When Austin Berg moved back to the Baltimore area from Colorado, where he spent his undergrad and postgrad years, and a stint in Washington D.C., he knew he wanted to get involved again with The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.
He spent his youth in various Associated programs, and was sure it would help him get back in the fold of his beloved local Jewish community. The position he took with the Young Leadership Council ended up helping him work through the issues of the world at large too, he explained.
For Berg, the flaming anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric that has gotten more common in the media and online was, and still is, a lot to deal with. The YLC offers some respite.
“I was angry for a while,” he said. “I was in a tough mental space, probably like a year ago, consuming too much of this news.”
Berg said that what has happened to the world since Oct. 7, 2023, has required Jews to be ready to take part in difficult conversations. He has already lost friends due to disagreements over the Israel-Hamas conflict. The YLC program has helped him figure out a better approach to the issue.
“One of the big reasons [I joined the YLC] was I wanted skills to speak confidently, clearly, and to address these concerns instead of reacting to them,” Berg said.
The problem isn’t just abroad, either. The murder of two Israeli Embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., in May took place just four blocks from the place where Berg had lived in Washington. That helped drive in the point that antisemitic attacks can happen any time, anywhere.
“It really hit home,” he said.
Coming home was also about family. Berg loved his time in Colorado and Washington, D.C., and even has a ski trip to the Rocky Mountains planned for this winter. But for Berg and his wife, the pull of the Baltimore area was strong.
“We just welcomed our first child in February, and we thought it was time to move back to Owings Mills closer for work, closer to family, and she’s always pictured [our child] growing up back in Baltimore or living back in Baltimore County,” he said.
The move has also helped Berg continue the family business legacy. His great-grandfather started a demolition business, which his grandfather and father kept going and growing for decades. Now, Berg is working full time at The Berg Corporation and Hawkins Management, LLC, a company that manages construction and demolition landfills around the Mid-Atlantic region.
“I came back to be more involved with the family business. We also do private real estate investment across the country, and now I’m solely focusing on the real estate [aspect of the companies],” he said.
Berg is a new member at Beth El Congregation, which he said is an important part of his family’s identity. Together, he and his wife bring different elements to the family’s Jewish life that creates a solid foundation for their daughter.
“My wife is a little more religious than I am, and I am way more involved than she is. I am, I wouldn’t say too religious, and don’t do much studies, but just tradition is a major part of my life,” he said.
Looking back on his work at The Associated is quite the trip for Berg. He recalled starting his time there as a 13-year-old working a phone-banking marathon, which he described as a “tough task.”
In high school, he joined a two-year program that ended with a three-week trip to Israel, a seminal point for him.
Now, he hopes that the Young Leadership Council will help equip him and others with the skills to preserve the legacy of those that came before them, and enhance the lives of those who will come after.
“Jews have survived for thousands of years and we show up for each other — with time, with resources, with commitments, and we’ve been down this path before, and we’re going to get through it like we always have,” he said.
