Dear Friend,
I am delighted to share some exciting news with you ahead of this afternoon’s public announcement. Last night, the EDCJCC Board unanimously selected Jennifer Zwilling as the Center’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective January 17, 2023.
A resident of Washington, DC, and already a part of the JCC community, Jen brings 25 years of exceptional experience, leadership, and participation in and to the Jewish community.
Currently, Jen is the Chief Strategy and Campus Success Officer at Hillel International where she leads the organization’s day-to-day strategy. In addition to building and implementing two strategic plans during her time at Hillel, Jen plays a key role in building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders as well as innovating new approaches to achieving mission critical work and keeping the organization relevant, reflective, and attuned to the needs of new generations. Among the many achievements during her tenure, Jen transformed Hillel into a data driven institution by implementing a system that collects data to measure success against identified benchmarks. This data infrastructure now informs every fact of Hillel’s business, providing greater insight about what drives results and where to focus attention and resources.
Prior to holding her current title, she held numerous other positions including, but not limited to, Associate Director for Professional Development, Director for Human Resources, and Vice President for Strategic Initiatives.
Before joining Hillel International, for six years Jen served as a Program Director at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Boston. Jen graduated from Indiana University and went on to get a dual masters in Judaic Studies and Jewish Communal Leadership at Brandeis University. In the last decade, Jen completed a Schusterman Fellowship, attended Harvard Business School’s Executive Leadership Seminar, and served as a MAOZ Fellow with emerging leaders in Israel.
Jen, her husband, and two children are members of Adas Israel Congregation. She and her family have been part of the EDCJCC community for some time – her daughter attended the EDCJCC Preschool and learned to swim in the EDCJCC’s pool, and she and her husband have been attending film and theater programs for over a decade.
With these and other outstanding credentials, and a deep strategic vision for the future of Jewish Life in the Nation’s Capital, Jen was selected as the unanimous choice of the Board of Directors Search Committee, chaired by past presidents Jill Granader and Saul Pilchen, after a rigorous nationwide search that began in July. Because of the EDCJCC’s reputation and record as a high-visibility and impactful urban JCC with outstanding programs in the areas of social responsibility, the arts, Jewish life, community building, and offerings for children and families, the search resulted in a large pool of high-quality candidates. We are beyond thrilled with the results of the search, and cannot wait for Jen to officially join the team in January.
On behalf of the Board, I extend my deepest thanks to the members of the Search Committee for their thoughtful service, and the members of the staff, community leaders, board members, and program participants who provided input for their deep dedication to the organization.
In the coming weeks and months ahead, we look forward to providing you opportunities to meet Jen, either in person or virtually, to get to know her and hear about her forward-looking vision for the Center.
Together, as one community under Jen’s leadership, we will continue to go from strength to strength.
Sincerely,