When Kayla Hertzberg, a senior at McDonogh School in Owings Mills and Beth Israel Congregation member, first attended a BBYO program in eighth grade, she said, “this is not for me.” In February, she was elected international teen president of BBYO.
Hertzberg found out about her BBYO chapter like most eight graders might: through her mom’s friends’ daughter.
“I was so against it,” she said. “But then I went to a few events by my mom forcing me to go. But, you know, mom’s always right. And I went to those events and started to get involved … and that’s when I decided to run for chapter board.”
From there, she said, “there was no taking me out of BBYO.”
What changed her mind was the connection she found to other Jewish teens attending the BBYO programs.
“At my school, there’s not a very big Jewish population, and none of my close friends are really Jewish. And there really is something about a connection with other Jewish people that is so special to me,” said Hertzberg.
Hertzberg will begin her term this summer serving as the 82nd Anita M. Perlman International N’siah of high school sorority B’nai Brith Girls alongside Adi Shankman, who will serve as the 102nd Grand Aleph Godol of high school fraternity Aleph Zadik Aleph.
They were elected by their peers at BBYO’s 2026 international convention in February in Philadelphia, an event that Hertzberg was coordinating at the time.
“I don’t think I’d ever been so happy in my life,” she said when she found out that she had won. “There was a lot of stress throughout that entire weekend, not just with the election, but also with just making sure everything went well. But seeing it all work out in the end the way that I’d hoped to, I felt so proud and honored and very, obviously, excited to serve the movement for the next year.”
“Adi and Kayla [are] both exceptionally compassionate, well-spoken and strong leaders that have found their own and grown into confidence in BBYO in ways that every person who goes through this movement will transform into and they truly are the best of the best,” said Logan Reich, 101st Grand Aleph Godol of BBYO.
Candidates for international teen president go through a three-month process from when declaration of candidacy opens to elections in February. Reich said the entire process includes a multitude of self-reflection essay questions and interviews with BBYO professionals and team leaders so “candidates have a strong understanding of what it means to serve on the board.”
Then candidates produce materials such as vision statements, videos and answer questions in the election room on election day. Reich said this year, BBYO saw a record number of candidates run for the international board, with a little more than 50 candidates, including the first Israeli and the first Mexican international board members to be elected.
“We truly are finding ways to represent the diversity of the Jewish people, and this board is a representation of that,” he said. “I know that these leaders will continue to represent them. Adi and Kayla are equipped and capable and ready to represent that global perspective that BBYO has, the global movement that we are, and the wide range of perspectives, geographies, cultures and practices that that BBYO is a home to.”
Hertzberg said the election process was like a “mental battle,” having to ask herself not only if the job was right for her, but if she was right for the job. “[The process was] very strenuous, but definitely worth it.”
Prior to being elected president, Hertzberg has been serving as BBYO’s 81st International S’ganit, also known as the vice president of programming. In her new role, she hopes to help grow different BBYO chapters and inspire chapter leaders to want to take on bigger positions.
Outside of her involvement with BBYO, Hertzberg is a member of the Gesher Teen Board at 4Front Baltimore, where she serves on the Baltimore Jewish Connection Network board as both a spectator and decision maker. “It’s really interesting to see all the work they do, connecting all types of Jewish people throughout the Baltimore community,” she said.
Hertzberg added she is most excited about traveling to the different BBYO communities and meeting chapter and regional leaders to understand more of what they need from her and from BBYO.
“I always really want to stay involved in the Jewish world,” she added. “Seeing all the antisemitism going on in the U.S. right now, and the world … just makes me so much more passionate for standing up to antisemitism. So, I definitely always see myself having a big presence in the Jewish community, no matter where I am.”
