New Jersey NJ – NCSY, the youth movement of the Orthodox Union, announces that Rabbi Ethan Katz, who has served 
as the New Jersey NCSY Regional Director since 2013, will become NCSY’s National Director of Relief Missions, a new national initiative NCSY is launching this year. Rabbi Katz has partnered with dozens of local schools and communities to run over a hundred relief missions over recent years in locations such as New Orleans, Houston and Puerto Rico, in areas still recovering from major disasters. He will now oversee the expansion of the program on a national scale.
“Jewish teens today are excited to go out and help others,” said Rabbi Katz. “This is a fundamental Torah value. The Relief Mission program has been tremendously successful and we look forward to expanding it and engaging students in schools across the country in this critical effort.”
Rabbi Katz and his wife Debbie will continue to live in Bergenfield NJ.
Rabbi Aryeh Wielgus, NCSY’s Director of Greater Washington (DC) will be assuming the role of Regional Director of New Jersey NCSY which serves over 2,000 high school students. Rabbi Wielgus is a native of Brooklyn, NY with a long history in NCSY. He has directed NCSY summer programs, JSU clubs, and overseen multiple cities in the Atlantic Seaboard Region and he is known for his energetic and innovative approach to informal education which has earned him great respect from peers, students, and community leaders. Rabbi Wielgus is moving to New Jersey with his wife Yael (a native of Passaic) and their two children.
Rabbi Wielgus shared, “I am honored to join the NJ NCSY team and build on the incredible work of Rabbi Katz. We will continue to create a community for every Jewish teen in New Jersey and to work with schools, Shuls, and othe
r organizations to support the Jewish education and development of each teen.”
“I am extremely excited about the future of NCSY Relief Missions under the leadership of Rabbi Katz and am grateful forall he has accomplished as NJ Regional Director,” said International Director of NCSY, Rabbi Micah Greenland. “We are also thrilled to welcome Rabbi Wieglus to the NJ Region. The future is bright, both in New Jersey and beyond, thanks to the leadership of both Rabbis Katz and Wielgus.”