Ever since the CEO of the United Jewish Communities, Howard Rieger, announced that he would be leaving his post at the end of August, the big question around the organization that is the umbrella of the Jewish federation system has been “Who will replace Howard?”
From what I am hearing, the UJC wants to have someone in place by the beginning of summer and a decision could be made within the next few weeks.
And the answer may becoming a little clearer. For months it was rumored that Misha Galperin, the executive vice president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, was the front runner for the spot.
But, according to several sources, he is out of the running.
The names I am hearing now:
- Jerry Silverman, the president of the Foundation for Jewish Camp.
- Jehuda Reinharz, the president of Brandeis University.
- Morlie Levin, the national executive vice president of Hadassah.
The interesting thing to note is that all three of those candidates are from outside the federation system. I’ve heard for a while that there has been some debate about whether the job should be offered to a federation exec or whether it should go to someone who can come in and look at the system with fresh eyes.
There are of course some who are afraid that hiring an outsider — and not an exec from a large city — would upset some at big federations. Especially since the nominee to serve as the next chairperson of UJC, Kathy Manning, is from a small sized federation (Greensboro, N.C.).
Start the drumroll. …
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