By Jenni Mangel, Senior Director of Impact and Evaluation, Jewish LearningWorks
From my first job out of college working at Jewish Vocational Service in San Francisco, two extraordinary mentors changed my life and career path:
Judy Bloom z”l, when she first met me, informed me that she would “teach me how to be a woman in the workplace.” From that moment, and through a 25-year friendship, I learned about poise, confidence, voice, dress, articulation of an argument, how to manage motherhood and professionalism, and so so much more.
Among the many things I learned from my direct supervisor, Deborah Louria z”l, I learned not to do community work alone. It was Deborah who first sent me to a meeting of youth professionals at Jewish LearningWorks (then the Bureau of Jewish Education). The relationships and learning opportunities Jewish LearningWorks provided shaped my professional path and led me to the role of fellowship director at Jewish LearningWorks.
This May we concluded the third cohort of the Voices for Good Fellowship. At this gathering of 60 community leaders, I felt like Judy and Deborah were in the room with us. They would have delighted in seeing graduates from the three cohorts of the Voices fellowship seated among myriad other community leaders, each of whom work every day for the present and future of our community. I am proud to have learned with and from each of the 35 graduates of this program.
At the culminating event this May we asked two cohort 3 participants to speak about their experience in the Voices for Good Fellowship. Not surprisingly, they echoed lessons I learned from my early mentors.
Beth Lipschutz spoke about the importance of diversity of background and experience in a group. She noted that, “People with diverse perspectives and strengths don’t just belong, they matter in a group.” When Deborah encouraged me to participate in group learning experiences, she wanted me to do so as my full authentic self. Like Beth, she knew that when we are able to bring our full selves to a group the contributions are reciprocal, and we all benefit from the wealth of ideas that are shared. Read Beth’s full remarks here.
Emily Simons shared ways that she was able to immediately bring ideas from the fellowship into her workplace and, in particular, “the importance of establishing relationships with other women in the field, because we don’t have a golf course. The golf course is now WhatsApp group chats, taco lunch dates, and critical colleagues.” A quarter century ago Judy Bloom knew how important it was for professionals to mentor and support one another; that need will continue over the next quarter century. Read Emily’s full remarks here or watch the video.
Going full circle, when Deborah sent me to learn with my peers early in my career, I knew I had aligned with my calling. It took a while for me to realize that what Judy taught me I would, in turn, teach others. I am proud of the deep learning we do with our cohort learning experiences at Jewish LearningWorks. Our programs are steeped in Jewish texts and values, and simultaneously give participants the support needed to experiment with new ideas, skills, and expression of themselves in their workplace. Individuals in our programs identify their needs, strengthen their voice, and assert their place amongst leaders in the Jewish community. I know that, together, we will continue building the community we want to live and work in.
