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KESHER Leadership Council

LTS Coordinating Council

 

 

Be a Visionary. Be a Leader. BE CONNECTED.

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Workshops/Discussions

These are workshops for the 2008 Leadership Training Seminar; these titles are subject to change..

 

***If you are interested in running a workshop at LTS, listed below or a new idea, with a buddy or alone***

***Please contact Jill at jgoldstein@students.keshercollege.org ASAP!  We’d love to have you.***

 

The Saturday Afternoon Program:

A Shabbat & Worship Forum

 

Ø      Instrumental Music for Shabbat Worship- Mechanism or crutch? Participatory or Performative?

 

Ø      Between Suggestions and Mitzvot- Can the Reform movement really encourage its congregants to be more observant?

 

Ø      The Bar Mitzvah Bazaar- URJ President Rabbi Yoffie condemned the average Reform Bar Mitzvah at Biennial.... what's wrong?

Ø      Balancing Tongues: Hebrew Versus the Use of the Vernacular in Meaningful Shabbat Worship

 

Come discuss these and other topics with students, clergy, and lay leaders!

 

 

Workshops

 

                                    6 Steps to Revolutionizing Your Kesher/Hillel

Dan Garwood, McGill University, KESHER Student Leadership Council

Learn a revolutionary way of organizing leadership and participation in your campus community.  Learn how to make the leadership responsive to the needs of the community and how to engage your community in leadership.

 

Successful Event Planning: Looking at the Details

Stefani Rozen, Assistant Director, URJ Greene Family Camp

Every event starts and ends with a big picture.  The stuff in the middle is what counts! Working with hotels, camps, your college Hillel - no matter where your event is, you'll have to work the logistics to your favor.  We'll talk about how to make the details work for you.

 

Moving Prayer: Taking Risks with Services on Campus

Joseph Skloot, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York

Sarah Smiley, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati

Whether you are an experienced shaliach tzibbur (prayer leader) or new to the job, you know that creating inspiring and appealing services is hard work. Join two experienced shlichei tzibbur to explore creative ideas and techniques for making the prayer experience on your campus smart and spiritual. The workshop will include discussion, practical tips and demonstration. 

 

That's soooo Stereotype!

Sarah Fields, New York University

We'll set out to explore the nature of inclusive programming and worship as it relates to the inclusion of Jewish LGBT, questioning, and coming out students on our college campuses.

 

                                    Become a Master of Marketing

Jeff Goldman, Founder, Russell-Shaw Marketing Agency

What does it take to successfully market a Kesher program in a campus environment? Spend an hour exploring the possibilities with an advertising veteran who has successfully marketed everything from Microsoft to Miller Lite.

 

Jewish Summer Camp as a Career

Stefani Rozen, Assistant Director, URJ Greene Family Camp

Curious how to continue life after college at camp and get paid for it?  Camps look for a wide variety of skills and educational backgrounds for their full time staff.  Camp Directors and Assistant Directors have college degrees in everything from Jewish Studies to Business to Theater.  Come find out how you too can go to camp all year long.

 

Nothing but Nets Social Action Initiative

Mira Lyon, University of Toronto, KESHER Student Leadership Council

One person dies of malaria every thirty seconds ... and many of those deaths are preventable. A simple $10 bednet can protect a family of four from deadly mosquitoes, and together we will make sure that everyone has access to this life-saver. KESHER has undertaken a project with the URJ and much of the continent to raise money for Nothing But Nets to buy and install these nets in area in Africa which need it the most. Let's hear about some of the projects being done, and learn from each other about the best ways to run a fun and successful campaign on your campus. Be a BUZZKILL.

 

Meeting Face-to-Face with “the Meeting”

Melissa Goldman, NFTY Director of Operations and Special Projects.

The nuts and bolts of making any meeting go your way.

 

Put Down the Falafel & Step Away from the Camel: Israel Programming

                                    Dotan Harpak, KESHER Shaliach

If I had a dollar for each time I saw a camel, I’d be one rich Jew. Seriously. How many times have you seen an Israel program that focused on making Falafel, riding a camel, smoking a Hookah in a Sukkah, but had absolutely no real connection to Israel? Surely there must be a better way to talk about Israel then reusing that same ole’ camel, right? That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about, so slowly, put down that Falafel, step away from that poor camel, and step right into this workshop!

 

                                    Fundraising & Brainstorming Awesome Programming with Little Money

                                    Liza Levine, Campaign Director, Jewish Community Association of Austin

The title says it all! Find out ways to fundraise and be resourceful that you may not have thought about before - how to target people with money to fundraise for events, make things affordable, being creative with money, etc.

 

Engaging those Former NFTYites in Kesher

Hilary Oleon, KESHER Program Associate

Sarah Smiley, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati

Are you a former NFTYite struggling to find a comfortable or familiar Jewish place on your college campus? Are you a Reform Jewish leader on your campus, struggling to figure out how to engage former NFTYites in your programming? This workshop, led by former NFTYites, will troubleshoot engagement issues on campus and brainstorm ways to increase former NFTYites’ involvement.

 

Creating Creative Alliances: Partnerships on Campus

Deborah Shapiro, Regional Director of Admissions & Recruitment, HUC-JIR Los Angeles

Joseph Skloot, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York

Find out the best way to get people to your programs and the good word out about Hillel and Jewish life on campus. Gain practical skills along with understanding the mitzvah and Jewish value of Creating Alliances.

 

Leading with Song, Not Just Songleading

Sasha Friedman, New York University

Dan Garwood, McGill University, KESHER Student Leadership Council

It's Friday night, you walk into your local Hillel, schmooze a bit before the service begins, and then . . . ? Does someone start playing a sweet song on a guitar? Does the service leader introduce him or herself? Does loud music come over an amplifier played by a Gene Simmons look alike? Hopefully you don't encounter the latter too often, but chances are that you encounter some variety of music, reading, English, and Hebrew in your Shabbat services. In this workshop we will discuss how service leaders, song leaders, and participants can enhance their prayer experiences with song. No previous musical experience is necessary, and believe it or not, you don't even need a guitar (but if you happen to have a harp on hand, we could have a great time J ). We will provide helpful hints, songs, and resources for successfully using song in your Kesher and larger Jewish communities. Please come with ideas, questions, and your positive and negative experiences with song in any Jewish service or venue.

 

A-W-K-W-A-R-D with a capital "AWK"

Samantha Dresser, Michigan State University, KESHER Student Leadership Council

Need some strategies on how to navigate awkward situations? This workshop will discuss how to cut down on the awkwardness that might happen during your KESHER events, as well as how to reach out to people in your community who may feel socially isolated. So whether you're feeling awkward, or it's the other people that are awkward, this workshop can help.

 

                                    Jewish Community Life After College

Deborah Shapiro, Regional Director of Admissions & Recruitment, HUC-JIR Los Angeles

College is not forever. What will you do next? Take an in-depth look at why we choose what we choose and the values that dictate these choices. Resources will be provided.

 

Connecting Local Synagogues with Campuses

Dan Steiner, KESHER Program Associate

For better or worse, the Reform Movement is congregationally-focused.  How can college students, based on campus, connect with synagogues within their community?  And how do we, as a movement, convince students and congregants alike that the synagogue can complement life on campus, and vice-versa?

 

Darfur hasn’t Disappeared, but Where is it on Campus? Reinvigorating the Activism

Leran Minc, Texas State Outreach Coordinator, STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition

An introduction to the student anti-genocide movement and to the crisis of Darfur. In this workshop you'll learn about the activities of students across the country in their efforts to bring an end to genocide. You will also learn easy ways to get yourself, your campus and your community more involved in ending genocide.

 

TaMaR: World Jewry from a Progressive/Reform Perspective

Chase Foster, Purdue University, KESHER Student Leadership Council

KESHER is the North American snif (branch) of Tamar (Tnuat Magshimim Reformit) the young adult movement of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and ARZENU. What are some of the problems facing world progressive Judaism and what can you do? Come discuss!

 

©2005-2008 Leadership Training Seminar

The KESHER Student Leadership Council's Leadership Training Seminar is a student-conceived, student-planned, and student-run event, which is supported by the Union for Reform Judaism's KESHER College Department, the Men of Reform Judaism's Allen B. Gardener Leadership Training Scholarship Fund, and by the Hagshama Department of the WZO through TaMaR.