Professional Development Opportunities Highlight the OU’s Commitment to Nurture Future Community Leaders
Approximately 50 early career professionals from across the Orthodox Union’s departments recently united at American Dream Meadowlands mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for the OU’s inaugural Early Career Professionals Skill-Building Summit, a unique professional development day.
“Early career professionals are employees in the first few years of their careers who are growing their skills and beginning to advance within their roles,” says OU Executive Fellowship Director Ruthie Hollander, who organized the summit with OU Assistant Director of Talent Development Shai Kopitnikoff. “As tomorrow’s future community leaders, we want to contribute to their development and help them acquire the skills needed to advance their careers.”
Hollander adds that calling the event a “summit” was intentional.
“We employed that metaphor because we recognize the extent to which one’s career is a climb,” she says. “For early career professionals, there are going to be moments of doubt. The goal of the program was for participants to feel that they had reached a peak by the day’s end through their growth and strengthening of collegial relationships.”
A recent analysis of the OU workforce led by Leah Weinberg of the OU Human Resources data team revealed that 53% percent of current employees joined the organization within the last three years. A selection was nominated by their departments to attend the summit, which presented an opportunity to develop valuable professional skills and network with OU leaders, Executive Vice President Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph and Chief of Staff Yoni Cohen; Human Resources team members; and OU department heads.
“The energy of our young talent was palpable throughout the day, and it invigorated me and my fellow senior leaders,” says Rabbi Dr. Joseph. “As studies highlight that companies are increasingly reporting an urgent need to identify employees with leadership potential, we have begun to identify our talent within the OU and are taking advantage of this time to develop our young and future leaders.”
Koptinikoff says the department heads’ participation at the summit underscored the degree to which the OU is deeply investing in early career professionals.
“Employees had the unique chance to engage with them over lunch, which is not typically possible at work. We deliberately kept attendance small and intimate in order to ensure that every employee could personally engage with department heads in a meaningful way.”
Kopitnikoff emphasizes that the OU is committed to investing in every employee and that there will be numerous similar professional development opportunities for those who were not nominated to attend this particular summit.
Planned with the assistance of the OU’s eight Executive Fellows, the summit featured renowned speakers, Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and Senior Scholar at the Center for the Jewish Future at Yeshiva University Rabbi Dr. J.J. Schacter, who brought the day’s messages home with his address At the Summit, and NCSY Director of Education and 18Forty podcast host Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin, who explored creativity and content creation. Rabbi Dr. Joseph discussed Happiness at Work, Kopitnikoff presented on Time Management at Work, and Hollander shared tips on How to Write More — and Also Less —Like Chat GPT. Participants engaged in dynamic team-building activities, including a dynamic survival game led by OU Chief Human Resources Officer Josh Gottesman, and were treated to professional headshots, lunch, and fun OU swag.
“Although this initiative is new, we are committed to continuing our efforts in developing these early career professionals,” says Gottesman. “It’s one thing to express a desire to invest in the future, and another to actually make that investment. Through these programs, we are actively investing in the future leaders of the nonprofit sector.”
Six months ago, Hana Adler landed her first job out of college as a junior videographer in the OU’s Marketing and Communications Department, where she films and edits promotional organizational videos for social media and the web. The 23-year-old says the Early Career Professionals Skill-Building Summit was meaningful and exciting from beginning to end.
“As someone new to the employment and nonprofit worlds, the OU’s investment in my learning and growth makes me feel empowered to continue to work hard,” says Adler. “I’m so thankful that the OU is giving me the tools to continue to build a career that is meaningful to me, and that I was invited to participate in this uplifting day.”
Adler greatly appreciated the chance to connect with and learn from the OU leadership and her colleagues at dynamic team-building activities and stimulating sessions, including the one led by Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin.
“Rabbi Bashevkin offered very practical steps on how to be a good and growth-oriented early career professional, both at the OU and in the broader nonprofit world,” she says. “He also highlighted the importance of expressing gratitude to those who assist you in your career trajectory. I’ve been trying to put his lessons into practice because I believe that being grateful is critical, especially in a professional work environment.”
Adler also enjoyed the collaborative nature of Activate, a fast-paced team-building activity that included lights, lasers, mazes and various games, which summit participants tackled in teams of five.
Twenty-six-year-old Khanan Abayev began working at the OU almost a year ago as a Donor Communications project manager responsible for the execution and logistics of the OU’s direct mail and telemarketing campaigns. Like Adler, he is tremendously grateful to the OU for investing in its employees.
“It’s a genuine breath of fresh air to be working at an organization that not only says they’re invested in their employees’ future, but actually means it,” he says. “The psychological piece of mind in knowing that there are resources and people willing to help you in your career is beyond description. I appreciate it more than anything.”
Kopitnikoff says trainings like the Early Career Professionals Skill-Building Summit enable employees to take a break, recharge, learn, and feel more connected with the OU’s mission.
“Knowing that your employer cares for you breeds employee satisfaction,” he says. “We’re investing in our employees today to communicate that they are genuinely appreciated. Tomorrow, they will come to work with a smile. That makes a difference in the work culture and makes our community stronger as a whole.”