The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville is pleased to welcome Judy Alperin as the new CEO. She recently completed a role as chief development officer of Hadassah where she led philanthropy efforts including principal and major gifts, annual giving and emergency fundraising to support the work of the Hadassah Medical Organization and Hadassah’s youth aliyah villages. No stranger to Federation, she previously was CEO of the Jewish Federation and Foundation and JCC of Greater New Haven where she completed the integration of the Federation and New Haven's JCC into a single $10 million operation. She held multiple leadership roles with the Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Aron Karabel, president of the Jewish Federation says it is Alperin’s experience that makes her the right fit for Nashville. “She has a proven track record of engaging donors and volunteers, and driving organizational success.”
Alperin says her family has a legacy of involvement in Jewish life. “We sort of say that Jewish communal service is the family business.” She credits her father with creating that legacy and inspiring her to also become involved in the family business. She says he started out in the JCC field where his career took him to the JCC in South Jersey where he became the executive, and eventually the Federation director. “Growing up, Jewish community was just what we did,” she says, “He would come home for dinner every night. He would take off his jacket, hang it in the closet, roll up his sleeves, he’d sit down at the table, and we’d have dinner together. Then he’d go fix his tie, put his jacket back on and off he'd go.”
Alperin says her mother also has been an involved member of the Jewish community, teaching Sunday school, singing in her congregation’s choir, and continuing to serve wherever and whenever is needed.
Add to all of that was a lifetime participating in summer camps. A self-professed overnight camp dropout, she says, “Day camp was a huge part of who I am.” She worked her way through pretty much all the camp jobs well into her college years. College took her to Rutgers University where she majored in political science fully intending to become a lawyer. But true to the Alperin family model, she changed course and went into the family business. “I think it was when my sister was studying recreation at Maryland and began working at a JCC. I became reinterested in it, and my first job was at the JCC in Marblehead, Massachusetts.” And, as they say, the rest is history.
After some time far from family, Alperin made the move closer to home in Allentown, a place she knew nothing about. “I never would have imagined it was as wonderful as it was there.” She raised her family there and at the same time had professional opportunities in the local Jewish community. It was there that she met Nashville native Mark Goldstein, z”l, former executive of the Allentown Federation, who quickly became a beloved friend and mentor.
She’d been an active volunteer at the time, running her own made to order desserts business. “It’s a wonderful thing for me to have been on the other side of things.” It was around this time the women’s philanthropy director announced she was leaving and Alperin offered to lend a hand part time while Goldstein conducted a search. “I really believe to this day, he never interviewed a single person,” she says, “He waited for me to get hooked and then reeled me in.” She says she fell back in love with the work and never looked back. “Mark was the most incredible mentor, human. I miss him every single day. He taught me so much.”
Alperin says one of the things that impressed her most about Nashville was the collegial relationship of the local rabbis. “One of the coolest things about my day in Nashville was meeting the clergy and seeing the symbiosis between them the kindness. It’s not always like that.”
She says her priority is to get to know the community and meet as many people as possible. “I am excited to hear from people first-hand. In order to be a part of the community, I really need to understand the community. I want to understand all that came before so I can help with where we’re going.” She also is looking forward to meet community leaders both within the Jewish community and the greater Nashville community.
In addition to her degree from Rutgers, Alperin is an Executive Leadership Fellow with the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. She recently earned her certificate from the Interim Leadership Academy at Third Sector Company. She was selected for the first cohort of the Jewish Federation of North America's Fundraising University (2012-2014). An accomplished baker and entrepreneur, she built and ran Sweetiepies, a made to order dessert business.
Alperin is the proud mother of two children. Her son, Rabbi Noah Diamondstein, is a pulpit rabbi in New Jersey. He and his wife Marnie met in their USY years and followed each other to college. They have two children, Dylan and Sydney. Her daughter, Molly Diamondstein is a corporate real estate attorney in Washington, DC.
To reach Judy Alperin, email her at judy@jewishnashville.org.
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