The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville’s Leadership 615 celebrated the second cohort of participants. The program is funded by Dr. Mark Goldfarb who is committed to fostering and developing a new generation of Jewish philanthropists and community leaders. In his remarks, Goldfarb said, “It was a true pleasure hearing from the graduates, both in one-on-one conversations and through their excellent speeches. It is heart-warming to see the special bond they have developed as a peer group. I am extremely proud to be sponsoring this program and am hopeful it will produce newer and younger Jewish leaders to move our community forward.”
Leadership fellows meet once a month for six months. Each session focuses on a different aspect of Nashville’s Jewish community with topics like Jewish demographics, leadership during times of change, difficult conversations, antisemitism and mobilization, and board governance. Guest speakers from Nashville and other parts of the country lead the sessions and there are informal discussions during the month.
The Leadership 615 program was developed in partnership with Goldfarb and the Jewish Federation. Michal Eskenazi Becker, chief impact officer of the Jewish Federation, and coordinator of the program, says, “We were so lucky to have such an engaged, caring, smart, and motivated group this year. I enjoyed every moment with them and learned so much from their questions, insights, and vision for our community. The graduation ceremony was a wonderful opportunity to show others what I already knew all year: our community is in the best hands. I'm grateful to Board members and Federation supporters who came to the event, and to Dr. Mark Goldfarb and Beth Levine. But most of all, to our fellows.”
This year’s cohort was diverse and represented Nashville’s evolving Jewish community. Below are reflections from some of the participants.
John Jivens:
I was born in Philadelphia but raised in Canton, Ohio. I’m a proud alumnus of The Ohio State University. I made my way to Nashville on Leap Day of 2016. Like many folks I have met, I relocated to Nashville to be with my then-girlfriend, now wife, Sheri Rosenberg. My involvement with the Jewish community began in earnest after I got married in March of 2020. I am currently a member of The Temple, participating in a variety of events and serving on several committees. I also spend much of my time working out and shooting hoops at the Gordon Jewish Community Center.
I believe that our goals have been shaped by our different values and experiences.
I think that one of the main benefits of this group is its diversity. We have a wide variety of participants. We have Nashville natives, and we have transplants. We have folks who grew up receiving a formal Jewish education and we have folks that attended public schools. We have folks who were born into families with strong Jewish identities, and we have folks who didn’t connect with their Jewish identity until later in life. Our cohort includes people with a wide variety of professions from artists to accountants, entrepreneurs to engineers and many others in between. We are members of different Jewish intuitions throughout Middle Tennessee. The tie that binds is that all of us feel a strong connection to the Nashville Jewish community and we want to see it strengthen and grow for generations to come.
Matt Hertz:
My name is Matt Hertz, and my Jewish affiliation and engagement has taken on a bit of a roller coaster path in my first 39 years (as of next month). I grew up in Toronto in a household where my mother was Reform and my dad modern orthodox. We celebrated all the holidays, attended synagogue weekly, which was a mere 200 feet from where we lived. Then in the years following high school - throughout college in Montreal, and into my early adult life, I cleverly evaded religion despite living in New York City, a place where it was very easy being Jewish.
After a few years with a stopover in San Francisco, I landed in Nashville in 2018, and was asked by a new friend to join him at The Temple. I took him up on the offer, and quickly met folks like John’s wife, Sheri Rosenberg and became a member with my wife who is here as well.
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I remember mentioning to Michal and the group in our first session that I really didn’t know what the Federation did. How does the Federation interact with the GJCC, The Temple or other organizations here in town? How do donations to the Federation differ from donating to a specific Jewish organization, and why might I be interested in donating to one and not the other.
Being part of this Leadership615 program, I have been introduced to a much broader set of programming and services that are available in the Nashville Jewish community, many supported by the Federation. A handful of these organizations have attended our sessions and presented what they do here in the Nashville Jewish Community.
Recently I received a pamphlet in the mail that reviewed the Grants the Federation offers and my first reaction was, “holy moly! There must be over 100 programs and beneficiaries! Everything from education, engagement, Israel and Global Jewry, community, and creating Jewish safety nets. I mentioned it in front of Michal before one of our sessions. It really is remarkable what the Federation does, and today, unlike 6 months ago, I actually understand the goals, purpose, and outstanding work the Federation does to activate and engage our Jewish community.
Despite my mostly evading of Jewish causes I mentioned in my intro, the Nashville Jewish community has, somewhat ironically, become the one I have been most engaged with, and after this Program, I am confident I will become an even more active member as a leader in various initiatives.
This year’s Leadership 615 Fellows are:
Hunter Bernstein
Courtney Bruns
Julie Galbierz
Saba Getaneh
Alyssa Hassenfeld
Ethan Hassenfeld
Laura Heiman
Matthew Hertz
John Jivens
Alexander Krew
Victor Nachmann
Sandy Rochelle
Brooke Wasserman
Penny Woody
