Executive Vice President and Chief Professional Officer of the Orthodox Union, Allen Fagin, visited radio host Nachum Segal at his studio in Jersey City this week, to be interviewed on his popular morning radio program JM in the AM heard on the Nachum Segal Network (nachumsegal.com) and on WFMU radio.
In a wide-ranging conversation, Mr. Fagin and his host marveled at how large the Orthodox Union has become in recent years. He praised “the depth of talent within the organization, people of enormous skills, experience, vision and passion for the Jewish people.”
With decades of experience as an attorney at Proskauer Rose, LLP, one of the country’s most prominent law firms, and his six years as chairman, Mr. Fagin said he brings to the OU the mission to develop “an overarching sense of cohesion, a sense of management and orderliness in an enormously enlarged and complex organization.” This includes looking at costs and cutting where necessary; employing OU resources in the most effective and productive manner; building a program of staff development; establishing a succession plan; and devising measurements of the organization’s effectiveness.
Mr. Fagin paid tribute to a variety of OU programs in North America and Israel and called Mr. Segal’s attention to “Yom NCSY,” planned for August 7, 2014, when more than 1,000 teen participants in NCSY’s summer programs gather in Jerusalem. This year the event will include the culmination of NCSY’s about-to-be-formally-launched “Learn-a-thon” program in which the entirety of the written and oral portions of the Torah will be studied in celebration of NCSY’s 60th anniversary.
Referring to his decision to retire from the practice of law and become a fulltime OU professional, not a lay leader, Mr. Fagin told Nachum Segal that he was ready for the change. “This is the time of my life to give something back to my community. It is the perfect opportunity for me to use the experiences I have had and bring them to the OU.” When Mr. Fagin received the offer of the position and chose to accept, he said, “No coercion was necessary.”
Listen to the broadcast here.