News

Study, Love, Serve – How Two Hillel Professionals Got Their Start

Author

Hillel International

Date

January 19, 2023

On Missy Goldstein’s first day at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion’s (HUC-JIR) School of Education in Jerusalem, she bumped into Rob Gleisser on her way to pick up her welcome packet. Rob was a rabbinical student who had already been in Israel for a few weeks in a pre-ulpan program (an intensive Hebrew language immersion program). Missy and Rob hit it off right away and kept gravitating toward each other as they got settled in their first year at HUC-JIR. There was only one problem: they had each decided they wouldn’t date anyone in their year in Jerusalem as they focused on self-growth and friendships. 

Despite their best efforts to slow things down, by the end of the year Rob and Missy had a plan to date long-distance until Missy completed her degree, at which point she would join Rob in Cincinnati as he continued with rabbinical school. A few years later, they got married and moved to State College, Pennsylvania, where Rob became the Senior Jewish Educator at Penn State Hillel and Missy would be a  Campus Marketing and Development Manager for Hillel International. 

Growing up, Missy was surrounded by family members who were longtime Jewish professionals, and she decided early on that she would take the same path. After finishing a post-college education fellowship, Missy started two Masters degrees at the Rhea Hirsch School of Education and the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management: one in Jewish education (which is now the Masters in Educational Leadership program) and one in Jewish nonprofit management. As she continued with her studies, she felt more drawn to nonprofit work and changed her focus solely to nonprofit management. 

When reflecting on her studies at HUC-JIR, Missy highlighted that a program called “Wacky Wednesdays” was particularly impactful in inspiring her journey. Each Wednesday, Missy and her cohort would visit different organizations in the Los Angeles area to learn about the variety of opportunities available in the Jewish nonprofit world. Missy credits Wacky Wednesdays, along with meaningful internships at NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change and the Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center that she held while at HUC-JIR, with cementing the skills that she would bring with her to the Hillel movement.

Rob’s journey to HUC-JIR and Hillel took a different, but related path. He grew up in a large Reform congregation in Cleveland and was involved in Reform Jewish leadership from a young age. Inspired by the community organizing work he did in high school and his involvement in Ohio State University Hillel, Rob decided that he wanted to be a rabbi and that, as the center of Reform Jewish education, HUC-JIR was the place where he would study to achieve that goal. 

Rob’s studies at HUC-JIR helped form the approach to text study that he still uses in his work with students at Penn State Hillel. In studying feminist, Marxist frameworks for ancient Jewish texts, Rob realized that each student’s unique experience could be a frame through which that student could view and connect with those texts. 

Missy and Rob both found professional and personal inspiration at HUC-JIR for their careers in the Hillel movement. From meeting each other to connecting with stellar Jewish professionals throughout the HUC-JIR network, their experiences at HUC-JIR formed a strong foundation for the incredible work they do today. 

For more information on HUC-JIR, please visit www.huc.edu.

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NEW YORK — Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) and Hillel International announced the launch of a new collaborative partnership to support the emerging generation of leaders who will build a strong and vibrant Jewish future. Together, the global seminary that is HUC-JIR along with Hillel, the world’s largest Jewish campus organization, will address the declining interest in religious leadership that is a challenge in the Reform movement and in the broader faith community. The two institutions will build a professional development pipeline, starting in college, that will enable students and Hillel professionals to become Jewish leaders.

 “We are excited to engage in this strategic, innovative partnership with Hillel International. The partnership leverages our shared strengths to set a new standard for collaboration for Jewish institutions during a moment of tremendous change,” said Andrew Rehfeld, HUC-JIR President. “We look forward to developing a new generation of mission-driven young leaders, steeped in Jewish knowledge, imbued with ahavat yisrael (love of the people and Israel), committed to building sustainable communities of Jewish learning and practice that help bring healing to our world.”

Adam Lehman, President and CEO of Hillel International, said, “The Hillel movement is the talent pipeline for Jewish communal life in America, and we pride ourselves on providing best-in-class professional development and lifelong learning for Hillel professionals. We’re thrilled that this expanded partnership with HUC-JIR will enable us to take that commitment to the next level.”

This pipeline will start in college, by offering students educational and engagement opportunities that will help them build the body of knowledge and skill sets required by Jewish leaders. The expanded cohort of Hillel professionals emerging from this effort will find HUC-JIR is a valuable partner in training and education that will enhance their careers. HUC-JIR representatives become trusted advisors, guiding them on their educational and professional journeys. 

“Both Hillel and HUC-JIR nurture Jewish leadership. This first-of-its-kind partnership allows for collaboration on multiple fronts towards this common goal. We can invest in college students, Springboard fellows, Hillel staff, HUC students and alumni, enhancing spaces where we already organically overlap and building future Jewish leaders together,” said Erin Fine, Assistant Director, Office of Recruitment and Admissions, HUC-JIR.

HUC-JIR is primed to contribute stimulating new content and expert coaching to inform, educate, and inspire Judaism’s best and brightest emerging leaders through Hillel’s robust roster of programming on campuses, Springboard Fellowships, conferences, and communications. The synergy between the two organizations is the key to advancing these initiatives.  

Through this new partnership, HUC-JIR and Hillel are building upon the foundation of a longstanding and productive relationship. There are currently 50 HUC-JIR alumni and students working as Hillel professionals. Since 2017, over 30 students from HUC’s Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management have been professionally involved with Hillel, including five Springboard fellows. The Rabbi Peter J. Rubinstein/Central Synagogue Fellowship has placed HUC-JIR graduates as Senior Reform Jewish Educators as well as rabbinical student interns at a broad range of universities, including USC Hillel Loyola Marymount University Hillel, Brandeis Hillel, and Hillel at Ohio University. These HUC-JIR placements indicate how strongly the two organizations are aligned and poised for these next collaborative steps to strengthen Jewish leadership for the future.

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