For Women Leaders in Jewish Communal Organizations

The Voices for Good Fellowship creates an affinity space for women leaders in Jewish communal organizations to build collegial relationships, explore Jewish values in leadership, and address challenges unique to women in Jewish professional life.

This fellowship is part of the Voices for Good Initiative, created to advance gender equity in Jewish life, and support women in positions of leadership and influence.

Developing capable and visionary women leaders for our community.

Meet the 2024-26 Fellows

Voices for Good Fellowship, at-a-glance:

  • Aimed at: Leaders who identify as female, working for Jewish communal organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Pacific Northwest, and the Denver-Boulder area. 
  • Duration: Two-year fellowship. 
  • Format: Hybrid. Monthly online, synchronous seminars and in-person regional meetings, including a retreat in California.
  • Trajectory: The fellowship was launched in 2018, and it is in its third intake.
  • Subsidized: The participant fee is $2,000 and it is generously subsidized by Jewish LearningWorks’ donors. Fees are paid by the participant’s employer.
  • Contact: Director of Educational Leadership, Jenni Mangel (jenni@jewishlearning.works).
Download the Brochure

Fellowship Curriculum

Fellows learn together in monthly seminars with core and guest faculty through the duration of the experience.

Based on the successful implementation of the first two Voices for Good Fellowship Cohorts (2018-2023), our arc of learning for the next intake includes time dedicated to:

Core

  • Self-discovery
  • Community building
  • Coaching
  • Jewish leadership values

Change

  • Mission and vision
  • Change theory
  • Organizational systems
  • Leading with wisdom

Competency

  • Presentation and voice
  • Communication skills
  • Conflict resolution
  • Fiscal leadership

What Participants are Saying

“With extraordinary leadership, an enriching curriculum, and deep relationship building, I was able to step into the leadership potential I knew I had and explore my professional capacity. Because of my participation in the fellowship, I developed a deeply self-reflective practice and a collaborative approach to challenges, both of which I bring into my everyday work and personal life.” – Dona Standel

“Having a cohort of phenomenal female leaders all facing the same professional struggles, inspired me to take a necessary leap in my career. Through the learning and growth of the fellowship, I put myself into rabbinic placement and moved from being an associate rabbi at a midsize congregation, to the senior rabbi of a large congregation. I am now professionally satisfied!” – Rabbi Stephanie Kramer

Meet the 2018-2023 Alumnae

Successful Applicants

  • View themselves as a woman leader in a Jewish communal organization, besides any other overlapping identities.
  • Are employed full time by a Jewish organization(s) in the San Francisco Bay Area, Pacific Northwest, or in the Denver-Boulder area.
  • Understand their role as directly or indirectly related to advancing a vision for Jewish education and engagement for their organization’s constituency.
  • Are interested in exploring how gender and gender dynamics influence both their individual work and the Jewish community at large.
  • Express vision and interest to invest in their career path as a Jewish communal professional.
  • Desire to be part of a peer support network.
  • Have worked in the Jewish community for a minimum of 5 years, anticipate service to the community for beyond completion of the fellowship, and do not anticipate retirement from Jewish communal work within the next 10 years.

Other Participant Requirements

  • Travel to the Bay Area for a launch seminar. A travel stipend is offered to participants traveling from outside the Bay Area.
  • Meet for monthly seminars held both online and in regional pods during the work week through the conclusion of the Fellowship.

Jewish LearningWorks strongly encourages employers to enable fellows to participate in fellowship activities as part of standard work hours.

Questions?

For more information about the Voices for Good Fellowship, please contact Jenni Mangel at jenni@jewishlearning.works.