Planning for a strong Jewish future, the Jewish Community of Louisville (JCL) is starting a pilot program to empower young leaders in Louisville through education, engagement and philanthropy.
The Leadership Development Program, as it’s called, will include a combination of educational panels and social gatherings, all of which will share insight into how Jewish values impact leadership in Jewish Louisville and the greater community.
Participants, Jew and non-Jew alike, will have the opportunity to meet and network with a diverse group of peers and learn from experienced leaders and philanthropists in Jewish Louisville.
“One of my personal goals for this program is to demonstrate to our participants that together we are more than we are as individuals,” said Tracy Geller, who is co-chairing the program with Seth Gladstein.
“So many of these young leaders bring unique talents to the table. By introducing a specific group of people, they can help each other build their businesses and hopefully collaborate on ideas to give back to the Jewish community in a way that benefits everyone.”
Republic Bank and Trust Company, Kindred Healthcare and Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence will host some of the sessions, exposing the participants to Jewish leaders in a variety of settings.
Panelists include representatives from Jewish Family & Career Services, the congregations, 21c Museum Hotels, Heaven Hill Brands, Humana, Louisville Metro Council and the American Jewish Committee.
The topics they grapple with address Jewish Louisville as well as Jewish leadership in the greater Louisville community.
Unique to JCL’s program is “Lunch with a Leader,” a mentoring component that pairs participants with veterans of all facets of Jewish Louisville.
The JCL expects this program to engage future leaders to learn together about Jewish non-profits amd greater Louisville and find a starting point from which they will embark on a lifetime of Jewish leadership.
Leadership development is already being modeled by co-chairs of the annual Federation Campaign. Faina and Ariel Kronenberg are co-chairing the drive with Jerry and Madeline Abramson, who have previous experience in this area. The Kronenbergs are expected to take the lead during the 2019 campaign.