Committed to Community: YALA's Leadership Series & Board Member Boot Camp

Four months ago, nearly 30 young adults looking to upgrade their leadership game gathered together at Modernwell in Minneapolis to learn more about YALA’s Leadership Series pilot program. YALA Twin Cities created the Leadership Series to meet the needs of young adults looking to dip their toes into leadership development and Jewish communal leadership opportunities. Since the Series Sampler in February, we’ve hit major changes to how we gather and learn together, and YALA’s adjusted accordingly. COVID-19 hasn’t changed the desire in the community to learn how to be better, more creative leaders. If anything, it’s made the series—and the skills and knowledge it’s supplying to current and future community leaders—all the more important.  

The Series was slated to be a total of six in-person series on topics ranging from the local Jewish ecosystem to learning more about the role of the Federations within that ecosystem. Now, after a few adjustments, the cohort has met virtually for its last couple of sessions. It hasn’t stopped them from hearing from great local speakers or engaging in important conversation together. 

On May 5th, the cohort gathered virtually once again for its penultimate meeting—Board Member Boot Camp. Some of the young leaders in the cohort already serve on the boards of many local organizations—Jewish and otherwise—and others are, as moderator Jennifer Kramm put it, “board-curious.” YALA invited members of the JFCS NextGen Board to join for the session; JFCS NextGen provides opportunities for young adults ages 21-36 to develop leadership skills and deepen connections to Jewish Family and Children’s Service and its mission through social and volunteer experiences and philanthropy. The NextGen Board is the only board comprised of exclusively young adults and many are serving on a board for the first time. 

“I know you’re all going through different impacts of the pandemic and your journeys,” Jennifer said to kick off the meeting. She’s an experienced board member herself, having served on the boards of several local organizations, including most recently on The Lift Garage’s board, and is a Senior Consultant at Collectivity. “But it’s really refreshing to be in a space where there’s a bunch of civic-minded leaders that are committed to community.”  

Which drives home the importance of the Leadership Series still happening, even in a world drastically different from the one YALA launched it in—that there are so many young leaders in our community eager to make change and take charge, even—or especially—in the face of a global pandemic.  

The night’s guest speaker was Neil Moses-Zirkes, the president-elect at Beth Jacob Congregation. Neil also serves on the board of the Sholom Foundation, among many other current and former board appointments, and was invited by YALA to speak about his board journey and how he got to where he currently is.  

“The most important thing for me is finding somewhere that I have a passion,” Neil said of the organizations he’s served during his extensive board service. His advice to the cohort for picking a place to bring their talents? “Finding something you feel committed to [that] doesn’t feel like work.” 

He also went on to say that more boards are looking for folks than are actually volunteering to be on them—good news for those “board-curious” cohort members.  

“The same people tend to be on the same types of boards,” he explained. “You run the risk of not [having] enough fresh perspectives. The reality is, more boards need people than people are volunteering.” 

“That why we need everyone on this call to get on all the boards!” Jennifer echoed.  

Questions from the cohort covered just that—how does a community member get on a board? And what makes them a good fit for an organization? How can a younger leader stack up against someone who might have more career experience? 

That’s precisely the position that the YALA Leadership Series has left these community leaders in—with their newfound wealth of knowledge, they can ask those tough questions, lead with confidence, and bring fresh perspectives to the boards of organizations they’re passionate about. 

“Please join a board!” Jennifer said, summing up the sentiment perfectly. “We need you!” 

If you’re looking to learn more about the YALA Leadership Series or the young leaders in the pilot cohort, contact Emma Dunn, YALA Twin Cities Manager, at edunn@jewishtwincities.org.