Esther Greenberg is the chief advancement officer of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore.
For more than a decade, she was a Baltimorean doing the daily Interstate 95 commute south to Washington, D.C., working for the JCC board in the nation’s capital. One day, she realized that that wasn’t what she wanted anymore, so she started working at the Hillel of Greater Baltimore as a development professional. Then, she moved to The Associated, and eventually the JCC, where the Chizuk Amuno Congregation member found a home.
“I loved the people I worked with [in Washington] but I was so separate. Here, all my worlds meld. I work out here. I have friends here. I love the staff. I enjoy the members. It’s really nice, and not to mention that I believe so, so strongly in the JCC and our role in the Jewish community and in the community in general,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg said that the role is a multifaceted one. There are Reform Jews who belong, and Orthodox ones, too. There are Conservative Jews, both in a worship sense and a political one. There are left-wing Jews. There are old ones and young ones. The JCC is a gathering place, she said.
“We’re an important place for those who maybe are Jewish, but don’t really have any other Jewish connections. This is a place where they know when it’s Yom Ha’atzmaut, or they know it’s Simchat Torah, and they wouldn’t necessarily know otherwise,” Greenberg said.
That mission is what drives Greenberg to do her work, which consists of organizing, governance, fundraising, grant writing, development and more.
“My job, which is why I love it, is a combination of [things],” she said.
In addition to the combination of duties she performs and the aforementioned combination of clients at the JCC, there is another group that Greenberg makes sure to include: non-Jews. For some, the most appealing part of the JCC is the state-of-the-art gym.
“For people who are not of the Jewish faith, it’s a place where I feel like they feel welcome and feel good about coming to. This place has such a nice vibe around it that you really feel like there’s a real community,” she said. “We’re fully open [to everyone], but we’re proudly Jewish at the same time. It’s a respectful atmosphere.”
Outside of the everyday offerings at the JCC, there are a number of events in which Greenberg plays a key role. The JCC Community Block party, held bi-annually, is coming up at the end of May this year. J Live is a major fundraiser that attracts big names and big wallets, as well. The biggest draw of the event is usually a popular honoree — someone who draws a crowd and attracts attention and has a sizable connection to the Baltimore Jewish community.
“We were able to really realize that having an honoree would obviously be helpful in generating people to come out,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg loves her job, but this summer, it’s time for her tenure at the JCC to come to an end. She plans to retire at the end of June.
“After 16 years of being here, I’ve loved almost every minute of it,” she said. “But I just feel it’s a good time and I’m the right age. I want to leave while I’m still enjoying it.”
In retirement, Greenberg will finally do something well deserved: relax.
Her grandkids live in the Bay Area, so she’ll visit them. She also has a daughter who is newly married and lives in Brooklyn, so she’ll get to spend time in New York City, as well.
But, as Michael Corleone once said, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
“I’m still planning on coming to the J as much as I can. I work out, I do yoga, I love the group fitness classes and the teachers,” Greenberg said.
For Greenberg, Baltimore is home, and the JCC is, too.
