They came, they saw, they schmoozed.
More than 1,300 Jewish communal professionals from around North America converged on Baltimore from May 5-7 for JPro25 to discuss shared challenges, learn from each other and help build the future of their field.
The JPro conference is the signature annual gathering for Jewish communal professionals. The conference is presented and coordinated by the Jewish organization Leading Edge, in partnership with the Jewish Federations of North America.
Among the speakers at the gathering were Anne Neuberger, former deputy national security advisor in the Biden Administration, award-winning standup comedian Alex Edelman and Daniel Vaknin, an Israeli deejay, music event producer and survivor of the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023
“There is a growing desire now to invest in talent in the Jewish nonprofit field,” said Gali Cooks, president and CEO of Leading Edge. “The crises of recent years have validated more than ever the need to fully support and value these professionals, and JPro25 reflects that priority. … This conference was about inspiring and lifting up those people, so that the Jewish community and the world can be strengthened at this critical time.”
Workshops focused on building skills and understanding the challenges facing Jewish organizations, as well as different types of Jewish learning experiences from text study to dancing to Zentangle.
“The professional talent in the Jewish communal world is critical to building flourishing Jewish communities, which is why Jewish Federations are deeply committed to building and developing Jewish talent, not just for federations but for the entire Jewish community,” said Shira Hutt, executive vice president of JFNA. “Given the central role federations play in supporting local Jewish communal life, we are very excited to partner with Leading Edge for JPro25, where over a third of participants came from our 146 Jewish federations.”
Some participants attended “Experience Baltimore” site visits to about a dozen local institutions on the first day of the conference to observe nonprofit endeavors around the city. Among the visits were to Art with a Heart, the Jewish Museum of Maryland, the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Lexington Market.
JPro25 was sponsored by The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Supporting Foundation, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Crown Family Philanthropies, Jim Joseph Foundation, William Davidson Foundation, and other organizations.
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