Shortly after my wife and I got married in 2000, we moved from Washington, DC, to LA so that I could attend grad school at Hebrew Union College and USC and pursue a double master's in Jewish Nonprofit Management and Social Work. While I knew I wanted to work within the Jewish community, I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined being in the position I am today, let alone working on the things I have been doing for many years. 

One of the aspects of being the Executive Director of our Jewish Federation that I enjoy most is striving to meet and respond to the challenges we are facing. While it is certainly not easy, knowing that the work we do in representing and serving as the voice for our Jewish community motivates me each day to make our organization better and stronger.

Over the last several years, as people continue to ask what exactly our Jewish Federation does, our board and staff have worked hard to try to answer this question and demonstrate the value we add to our community. As an example, we developed this document to illustrate what our Jewish Federation is and does on behalf of and for our community.

I am sharing this in this week's column because over the last week, our Jewish Federation staff and board have held retreats to begin discussing and working towards developing a strategic vision for our Jewish Federation to help us move forward with a clear set of priorities for the next couple of years. With a changing landscape and climate, successful organizations must evolve and adapt to meet not only today's needs but also tomorrow's.

Later this month, you will receive our next Federation FOCUS newsletter in your mailbox. Not only does it include our 2024/2025 Annual Report, but it also further illustrates the work our Jewish Federation has been doing on behalf of our community. We also included in this issue a list of various ways community members can help us in our work and become more involved in what we are doing. These include everything from following us on social media and sharing our posts to being a Jewish Federation "ambassador" who helps spread the word about our work and raises awareness among more people. Of course, these are in addition to people donating to support our work. Speaking of which, if you haven't supported our work recently, please consider doing so. We appreciate your contribution, and 100% of it will benefit our community.

With Rosh Hashanah taking place in less than two weeks, I encourage you to commit to being more involved and a part of our Jewish Federation. Please help us as we work each day towards fulfilling our mission to strengthen and enhance Jewish life right here in the greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.