Educational Leadership Program

The Mandel Educational Leadership Program empowers Jewish educational leaders from across a range of settings to generate new visions of Jewish education, to grow in their leadership and to build relationships beyond their organizations as they bring their visions to life.

Applications for Cohort II will open in the fall of 2023.

An admissions committee drawn from the Mandel Institute for Nonprofit Leadership’s faculty, staff and consultants makes admissions decisions.

Visions for the field: Fellows will engage with and analyze compelling, sometimes competing, approaches to Jewish education, inspiring them to sharpen their own visions and to create new ideas for the future of Jewish education.

Leadership growth: A custom-crafted curriculum helps fellows develop leadership capabilities and understandings of the field that empower them to bring their visions to life.

Network creation: The program nurtures connections among the fellows and aims to create networks of visionary leaders who support and challenge one another, think broadly, and work within and beyond their own organizations to create vibrant Jewish educational experiences.

Fellows must attend all 4 seminars in their entirety. Between seminars, fellows continue their learning through virtual courses, peer consultations and assignments.

Sponsoring organizations give release time for fellows to join the four seminars that take place throughout the 18 months.

The backbone of the program is a series of four in-person (or virtual, if necessary) seminars:

• Seminar I: Brookline, MA
• Seminar II: Brookline, MA
• Seminar III: Israel
• Seminar IV: Brookline, MA

Fellows will engage in additional virtual learning, peer consultations and assignments in between seminars.

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation covers travel and program expenses, except for ground transportation and meals during travel. Sponsoring organizations provide release time for participation in the seminars.

Future cohorts will have different seminar dates in order to accommodate educators who have a variety of work schedules.

Fellows who are nursing a baby may bring the baby to seminars if they choose. We highly encourage fellows to either bring childcare or to hire a local babysitter so that they can still participate at their best. We will do our best to accommodate any needs that may arise. For fellows who do not bring their baby and need to pump, we can provide assistance for breast milk shipping via Milk Stork.