of North America. “The 2010 National Young Leadership conference will help provide the necessary tools for them to guide us in the days and years ahead.”

For more information on the Boston conference, please click here or contact Matt Abrams Gerber.