Keystone Fellowship

The Keystone Fellowship is a visionary effort to cultivate and nurture distinguished lay leaders committed to shaping the Jewish future and strengthening their nominating organization.

The application is closed. Thank you for your participation!

 

We are excited to announce the second cohort of the COJECO Keystone Fellowship – a leadership program that brings together distinguished lay leaders and philanthropists from the Russian-speaking Jewish and American Jewish communities.

 December 23, 2016 – New York, NY – COJECO has revealed the second 20-person cohort of the COJECO Keystone Fellowship, a visionary effort to cultivate and nurture distinguished lay leaders committed to shaping the Jewish future and strengthening their nominating organizations. This highly selective program brings together a collaborative cohort of diverse Jewish activists, representing the broad array of organizations and affiliations within the Jewish community of New York. COJECO is unambiguous in its intent to bring Russian-speaking Jews to the decision making table, as half of the distinguished fellows are from a Russian-speaking Jewish background.

Sponsored by the UJA-Federation of NY, the Keystone Fellowship is a unique partnership between COJECO, the central coordinating body of the Russian-speaking Jewish community of NY, and NYU Wagner School of Public Service. The curriculum will weave the practical skills of institutional governance and fiduciary responsibilities with the most current and dynamic models of Jewish and leadership learning. Participants will explore their own identity and relationship to the larger Jewish community; learn the foundations of governance with the leading academics; meet with some of the most influential and innovative leaders of the Jewish world and start envisioning future Jewish community and their role in it. This year-long program will begin in January 2017 with an intensive three-day retreat, followed by 15 group sessions and a week-long immersive learning experience in a Jewish community abroad.  NYU Wagner will provide an executive graduate certificate to Keystone Fellowship participants upon completion of the program.

Dr. David Elcott, Co-Director the NYU Wagner and Judaic Studies Dual Degree Program and Taub Professor of Practice in Public Service and Leadership, explains, “In the Jewish world, there is a pressing need for well-trained and thoughtful volunteer leaders to steer our organizations, from synagogues and schools, to those providing social welfare and culture, to those engaging in political action and social justice.  As the demands and pressures facing Jewish agencies and organizations increase, supporting further advancement of mid-level leaders becomes even more urgent.”

The COJECO Keystone Fellowship aims to assist Jewish institutions in cultivating and nurturing their lay leaders. Through the outreach efforts of the Keystone Staff Team, over 70 candidates were nominated by a wide range of Jewish non-profit agencies in the New York Metropolitan Area. After a rigorous application and interview process guided by the Keystone Steering Committee, 20 outstanding candidates have been selected for the 2017 Keystone Fellowship Cohort.

I am so excited and honored to have been chosen as a member of the Keystone fellowship, along with 19 other accomplished peers! Looking forward to learning and creating a meaningful community of Jewish lay leaders, – Eric Yankelovich, 2017 COJECO Keystone Fellow

The Keystone Fellowship proposes to restructure how the Russian-speaking and American Jewish communities relate to one another by modeling a singular, inclusive platform for Jewish leaders. The second 20 person cohort represents a broad array of organizational involvement, religious observance, cultural background, and goals for the Jewish future. This community building and leadership empowerment model will integrate various subgroups rather than seek to assimilate a minority in the dominant mainstream.  “This is the Jewish future, one of diversity and pluralism,” explains Roman Shmulenson, Executive Director of COJECO.  “The Keystone Fellowship is an innovative approach toward a truly collective sense of Jewish peoplehood – the human bond and sense of shared destiny that makes us a people.”

Eligibility and Selection Process

The Keystone Fellowship is highly selective leadership training program for accomplished individuals (approximately 30-45 years old) with a proven record of leadership in Jewish communal life, and a demonstrated potential for future growth. Keystone Fellowship candidates must be interested in acquiring new knowledge and skills and an ability to apply them in practice, proactively seeking to transform and invigorate the Jewish community of NY.

Fellows were selected through a three step process:

  • Recommendation by a Jewish non-profit organization
  • Written Application and Personal Essay
  • In-person Interview

 

 

Keystone fellowship

2017 cohort

Elinor
Tatum

Elinor Tatum was born in the East Village in the early 1970’s into a family of community activist/organizers. Her mother, a Holocaust survivor, and her father, the grandson of slaves. They met on a political campaign in the 1960's and were married soon after. Tatum took her first trip to Israel when she was 13 years old. Her family visited an absorption center and met newly welcomed Ethiopian Jews. They were part of operation Moses. To this day she recalls watching as a little boy, all or 4-year-old, new to Israel, gently take a mans hand as he was about to light a match and say "no, Shabbat." That image rests indelibly in her mind as an image of pure Judaism transported across centuries, oceans and miles.
Tatum has spoken at many Jewish organizations both here and abroad. She has traveled to Israel with AIPAC on several occasions, spearheading one trip to facilitate leaders from the Black press to go to Israel. She has keynoted programs in Jewish communities in Minneapolis and have spoken at many synagogues including Stephen Weiss Free Synagogue. Elinor has worked with the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding in bridging Black Jewish relations. In Addition, over the years, I have maintained close ties with the Israeli Consulate. Participating in programming and cultural exchanges. Elinor is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of the New York Amsterdam News, the oldest and largest black newspaper in the City of New York, and one of the oldest ethnic papers in the United States. She has worked at the paper since 1994, and has been its publisher since 1998

Craig
Unterberg

Craig Unterberg is a partner at Haynes and Boone, where he is the Chair of the law firm’s Finance and Banking practice.  In 2009, Craig moved from Dallas to New York to help develop the firm’s New York office.  Craig has served in leadership roles in Jewish organizations for more than 20 years, including Jewish Federation, AIPAC, and American Jewish Committee. He has focused on developing and cultivating emerging leadership programs. Craig is currently the Vice President and Executive Committee member of American Jewish Committee’s New York Region, a member of AJC’s National Board of Governors and has served on AJC’s National Leadership Development Committee, Nominating Committee, Legal Committee, and Interreligious Affairs Committee.  Craig is an alumnus of AJC's Comay Fellowship, Hilda Katz Blaustein Leadership Institute, and the Konrad Adenauer Exchange Program in Germany, and a graduate of the Austrian Foreign Ministry’s Leadership Program.  During Craig’s early childhood, he lived on the Camp Lejeune Marine Base and, along with thousands of others, was a victim of Camp Lejeune’s water contamination, one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history.  Craig advocates for veterans and their families who lived at Camp Lejeune.  In recognition of his advocacy, Craig was appointed to the federally mandated Citizen Assistance Panel for victims of Camp Lejeune.  Prior to moving to New York, Craig was named one of the "40 Under 40” for his civic involvement in the Dallas community.

Elinor
Tatum

Elinor Tatum was born in the East Village in the early 1970’s into a family of community activist/organizers. Her mother, a Holocaust survivor, and her father, the grandson of slaves. They met on a political campaign in the 1960's and were married soon after. Tatum took her first trip to Israel when she was 13 years old. Her family visited an absorption center and met newly welcomed Ethiopian Jews. They were part of operation Moses. To this day she recalls watching as a little boy, all or 4-year-old, new to Israel, gently take a mans hand as he was about to light a match and say "no, Shabbat." That image rests indelibly in her mind as an image of pure Judaism transported across centuries, oceans and miles.
Tatum has spoken at many Jewish organizations both here and abroad. She has traveled to Israel with AIPAC on several occasions, spearheading one trip to facilitate leaders from the Black press to go to Israel. She has keynoted programs in Jewish communities in Minneapolis and have spoken at many synagogues including Stephen Weiss Free Synagogue. Elinor has worked with the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding in bridging Black Jewish relations. In Addition, over the years, I have maintained close ties with the Israeli Consulate. Participating in programming and cultural exchanges. Elinor is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of the New York Amsterdam News, the oldest and largest black newspaper in the City of New York, and one of the oldest ethnic papers in the United States. She has worked at the paper since 1994, and has been its publisher since 1998

Craig
Unterberg

Craig Unterberg is a partner at Haynes and Boone, where he is the Chair of the law firm’s Finance and Banking practice.  In 2009, Craig moved from Dallas to New York to help develop the firm’s New York office.  Craig has served in leadership roles in Jewish organizations for more than 20 years, including Jewish Federation, AIPAC, and American Jewish Committee. He has focused on developing and cultivating emerging leadership programs. Craig is currently the Vice President and Executive Committee member of American Jewish Committee’s New York Region, a member of AJC’s National Board of Governors and has served on AJC’s National Leadership Development Committee, Nominating Committee, Legal Committee, and Interreligious Affairs Committee.  Craig is an alumnus of AJC's Comay Fellowship, Hilda Katz Blaustein Leadership Institute, and the Konrad Adenauer Exchange Program in Germany, and a graduate of the Austrian Foreign Ministry’s Leadership Program.  During Craig’s early childhood, he lived on the Camp Lejeune Marine Base and, along with thousands of others, was a victim of Camp Lejeune’s water contamination, one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history.  Craig advocates for veterans and their families who lived at Camp Lejeune.  In recognition of his advocacy, Craig was appointed to the federally mandated Citizen Assistance Panel for victims of Camp Lejeune.  Prior to moving to New York, Craig was named one of the "40 Under 40” for his civic involvement in the Dallas community.

KEYSTONE FELLOWSHIP CURRICULUM OUTLINE

The Keystone Fellowship seeks to equip lay leaders from the American and Russian-speaking Jewish communities with the knowledge and skills required to navigate the world of Jewish organizations along with leadership perspective drawn from ancient and modern Jewish text.  During this series of seminars, participants will explore their own identity and relationship to the larger Jewish community; learn the foundations of governance with the leading academics; meet with some of the most influential and innovative leaders of the Jewish world and start envisioning future Jewish community and their role in it.

To access program materials please CLICK HERE

  1. 1.American Jewish institutions as a reflection of the nature of Jewish identity in the U.S.
  2. 2.If It Ain’t Broken, Fix It Anyway: Jewish Leadership and Organizational Life in the Fast Lane
  3. 3.To Be a Jew: Jewish Education, Identity and Cultural Transmission – For what purpose?
  4. 4.Seeking a System: Bureaucratic Paralysis, Innovation and Adaptation
  5. 5.Governance or Who Runs This Place and How to Make It Run Better – Part I: Historical perspective on Jewish governance and modern roles within Jewish communal institutions
  6. 6.Governance or Who Runs This Place and How to Make It Run Better – Part II: Making Volunteer Work Meaningful. Board Functions and Responsibilities
  7. 7.Governance or Who Runs This Place and How to Make It Run Better – Part III: Financial Management
  8. 8.Inside or Out: Are Jews part of the American power elite or a vulnerable minority – Self-defense and the battle for rights
  9. 9.Who Speaks for the Jewish Community: Power, Authority and Alternative Voices
  10. 10.What Really is The Bottom Line: Tzedakah, Philanthropy and Fundraising
  11. 11.Governance or Who Runs This Place and How to Make It Run Better – Part IV: How Do We Know Where We Are Going? Performance Management
  12. 12.Israel: Between Heaven and Earth, Dream and Reality
  13. 13.Jewish New York: What Are We, Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?
  14. 14.Looking Toward the Future: Jewish Communal Organizations and How to Imagine Transformation

Keystone Fellowship

Steering Committee

COJECO Keystone

Fellowship Staff

David Elcott

Co-Director the NYU Wagner and Judaic Studies Dual Degree Program, David Elcott has spent the last twenty-five years at the intersection of community building, the search for a theory of cross-boundary engagement, and interfaith and ethnic organizing and activism.

David Elcott, co-Director the NYU Wagner and Judaic Studies Dual Degree Program, has spent the last twenty-five years at the intersection of community building, the search for a theory of cross-boundary engagement, and interfaith and ethnic organizing and activism. Trained in political psychology and Middle East affairs at Columbia University and Judaic studies at the American Jewish University, Dr. Elcott is the Taub Professor of Practice in Public Service and Leadership at the NYU Wagner School of Public Service and associate faculty at the Research Center for Leadership in Action. He was formally the Vice-President of the National Center for Learning and Leadership, a think-tank tasked with training community leaders to rethink the nature of contemporary community and civic obligation.
Irina Rakhlis

Irina Rakhlis is very passionate about building a Jewish community and strengthening Jewish life and identity among Russian-speaking Jews (RSJ). She is actively engaged as a lay leader in the RSJ community, serving on the board of Mazel Day School and Jewish Parent Academy, offering her a unique opportunity to be part of organizations that serve as a source of inspiration and guidance for Brooklyn’s RSJ community. Irina is also a member of the Natan RSJ giving circle that supports innovative approaches to strengthening the RSJ community. After successfully graduating from inaugural Keystone Fellowship cohort, Irina joined COJECO team in 2016 as a Program Manager to lead the second Keystone Fellowship. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, she immigrated to United States at the age of 11. Irina spent 13 years on Wall Street in the financial sector. She is a graduate of Pace University, NYC. Irina enjoys spending time with her husband and their three daughters, living in Brooklyn, NY.

For more information

or if you have any questions, please e-mail
Irina Rakhlis at:

Irinar@cojeco.org