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Welcome to the Resource Center for Program Providers

The purpose of the Resource Center for Program Providers is:

to share resources with professionals and volunteers who conduct Jewish outreach programs for people in interfaith relationships
connect program providers with each other and with program participants and alumni, and
to advocate for expansion of outreach programs.

To access a list of the program providers who currently participate in the Resource Center, click here. You can find more information about each program provider on InterfaithFamily.com's Connections In Your Area system.

If you are a program provider who is interested in participating in or learning more about the Resource Center, please contact connections@interfaithfamily.com.

The Resource Center evolved from InterfaithFamily.com's Professionals Advisory Circle, which operated from February 2005 to January 2008 and held a conference/retreat in May 2007.

Resources

The Resource Center currently offers (and plans to expand) the following kinds of resources:

Content packets of InterfaithFamily.com articles with discussion questions, suitable for use in programs
Model documents, for example synagogue booklets that welcome interfaith families
Gatekeeper materials Tips for training "gatekeepers" -- the receptionists, telephone operators, and others at Jewish organizations who have initial contact with individuals looking for information.
Internet Marketing Tips for improving your web site's search engine placement, with instructions on how to set up a paid search (e.g. Google AdWords) account.
Conference Calls - from September 2005 to September 2007 InterfaithFamily.com held quarterly conference calls, including guest speakers David Arnow, Sue Fishkoff, Jim Keen, Rabbi Sam Gordon and Bruce Phillips. You can listen to audio recordings of the calls by clicking here.
Articles about outreach programs, including by program providers about their experiences conducting programs.
Substantive papers, on topics such as Jewish identity development.

Connections

The Resource Center provides opportunities for program providers to connect with other program providers in a dedicated listserv, through which you can share information, ideas and advice. To request access to the listserv, please email connections@interfaithfamily.com. InterfaithFamily.com's social networking platform, to become available in early 2009, will facilitate these connections.

To access a list of the program providers who currently participate in the Resource Center - click here.
For a list of “affiliates” – people not currently offering programs who have interest in or experience with outreach programs – click here.
To access our Facebook- an alphabetical listing of information about the professionals who participated in our 2007 conference/retreat – click here. (For the most updated information on a professional, see the list of Program Providers.)

The Resource Center also provides opportunities for program providers to connect with potential program participants by means of InterfaithFamily.com’s Connections In Your Area system, through which you can publicize your organization and programs.

Advocacy

The Resource Center advocates for expansion of outreach programs in a number of ways:

through advocacy writing, such as our November 2006 Forward op-ed (with Kathy Kahn) and our March 2008 The New York Jewish Week op-ed encouraging funders to replicate the Boston federation's funding of outreach programs
through public speaking at conferences and individual Jewish organizations
in private meetings with federation and foundation leaders

For more information about the Resource Center, please contact Robin Schwartz at 617 581-6862 or connections@interfaithfamily.com.

Program Providers

Some participants in the Resource Center are professionals, part of whose job includes conducting outreach programs that target interfaith couples and families:

Phyllis Adler, Stepping Stones, Denver, CO
Laurie Albert, JCC of Northern Virginia, Fairfax, VA
Debbie Antonoff, Marcus JCC, Alpharetta, GA
Marci Boyer, Jewish Community Center of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Paula Brody, URJ-Northeast Council, Needham, MA
Helene Broitman, InterFaithways, Philadelphia, PA
Shoshana Bruesewitz, Harry and Rose Samson Jewish Community Center, Milwaukee, WI
Arlene Chernow, URJ Pacific Southwest Council, Encino, CA
Suzette Cohen, Mothers Circle Atlanta, Alpharetta, GA
Rabbi Braham David, Jewish Discovery Institute, Boston, MA

Shari Debowsky, Temple Beth Am, Miami, FL
Stephanie DiPaolo, Temple Beth El, Charlotte, NC
Dana Emold, Harry and Rose Samson Jewish Community Center, Milwaukee, WI
Rabbi Brian Field, Judaism Your Way, Denver, CO
Ruth Goldberger, URJ Mid-Atlantic Council, Washington DC

Rabbi Sam Gordon, Congregation Sukkat Shalom, Wilmette, IL
Jean Graubart, Washington DC JCC, Washington DC
Adam Halpern, Jewish Family Service, Seattle, WA
Rabbi Brad Horwitz, Jewish Community Center of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Donna Kane, Jewish Outreach Network, Baltimore, MD
Linda Kanner, Jewish Family and Children's Service of Mercer County, Princeton, NJ
Dawn Kepler, Building Jewish Bridges, Oakland, CA
Elana Kling-Perkins, Jewish Family & Children's Service, Boston, MA
Deborah Dusansky Kornfeld, Stepping Stones to a Jewish Me, Boulder, CO
Esther Kosofsky, Nashua, NH
Aliyah Kuchinsky, Barshop JCC of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Karen Kushner, The Jewish Welcome Network, San Francisco, CA
Debra Levenstein, Jewish Family and Children's Service of Mercer County, Princeton, NJ
Elana MacGilpin, Mandell Greater Hartford JCC, West Hartford, CT, CHAI - The Center for Jewish Life, Avon, CT
Liz Marcovitz, Jewish Outreach Institute, New York, NY
Robin Margolis, Half-Jewish Network, Takoma Park, MD
Helena McMahon, Interfaith Connection, JCC of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Linda Meisel, Jewish Family and Children's Service of Mercer County, Princeton, NJ
Mindee Meltzer, Jewish Family Service of Metrowest, Framingham, MA
Midge Merlin, JCC of Greater Boston, Newton, MA
Judith Ning, Gateways, Albuquerque, NM

Wendy Weltman Palmer, Dallas, TX
Rabbi Rayzel Raphael, InterFaithways, Philadelphia, PA
Janet Rasmus, Temple De Hirsch Sinai, Seattle, WA
Rabbi Laurie Rutenberg, Gesher, Portland, OR
Cantor Sue Roemer, Fabrangen Cheder, Silver Spring, MD
Debbie Rosenberg, Sarah's Tent, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Marjorie Schnyder, Jewish Family Service, Seattle, WA

Rabbi Gary Schoenberg, Gesher, Portland, OR
Joyce Schwartz, URJ-Northeast Council, Needham MA
Rabbi Charles Simon, Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs, New York, NY
Debbie Sokobin, Greater Washington JCC, Rockville, MD
Susan Stanek, Center City Kehillah, Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Linda Steigman, Genesis Eduational Series, Overland Park, KS
Mitch Sudolsky, JFS of Austin, Austin, TX
Carol Targum, Boston, MA
Marion Usher, District of Columbia JCC, Washington DC
Julie Webb, URJ - Great Lakes and Northeast Lakes Regions, Northbrook, IL
Lynne Wolfe, Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs, New York, NY
Rabbi Bridget Wynne, JGate, El Cerrito, CA
Debbie Zoller, Jewish Family Service, Durham, NC

Affiliates

Some participants in the Resource Center have interest in or experience with outreach to interfaith families but are not presently conducting programs for them:

Rabbi Eve Ben-Ora, JCC of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Jeanette Bergelson, New Beginnings, North Brunswick, NJ
Ellen Deutsch, Chagrin Falls, OH
Sharon Doner, Jewish Info/Referral Services, Rockville, MD
Karen Erlichman, San Francisco, CA
Sheila Feldman, Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation, Bethesda, MD
Dennis Geller, Humanist Minster Boston, MA
Lynn Golub-Rofrano, Lifelong Learning at Tifereth Israel, Washington DC
Rabbi Jay Heyman, Shalom Spiritual Resources, San Francisco, CA
Jeffrey Horner, Temple Beth Torah, Centerville, VA
Ellie Jacobs, Temple Beth Shalom, Needham, MA
Elise Klein, Stamford, CT
Rabbi Cherie Koller-Fox, Chapel Service, Boston, MA
Enid Lader, Beth Israel West Temple, Cleveland, OH
Rabbi Paul Levenson, L'Chaim Center for Jewish Learning, Newton, MA
Yael Moses, JFCS San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Rabbi David Oler, Congregation Beth Or, Deerfield, IL
Natalie Merker Rose, JSSA, Rockville, MD

Amy Rovin, Cranston, RI
Rabbi Michael Safra, B'nai Israel Congregation, Rockville, MD
Hazzan Sunny Schnitzer, Bethesda Jewish Congregation, Bethesda, MD
Rabbi Lewis Solomon, The New Temple, Chevy Chase, MD
Devorah Smith, Long Valley, NJ
Anita Stoll, Temple Sinai DC Outreach, Bethesda, MD
Rabbi Daniel Zemel, Temple Micah, Washington DC