For Leah Kliegman, marketing manager at The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, there is always more to learn.
That’s why, even though she’s worked in Jewish communal life for more than five years, she joined the Friedman Fellows with Na’aleh: The Hub for Leadership Learning.
She explained the appeal of the fellowship and what she will gain from it.
“Learning from one another, sharing challenges, learning opportunities, and then you also get a certain amount of funds that you get to use for a professional development over the two years. And they also set you up with a career coach, so you can also get some mentorship and coaching as well,” Kliegman said.
The Friedman Fellows is a two-year program for early-career professionals in Jewish communal work who want to grow their skills and collaborate with like-minded peers.
This year’s edition kicked off with the cohort’s first meeting just two weeks ago. Those in attendance aren’t just from The Associated — they represent a number of Jewish organizations in the Baltimore area. Kliegman said the first event was a success, and that she is excited to get started.
“There’s a lot of learning to do. I think, especially being able to talk to people outside of The Associated network, as well as a lot of people within the network. There’s a lot to learn about different people’s challenges in the community. What are some successes? Learning curves and learning from one another [too],” she said.
Kliegman’s first stint at The Associated was as a senior digital marketing specialist. In that role and in her new one, she said that the team around her has helped immensely. However, she said there is value in broadening one’s perspective with outside input and training.
“Being in this new role, there is just so much to learn. I have an incredible marketing department that I learn from, but I think there’s something to be said about getting an outside perspective, too,” she said. “Just being able to think about how to use these funds for professional development and to learn new things and be able to bring that back to the team versus just learning from within the walls of my organization [is valuable].”
Participants come from across The Associated’s network of agencies and from organizations outside the network, so while the program is run by Na’aleh, those in attendance hear from a number of different perspectives.
“As a system, we know what our challenges are and the struggles we’re coming up against, but hearing from people who are outside as well in the community, but also working in this professional field, you’re hearing a completely different perspective, and it’s beneficial,” Kliegman said. “They’re in our community, and they’re also working as a Jewish communal professional. So I think they bring that intersection together, and it brings some valuable insight.”
Kliegman said every industry has unique challenges, and Jewish communal and professional work is no different. For the group of Friedman Fellows, focusing on the elements that make Jewish communal work unique is a valuable opportunity.
“You have challenges in every workplace, but I think our system is so unique and what our community’s needs are in Baltimore and outside of Baltimore are, too. I think it’s nice to find programs or being able to talk to people who know those challenges firsthand, versus just traditional corporate culture challenges that everyone’s faced. We’re just in a very unique position,” Kliegman said.
For the next two years, Kliegman will meet with people over coffee, attend professional development sessions, learn from those who have come before her and swap stories and advice with peers.
She’s excited to get started, and ready for whatever comes her way.
“It feels like the world is my oyster right now,” Kliegman said.
aguckes@midatlanticmedia.com
