Sacred Partnership: Developing a Thriving Relationship with Your Lay Leaders
Many synagogue Education Directors express challenges about working with a committee comprised of volunteers. They aren’t sure how to build a committee that will constructively support their work, or how to engage volunteers in conversations that lead to meaningful outcomes. To support Education Directors in addressing these issues, The Jewish Education Project, in partnership with Deborah Shapira, is offering this three-part series designed to provide additional skills and tools for working constructively with a committee of volunteers.
Prior to the first session, participants will be asked to fill out a short online survey describing their particular challenges and concerns, so that the sessions can be tailored to the needs of the group.
Each session will have a specific focus:
Session 1: Designing a Meaningful Professional - Volunteer Partnership
Session 2: Designing High - Impact Meeting Agendas
Session 3: Ensuring Ongoing Success in the Professional-Volunteer Partnership
Participants must commit to participating in all 3 sessions. These sessions are live, interactive, conversational sessions and will not be available for later distribution.
- After School Programming
- Educator Training
- Congregational Learning
- Webinar
Deborah Shapira is a certified facilitator and educator living in New York City. She consults with nonprofit organizations and boards of directors, crafting processes to guide them towards successfully meeting their organizational needs and goals. She is passionate about helping professional and volunteer leaders build constructive partnerships, both to make their work personally fulfilling and to benefit the organizations they serve. This work has included coaching board chairs and governance committee chairs from schools, synagogues and other nonprofit organizations; advising nonprofit CEOs and executive directors; designing and facilitating board retreats; and facilitating webinars on board governance-related topics. A graduate of Stanford University, Deborah earned her certificate in Facilitation through Georgetown University, a certificate in Nonprofit Board Consulting from Boardsource, and a certificate in Jewish Education through the Drisha Institute. She serves on the boards of Sefaria, Prizmah, The Jewish Theological Seminary, and Pardes.
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Why? As education directors and youth professionals begin their roles in the Jewish communal landscape, many have a strong foundation and find that gaining additional skills, tools, and connections enhances their ability to thrive in all aspects of their work. What? These monthly gatherings provide
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