Melissa Seltzer, senior director of arts and culture at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, was recently selected for the Martin Pear Israel Fellowship
She is one of 11 JCC professionals from around the nation selected for the fellowship’s third cohort.
Named in memory of the longtime CEO of Valley of the Sun JCC in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Martin Pear Israel Fellowship is an 18-month program that immerses JCC professionals in a comprehensive learning experience. The fellowship includes in-person gatherings, web-based education and an Israel experience, followed by six months of project implementation.
The fellowship strives to develop and retain JCC talent, helping to cultivate a new generation of leaders committed to Jewish communal life and Israel.
The cornerstone of the fellowship is an intensive, nine-day seminar in Israel, anchored by monthly education sessions before and after the Israel experience. As a final component of their participation, fellows implement a project that brings Israel to their JCC in a new and purposeful way.
Their project implementation overlaps by six months with the next cohort, so they can execute and report on their projects, evaluate the entire experience and interact with the newest fellows.
“Members of the third cohort will continue the important work of engaging with the complex realities of Israel and forging their own deep, lasting connections to the country and with one another,” said Dr. Andi Meiseles, the fellowship’s director and senior advisor of Jewish education for the JCCA Association. “I am thrilled to watch them embark on what has been a transformative experience for programming alumni.
“It is also wonderful to welcome them into what has blossomed into the larger ‘family’ of Martin Pear fellows which has already made a tremendous impact on their communities,” said Dr. Meiseles.
The Pear Fellowship is open to full-time employees of any faith and from any area of a JCC. Applicants must be interested in building a career in the JCC movement and able to commit to remaining at their current JCC for at least two years.
The fellowship is made possible by a multi-year gift to the JCC Association.
Seltzer began her career at the JCC in 2010 as a graduate intern while pursuing a master’s degree in Jewish communal service at Baltimore Hebrew Institute. A native of Staten Island, New York, she lives in Carroll County with her husband, Evan, and their two sons, both of whom are students in the JCC’s Early Learning Center.
Seltzer oversees the J Life platform, which creates Jewish communal experiences for families through large-scale celebrations and intimate experiences. She also curates the Gordon Center Family Season, and co-founded and oversees arts education programs.
In recognition of her commitment to the community, Seltzer received a Na’aleh Friedman Fellowship and the Annette Saxon Impact Award. She was also named an Association of Performing Arts Professionals Emerging Leader.
Seltzer recently completed Na’aleh’s Elevate supervisory cohort.
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