President
Rabbi Rick Jacobs was installed on June 9th, 2012 as the president of the URJ.
Leadership & Governance
As a leader, so the generation; as the generation, so the leader. - Talmud Yerushalmi, Arachim 17a
July 21, 2018 | 9 Av, 5778
URJ Leadership & Gov header
URj.org Leadership Rabbi Eric Yoffie
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie
President Emeritus
Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie served as president of the URJ from June 1996, when he succeeded Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, z''l.
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Mark J. Pelavin
Mark J. Pelavin
Chief Program Officer
As a member of the URJ's Executive Team, Mark J. Pelavin plays a key role in developing and refining the URJ's priorities and structures as Reform Judaism moves into a new era.
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Amy Asin
Amy Asin
Vice President for Strengthening Congregations
As Vice President for Strengthening Congregations, Amy Asin leads the Union for Reform Judaism's Strengthening Congregations work.
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Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner
Senior Vice President, URJ
& Director, Religious Action Center
Named one of the most influential rabbis in America by Newsweek, Jonah’s experience as a community organizer guides his pursuit of social justice. He encourages Jewish communities to reach across lines of faith, race and class to campaign for social justice.
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April N. Baskin
April N. Baskin
Vice President of Audacious Hospitality
Dedicated to building a stronger, more inclusive Jewish community committed to social justice, April N. Baskin has spent 10 years advocating for Jewish diversity inclusion locally and nationally.
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Emily Sachs
Emily Sachs
Chief Financial Officer
Emily Sachs brings to her work extensive experience in the nonprofit sector as a management consultant and as the Chief Financial/Administrative Officer for two social services agencies.
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Miriam Chilton
Miriam Chilton
Vice President / Youth
Miriam Chilton, who came to the URJ after 20 years in the corporate world, has wide-ranging responsibility for youth programming, including 18 overnight camps across North America, travel and educational programs in Israel and NFTY (the Reform youth movement).
Riva Silverman - URJ Leadership Page Block
Riva Silverman
Riva Silverman
Vice President for Philanthropy
Riva Silverman recently joined the URJ as the Vice President for Philanthropy. She has worked in the non-profit and philanthropy sectors for nearly 30 years and has held senior leadership positions at the New Israel Fund, American Jewish World Service and, most recently, HIAS.
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Julie Lerner
Julie Lerner
Executive Vice President
Julie is a strategic, dynamic, and galvanizing leader who has a proven track record guiding complex organizations to grow while keeping focused on the things that matter most.
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Commissions, Committees, and Task Forces
Lay and professional leaders of the Reform Movement lend their talent and expertise to joint commissions, on which the Union is joined by the CCAR, HUC-JIR, and other Reform organizations. Through their deliberations, the commissions help determine the Movement's position on critical issues affecting every Reform Jew, such as social justice and political concerns and the role of the non-Jew in synagogue life. There are also several standing committees of the board (i.e. Budget, Investment, Operations). In addition, task forces are formed as needed to work during a given period of time around a specific charge. Their work results in recommendations to the board.
The board is comprised of lay leaders who belong to URJ congregations across the U.S. and Canada as well as representatives of the HUC-JIR, CCAR, and several affiliate organizations.
The members of the Oversight Committee are elected by the Board of Trustees.
The constitution adopted at the 39th Council of the Union, March 3-6, 1946, and all subsequent amendments.
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