SCHEDULE
SUNDAY
11am: Check in
Foyer of Sonoran Ballroom
12-1pm: Lunch
Sonoran Terrace and Vigas Patio
1:15-2:45pm: Welcome and Opening Fish Bowl
Sonoran Ballroom
Carly Coons, Blue Dove Foundation
Sarah Fredrick and Jackie Zais, Gather, Inc
Rabbi Myriam Klotz, Institute of Jewish Spirituality
Wendy Verba, Belonging by Design
Todd Rockoff, President + CEO Tucson J, moderator
2:45-3:30pm: Ice Cream Social
Sonoran Terrace
3:30-5pm: Discussion
Belonging (Green Dot): Javelina
Blue Dove (Yellow Dot): Saguaro
Listening (Blue Dot): Quail
RBE (Red Dot): Coyote
5-6pm: Break
6pm: Depart for JCC
Lobby
6:30pm Dinner & Tour Tucson J
MONDAY
Breakfast on your own
Specials available at hotel restaurant
9:30-10:30am: Choose your own
Beyond Yom Ha’Atzmout Israel Engagement at the J: Canyon
Brand – Story Leads Everything: Mesa
JCulture: Quail
The JCC and You: Coyote
Tackling the “Equity” in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Palm
Turning Belonging to the Center to a Center of Belonging: Saguaro
Sacred Listening: Vigas Patio
Hakarat Hatov: Javelina
RBE: Desert
10:30am-12pm: Cohort Breakouts
Arts+Culture, Adult Programs + Jewish Living: Coyote
Early Childhood + Family Engagement: Desert
Membership + Engagement: Quail
Marketing: Saguaro
Finance: Palm
Facilities: Tinaja
HR: Pusch Ridge
Philanthropy: Mesa
COO: Canyon
Sports, Fitness + Aquatics: Javelina
Inclusion: Business Center
Youth, Teen + Camp: Ballroom Rooftop Terrace
CEO: Stargazer Suite
12-1pm: Lunch
Sonoran Terrace + Vigas Patio
1-2:30pm: Cohort Learning
Arts+Culture, Adult Programs + Jewish Living: Coyote
Early Childhood + Family Engagement: Desert
Membership + Engagement: Quail
Marketing: Saguaro
Finance: Palm
Facilities: Tinaja
HR: Pusch Ridge
Philanthropy: Mesa
COO: Canyon
Sports, Fitness + Aquatics: Javelina
Inclusion: Business Center
Youth, Teen + Camp: Ballroom Rooftop Terrace
CEO: Stargazer Suite
2:30-3:15pm: Networking
Sonoran Terrace + Vigas Patio
3:15-4:15pm: Keynote Presentation
Doron Krakow, President + CEO, JCC Association
Sonoran Ballroom
4:15-5:15pm: Small Group Reflection
Palm
Desert
Mesa
Canyon
Sonoran Ballroom
Saguaro
5:45pm: Load busses to dinner at Culinary Dropout
Lobby
TUESDAY
Breakfast on your own
Specials available at hotel restaurant
9:15-10:45am: Innovation as a Process to Reach Our Goals,
Eric Smith, Executive Director, UA Center for Innovation
Sonoran Ballroom
11-11:30am: Closing Table Breakouts
Sonoran Ballroom
11:30am: Lunch & Conference Conclusion
Sonoran Terrace + Vigas Patio
CHOOSE YOUR OWN SESSIONS
Beyond Yom Ha'Atzmout Israel Engagement at the J
This session will be an opportunity to explore ideas and share existing best practices within JCCs about Israel Engagement and programing at the J. We will discuss bringing Israel into the J throughout the year. And yes, we will also devote some time to the elephant in the room – Bringing Israel to your members at a time when the country (Israel) seems to be in turmoil and Israel Diaspora relationships are being tested.
So I welcome you to join me and your colleagues, be prepared to share your knowledge and experience with others, be prepared to learn from each other, be prepared to argue and disagree and let’s dig deeper!
Presenter: Sara Sless, Assistant Director, JCC Association Center for Israel Engagement, Director Israel Seminars
Brand – Story Leads Everything
A refresher on the connective elements of brand strategy: branding, marketing, and media-building. How to leverage the JCC Movement’s history and evolving brand story to strengthen community relationships and compete meaningfully.
Presenter: Joanne Harmon, Chief Marketing Officer, JCC Association of North America
JCulture- Creating a Safe, Respectful, Diverse, Inclusive, and Equitable, Jewish Workplace and Communal Space
JCulture is a program of the JCC Association. Providing training and information on how to create and/or enhance the culture of your J as it relates to SRE & DEI work. Once leaders are trained in the curriculum it is intended to be an organization-wide (maybe even community wide) faculty training that explores the core elements and barriers to equitable, accountable, and care-centered workplace culture applied through a Jewish lens. In this session, we will discuss;
- Learn the history of this program on the continental level and local
- Explore some of the content
- Psychological Safety
- Empathy vs Sympathy
- Feedback Rich Environments
- The GROW Coaching Model
- And more
- Share how the Tucson J has implemented, and continue to use, this training to strengthen our culture of belonging.
Presenters – Monica Rosenbaum, Sr. Director of Operations and Haylee Davis, Inclusion Coordinator Tucson JCC
The JCC and You – a session for New Professionals
Welcome to the JCC! We’re glad you’re here. This session is geared for people 2 years or under in the JCC field. During this interactive session we will focus on our individual roles, the JCC as a larger organization and the JCC as it relates to the community. This session will include information on Mission and Vision of JCCs, understanding non-profits, and the importance of networking and resources available in the JCC network and with JCC Association.
Presenter: Joy Brand-Richardson, Vice President, Professional Development, JCC Association
Tackling the "Equity" in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. What is it and how do we do it?
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a hot topics in contemporary workspaces. Many of our organizations have made strides in diversity and inclusion initiatives to serve members and the community, but still struggle with the less tangible concept of equity. Using the Tucson JCC’s experience with SRE and Keilim as an example, in this interactive session, we will explore equity vs equality and discuss how equity can be applied in JCC policies and practices.
Presenter: Dr. Elise Lopez, Director, UArizona Consortium on Gender-Based Violence
Turning Belonging to the Center to a Center of Belonging
When we leave belonging to chance, too many people are left behind. Designing for belonging with intention is about creating the structures and practices that ensure belonging happens systematically across your JCC, for everyone. How do we do that? Wendy Verba, founder of Belonging by Design will share the Culture of Belonging approach that so many organizations in the Bay Area have adopted, including the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, which is on a mission to apply these principles in each department.
Presenter: Wendy Verba, Founder and Principal, Belonging by Design
Sacred Listening--Introduction to Relational Mindfulness Practice
This workshop will offer an approach to relationship-building through a focus on 4 dimensions of listening to ourselves and others: Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual. It will include experiential learning in small groups as we practice paying attention to the ways in which we listen, and speak with each other.
Presenter: Rabbi Myriam Klotz, Senior Core Faculty, Institute of Jewish Spirituality
Hakarat Hatov: Judaism, Gratitude, and You
In Judaism, the middah (Jewish value) of hakarat hatov is used to emphasize the importance of recognizing the amazing things we have been blessed us with in our lives. Not only is hakarat hatov about gratitude, it is also about our attitude toward the world around us. In this workshop, participants will explore gratitude and its connection to Judaism, and will get the opportunity to engage in gratitude practices that they can use at home after the workshop.
Presenter: Carly Coons, Director of Education and Programming, The Blue Dove Foundation
RBE – Strengthening our Community using a Relational Based Engagement (RBE) Model
This interactive session will focus on the philosophy of relationship-based engagement—an innovative approach to rebuilding membership by creating a sense of belonging and adopting a productive and practical post-COVID rhetoric—and how several JCCs have used it, giving attendees concrete RBE skills to take back to their own JCCs
Presenter: Jackie Zais, Chief of Staff and Sarah Fredrick, Director of Training Gather, Inc
Presenter Bios
Since joining JCC Association in 2016, Doron has re-asserted the agency’s place as the convening organization of the JCC Movement. He’s launched signature programs that address the immediate and long-term needs of local JCCs, including JResponse, which trains JCC professionals to provide assistance and relief to sister JCCs in the aftermath of a crisis.
Doron brings more than 25 years of experience with national and international Jewish organizations to JCC Association, having previously served as executive vice president of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU), the U.S.-based organization devoted to strengthening the university through philanthropy, public relations and student recruitment. His tenure with AABGU included the realization of a $500 million gift, the largest charitable gift in the history of the State of Israel, and one of the largest charitable gifts ever made to a university.
As senior vice president, Israel and overseas at United Jewish Communities (now the Jewish Federations of North America), Doron managed the annual global distribution and utilization of more than $400 million in Jewish Federation funds. He spent a decade, from 1992 to 2002, as national director of the Zionist youth movement, Young Judaea, a decade in which enrollment in its Israel programs grew by 500 percent, creating the largest Israel experience operation in North America prior to the creation of Birthright Israel.
Doron was born in the Bronx and raised in Teaneck, N.J. He holds an MBA from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University. He lives in Tenafly, N.J., where he and his family are long-standing members of the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades and of Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck. Doron is the vice chair of the JPRO Network board and a board member of Tzofim: Friends of Israel Scouts.
Audrey Edwards has been at the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston for more than two decades.
In 2017, Edwards was awarded the Chuck Bronz lifetime achievement award by JCC Association. This award is given to someone in the JCC field who exemplifies the qualities of leadership and dedication to the JCC Movement, and who has worked to help and support others in the movement.
As a Professional Consultant with over 25 years of experience, Audrey specializes in providing expert guidance and support to JCC’s of North America. Her skillset includes Professional Development, Strategic Planning, and Talent Management. She is passionate about helping organizations reach their full potential and thrive in today’s competitive environment. Her extensive knowledge and experience make her a valuable asset to any organization looking to achieve their goals and objectives.
She is passionate about the JCC movement and is proud to be a part of it!
Rabbi Myriam Klotz (she/they) is a Senior Core Faculty member of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and Program Director for IJS’s upcoming Kol Dodi Jewish Spiritual Director Training.
Monica came to the JCC Movement as a young child of only 8, the summer after her father passed away. As a child of a mother left to raise four children (ages 10months- 10 years) after the sudden passing of her father, Monica’s mother needed financial support and assistance to keep her children social and happy during summer break. Their local JCC stepped up along with JCFS and provided scholarship for the three older children to attend summer camp. It has been Monica’s passion and driving force since to repay what was awarded to her and her family and to make sure no child is without an amazing summer and childcare experience like the one, she was afforded.
Monica attended a certificate program in School Age Child Care from a partnership program with Cornell University and completed a Certificate in Jewish Leadership with Spertus Institute for Jewish Leadership and Northwestern University. Monica is a former JCC Association Merrin Teen Fellow, current Changemarker in JCulture 2.0, past participant and presenter at ACA Tri-State Camp Conference & JCC Association regional conferences.
Sless is involved in other areas of work with the JCC Association including in the area of inclusion and diversity, an initiative supporting mental health for youth and young adults, working with older adult professionals, Jewish life and learning professionals and arts and culture professionals.
Sless is the former CEO of Sunrise Israel a recreational program and summer day camp for children with cancer and their siblings, serving children from all different backgrounds. It is part of Sunrise Association which is based in Long Island. Today she is an active member of the executive board.
Sara was born in England and has lived in Israel for over 38 years. She is a trained spiritual carer with a certification in Clinical Pastoral Education. She lives in Tsur Hadassah and is married to Julian, and they have three wonderful sons.
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
Addison Penzak JCC Los Gatos
Los Gatos, CA
Alpert Jewish Community Center
Long Beach, CA
Boulder JCC
Boulder, CO
Charles Schusterman Jewish Community Center
Tulsa, OK
I.J. & Jeanne Wagner Jewish Community Center
Salt Lake City, UT
JCC Denver
Denver, CO
Jewish Community Center of East Bay
Berkeley, CA
Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque
Albuqerque, NM
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center
La Jolla, CA
Merage Jewish Community Center
Irvine, CA
Minnesota JCC
St. Paul, MN
Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Portland, OR
Osher Marin JCC
San Rafael, CA
Oshman Family JCC
Palo Alto, CA
Paperny Family JCC
Calgary, AB, Canada
PJCC- Peninsula Jewish Community Center
Foster City, CA
Shalom Institute
Malibu, CA
SLJCC
Los Angeles, CA
The Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada
Las Vegas, NV
The Stroum Jewish Community Center
Mercer Island, WA
Tucson JCC
Tucson, AZ
Valley of the Sun JCC
Scottsdale, AZ
Westside JCC
Los Angeles, CA