Council of Young Jewish Presidents Hires Inaugural Executive Director With Support From Lubetzky Family Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

April 17, 2019                                                                                  

Council of Young Jewish Presidents Hires

Inaugural Executive Director With Support From

Lubetzky Family Foundation 

The Council of Young Jewish Presidents (CYJP) convenes our next generation of Jewish communal lay leaders to build the network and skills necessary to lead our community today and into the future.  

New York, NY - (April 17, 2019) – The Council of Young Jewish Presidents (CYJP) is excited to announce the hire of its first full-time Executive Director, Zachary Schaffer, to lead CYJP’s efforts to deepen and expand its work. For over ten years CYJP has worked to strengthen the institutional fabric of the Jewish community by building the capacity of leaders to serve on boards, collaborate, and meet the challenges of the 21st century. Following a three-month process and national search, the Board of CYJP has selected Zachary Schaffer to serve as its next leader.

For the past three years, Zachary has travelled the country working with and training senior Jewish professionals and lay leaders in civil discourse, community relations, and Israel engagement. His experience building relationships across stark ideological, religious, and generational divides will enable CYJP to accomplish its goal to convene, train, and empower the most diverse group of Jewish lay leaders in New York City and beyond.

“I am deeply privileged to be named the Executive Director of the Council of Young Jewish Presidents,” Schaffer said. “At such a polarizing and unpredictable moment in American Jewish history, CYJP has an unparalleled opportunity to cultivate a more capable, inclusive, and sustainable Jewish community now and into the future. I am honored to be a part of that effort.” 

“We are enthusiastic that Zachary will be joining our team,” said Michael Littenberg-Brown, Chair of the CYJP Board. “Zachary has the skills, vision, and integrity that CYJP needs to grow to new heights. We have an exciting future ahead of us with Zachary at the helm.” Joshua-Marc Tanenbaum, Vice-Chair of CYJP, added, “We are here to change the way the Jewish institutional world does business and to ensure that young leaders not only have the skills to lead, but are given a platform to do so in our community. We cannot wait for Zachary to lead this effort.”

In order to accelerate growth, CYJP has partnered with Lubetzky Family Foundation (LFF), a nonprofit organization that cares deeply about fostering unity and respect within the Jewish community and beyond. Started by Daniel Lubetzky, Founder & CEO of KIND Healthy Snacks (KIND), LFF has seeded Zachary’s hire and is committed to deepening CYJP’s work. 

“Lubetzky Family Foundation is, in part, focused on supporting Jewish values and encouraging civil discourse, particularly among future generations of leaders,” says Michael Johnston, President of LFF. “CYJP and Zachary personify many of our organizational values and will certainly have a meaningful impact in this area, which is why we are proud to support them.”

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