The Art of Creating Engaging Jewish Communities

Barry Shrage served for thirty years as president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. Following his retirement from CJP in 2018, he joined the Brandeis University Hornstein Program as professor of the practice, where he trains and mentors students in their future roles as Jewish professional leaders. He is also a distinguished fellow at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis, where he focuses on issues of Jewish identity and the Jewish future. 

Rabbi Denise Eger is the founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami, the Reform synagogue in West Hollywood, California; the first openly LGBTQ person to be president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis; and the first woman elected president of the Southern California Board of Rabbis. She is the author of 7 Principles for Living Bravely and is the editor of Mishkan Ga’avah: Where Pride Dwells and co-editor of Gender and Religious Leadership: Women Rabbis, Pastors and Ministers. 

Dr. Ron Wolfson is the Fingerhut Professor of Education at American Jewish University. Ron has had a profound influence on the Jewish community through his twenty-two books including, Relational Judaism: Using the Power of Relationships to Transform the Jewish Community and The Relational Judaism Handbook, The Seven Questions You’re Asked in Heaven, and his most recent release Sacred Communities: Leading Practitioners Share Lessons Learned. In May, 2024, Ron was ordained rabbi by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.