M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education (M²) announced the launch of and the opening of applications for the Kehillot Community Fellowship, set to begin in the fall of 2025 in Boston; Toronto; and the Greater Washington, D.C. area.
The 18-month community-based program will equip Jewish professionals with five to 10 years of experience in the field with the skills and confidence needed to cultivate long-lasting, purposeful career paths. By promoting professional development and community engagement in Jewish education, Kehillot empowers educators and engagement professionals to build enduring local Jewish ecosystems.
Jewish professionals play a crucial role in helping communities thrive. However, due to a lack of investment in local Jewish educators to grow and collaborate, the field of Jewish education is facing widespread burnout, low retention and a shortage of fresh talent.
Aimed at ensuring a strong pipeline of qualified and passionate Jewish professionals, Kehillot offers the most talented and promising educators in their respective communities critical opportunities to expand their leadership, deepen their impact and form a network of peer educators.
While focused on strengthening Jewish educators and engagement professionals, the model for Kehillot is inspired by the Wexner Heritage Program, which for more than 40 years has transformed Jewish lay leadership in communities across North America.
Like Wexner Heritage, Kehillot will operate in and bring together three communities in two-year cycles. Kehillot also builds on the Heritage Program’s innovative partnership-based funding model, in which the fellowship is funded equally by national and local philanthropies and Jewish Federations, creating structured and sustainable investment across communities.
In its 2025-27 cycle, Kehillot will be run in Boston, Toronto and the Greater D.C. area, and is designed around three multi-day group seminars—each hosted in one of the three participating cities—with additional local cohort gatherings and individual workplace coaching throughout. Participants will explore Jewish values and approaches to Jewish community-building through experiential and collaborative activities, including site visits with local organizations to gain insight into sustaining vibrant Jewish spaces. The interactive programming will also offer innovative frameworks, resources and tools for creating communal educational experiences that enrich individual and collective interactions with Jewish life.
“Jewish communities need to invest in and prioritize educators,” said Shuki Taylor, founder and CEO of M². “The Kehillot Fellowship elevates Jewish education development to a communal responsibility, because we’ve seen that when local educators grow together, institutions strengthen and professionals stay in the field.”
“We share M²’s belief that strengthening Jewish education requires a partnership between national and local philanthropy,” said Mark Charendoff, president of the Maimonides Fund. “Kehillot holds tremendous promise for shaping the future of Jewish life, and we are proud to support this innovative investment in the talent that sustains our communities.”