Alliance staff participate in year-long leadership project

JCC Association of North America and Keshet, the national LGBTQ Jewish nonprofit, have accepted 14 Jewish Community Centers from around the country to participate in the JCC Association-Keshet Leadership Project.  The Jewish Alliance’s Dwares JCC is one of the organizations that participated in the kick-off leadership summit recently in New York City.

“We had been in talks with Keshet for some time waiting for their next leadership training to open,” said Chief Brand Officer Brian Sullivan. “Seeing as the Alliance is focusing on openness, inclusivity and transparency as part of our strategic plan, the timing was ideal, and we were excited to be chosen as one of the participating agencies.” 

The JCC Association-Keshet Leadership Project is a multi-service program that gathers, trains, provides resources for Jewish institutions and supports them to become more inclusive of LGBTQ individuals and families. JCC Association strengthens and leads the JCC movement with the goal of advancing and enriching North American Jewish life.

Keshet works with organizations along a continuum of inclusion, from those that are just beginning to acknowledge their need for improvement, to those who have deep and sustained initiatives in place and that strive to broaden their reach. 

Participants in the Leadership Project focus on developing a greater understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) communities, and create an action plan for each JCC to work toward completing over the course of a year to make their community more LGBTQ inclusive. To insure their success, each JCC is supported by a Keshet LGBTQ inclusion specialist who helps each team advance their individual goals.

The JCC Association-Keshet Leadership Project reflects a deepening in the partnership between JCC Association and Keshet so that all JCCs around the country are safe and welcoming for all members, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.