Our Impact

Jewish LearningWorks is a community treasure as it is really the only organization in the Bay Area community that focuses intently on lifting up Jewish communal professionals, be it through the Voices for Good program or the 1 on 1 coaching program, or a range of other gatherings that bring professionals together. This kind of support for the field cannot be overstated. Jewish professionals, like any professional group, need training, support, and peer networks to thrive and do the best work in service to the Jewish community. JLW under Dana's leadership will no doubt continue to elevate the professional practice of those who serve our community. JLW strengthens the Jewish field in the Bay Area, which in turn energizes and strengthens Jewish organizations and synagogues for the good of the entire community. Supporting JLW is a smart investment in the community as a whole.

Wow!!! You have definitely gone WAAAY above the call of duty in providing all this information to me and the Kehilla book group!!! Thanks so much!!!

I love it when you have the authors of each year's One Bay One Book at the library, and in this case on Zoom. You always pick excellent books which I enjoy reading and discussing with our book group. Whenever I am able I come to hear the author, I have not been disappointed. It is a gift to hear an author after enjoying their book.

As I go into working with teens I can be more prepared to hold a safer space for them. My language and consciousness around issues of gender and identity can only help the teens feel more welcomed and safe and I can set a positive, inclusive example for my community.

JLW has been instrumental in my personal and professional growth. I am grateful for the many high quality learning opportunities that are offered to me as a teen educator, surrounded by my peers in a supportive learning environment.

As a Jewish professional at my managerial level, I have found it hard to find engaging, challenging, and innovative opportunities to support my development, until my coaching sessions with JLW. My coach asked questions to encourage reflection and consider the possibilities for problem-solving, modeled active listening, discernment in identifying the root concerns and opportunities, and has also taught me to recognize and celebrate the victories. I am so grateful I have been able to build this relationship and have access to this type of life and career-changing professional development.

It is such a blessing to feel validated in my dreams and celebrated in my achievements by women I respect and trust. I only hope that I can share the gifts Jewish Learning Works has given me with my students and colleagues.

I cannot overstate how my involvement in Jewish LearningWorks and in particular the Voices Fellowship has changed my life. It has given me space and perspective to recognize professional skills and confidence I didn't even know I had. It has provided me with a network of brilliant, talented, and resourceful peers that I can continually turn to with questions and for advice, and no doubt will long into the future. When I applied to the Voices Fellowship, I felt uncertain if I even qualified because I had no desire to stay in the Jewish non-profit field. Now, almost two years later, I see no reason why I would ever leave.

The Jewish Community Library is such a special place for me. It is truly an oasis.

Your gentle and deep teaching has helped me grow so much in my understanding of neurodiversity. Your teaching has changed the way I think about Jewish education.

I want to thank you for making it possible for me to even think this way. You’ve opened things up for me just in the last two sessions. We’ve been trying to learn how to build and drive the truck while we were going down the freeway [during Covid-19.]

This was one of many JLW courses that drew not only upon a vast catalogue of knowledge and disciplines held by the facilitator, but also brought together a cohort of intelligent, curious, and inspiring teachers.

Jewish Learning Works has inspired me so many times to recommit to my work and take the time to explore my own learning, dare to step out of any routine that I may have created educationally and strive to be effective, interesting, and relevant to my students.