COJECO RSJ Symposium
Gali Cooks
Executive Director of Leading Edge
gali@leadingedge.org
Gali Cooks is the inaugural Executive Director of Leading Edge, an organization formed in 2014 by foundations and federations to influence, inspire and enable dramatic change in attracting, developing and retaining top talent for Jewish organizations. Gali’s professional experience spans the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Her career began as a speechwriter at the Embassy of Israel and a Legislative Assistant at AIPAC. She then joined the Harold Grinspoon Foundation as Founding Director of the PJ Library. From 2007-2013, Gali was Executive Director of the Rita & Stanley Kaplan Family Foundation. In the private sector, Gali was VP of Operations at an education technology startup. Most recently, Gali was Director of Business Operations in the Youth Division of URJ. Gali serves on the Boards of Keshet and the Joshua Venture Group, and holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.B.A. from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Organization
Leading Edge
http://leadingedge.org
Mission:
Why are great leaders for Jewish organizations so hard to find? Opinions vary. Some think we don’t do a good enough job preparing the next generation of leaders to take the helm. Others think the culture of traditional Jewish organizations is not attractive to top talent. Both mindsets are right.
To ensure the institutions at the heart of the Jewish community will be around to support and nurture generations to come, we need to invest more in building a talent pipeline and developing organizations to make sure they are great places to work.
THIS IS THE CALL OF LEADING EDGE.
