With the new year upon us, the Young Adult Division of the Jewish Federation of Louisville (YAD) is excited to announce that it is making some major changes to energize young people in our wonderful community.
The YAD chair position has transitioned from the capable hands of Laurence Nibur and Keren Benabou to those of Devon Oser. Oser has been deeply involved with the JCL since she moved to Louisville over four years ago. She worked as the Hillel director for the 2014-15 school year, organized young adult functions as a YAD Ambassador, and served as the YAD Annual Event co-chair.
Devon Oser
At a recent meeting, YAD members were introduced to a new “cluster” organization structure. Twenty young adults participated in a planning session on September 11, where they discussed the new structure and encouraged people to sign up for leadership roles. Benji Berlow, the young adult director, and Oser will oversee the clusters. They are hard at work with the cluster chairs finding creative ways of including Jewish young adults not yet involved with YAD.
The currently planned YAD clusters are as follows:
Families: Features events for young adults with children such as family picnics, events for new parents, and collaborations with Shalom Baby, PJ Library, and other family programs. It is chaired by Kat O’Connell and Dara Woods.
20’s & 30’s: Outreach to millennials with monthly happy hours, sport leagues, events around Louisville, events for singles, and more. It is chaired by Allison Feit.
Shabbat & Holidays: Recruits hosts for First Friday Shabbat dinners, plans fun, engaging holiday events for young adults to celebrate the Jewish calendar. It is chaired by: Sasha and Sandra Chack.
Leadership: Reestablishes a young leadership development track to help train young adults to serve on boards and committees within our community. It is chaired by Cori Roth, and a co-chair is being sought.
Networking: Creates a mentorship program for young professionals and facilitates networking opportunities throughout Louisville. It is chaired by Brett Hudspeth.
Inclusion: Ensures outreach to everyone within our community for all events including our interfaith and LGBTQ communities. It is chaired by Derek Pugh.
Fun-lanthropy: Plans our rockin’ annual event, special Ben Gurion events, Super Sunday, and creates a culture of philanthropy for all young adults. Jodi Halpern is the event chair and Becky Swansburg is the Ben Gurion Chair.
Inspired to participate? We still need your help! YAD is still looking for interested young adults to help the cluster system flourish. It’s not too late to help run a cluster or be a part of an already established one. YAD and the JCL would not be the same without its young adults. So please, let Berlow or Oser take you out for coffee and talk about ways to get involved.
For more information about YAD or the events that we offer, please contact Berlow at bberlow@jewishlouisville.org or look for Oser at The J.
