I am not making this up. "Rise and Shine" might be the perfect anthem for a number of communities. And I don't mean to suggest in any way that a person who has been a Camp Director for 11 years isn't the perfect CEO match with one of the largest and most vibrant Jewish communities in North America. After all, as JFNA described him, Eric Robbins is: "A gifted relationship builder and an active Jewish communal lay leader."*
"Eric has been the Executive Director at Camp Twin Lakes since September, 2005. Based in Atlanta, Eric oversees all staff and operations of Camp Twin Lakes and works closely with the Board of Directors to set goals and implement CTL's strategic plan. His favorite camp song is "Rise and Shine," and he has fond memories of hiking the Appalachian Trail when he was a camper. In addition to children's camps, he has also directed a camp for senior citizens."
So, I was thinking...I was a great camper at Ramah in Wisconsin for 7 years, matriculating to running the dishwashing operation there for another two years. No one contracted food poisoning (to my knowledge) while I ran the dishwashing equipment. I loved Camp Ramah. My favorite song was "Am Yisrael Chai." I was a scholarship recipient; and constantly felt thereafter the imperative to give back.
I know that my experiences in leadership roles with the Jewish federation movement, the United Jewish Appeal, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the UIA and the JDC will be obstacles to consideration of my playing a professional leadership role in federation life but I believe that I can convince the Search Committee to ignore this handicap to my candidacy (and my Blogging) and look, instead, at my camping experiences (and dishwashing success) and my favorite song. The thought that successful Federation experience is now disqualifying is anathema to me...and, I know, to you.
But I recognize that I am behind the curve. After all, look at the serial successes of those from the Camping movement who have been parachuted into CEO positions -- there was that leader of D.C. Camps who lasted close to two years as CEO in Palm Beach. And, of course, there is the paradigm who is Jerry Silverman -- we all know his lack of any accomplishments. I guess these guys leadership experiences recommend a Camp background as a condition precedent to becoming Federation CEO today.
Thus, my kippah will be in the ring for the next LCE job opening. After all, the logical step in federation professional leadership is to go from professionals with experience in the federation movement, to a leader of the Foundation for Camp, to Camp directors -- doesn't even have to have been Jewish camps any more -- to me, a graduate of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin (and its dish room) even though those years were a few years ago. Yeah, just a few years past.
So, DRG or Mandel or whoever...just give me a call.
In the meantime, all together now:
Rise and shine and Give God the glory, glory...Children of the LordRwexler
* I checked the Board of Trustees roster for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta -- Eric is not a Trustee; so, perhaps, his communal lay service was elsewhere. An Anonymous Commentator below has informed us of a list of his communal roles
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22 comments:
He was also associate executive director of the JCC-Metrowest for 6 years and deputy executive director of The Educational Alliance. He is on the JFS-Atlanta Board and founder and board member of Limmud Atlanta (according to LinkedIn).
Eric is a tremendous young man. My concern is the numerous departures of senior professionals in recent months (FRD director, planning director, etc)-- anf he does not start til September. Also, as we have seen so many times, when you hire well-meaning people with skills and talents (whether in Jewish community or elsewhere) it rarely seems to work out. Running a federation (dare I say a community) ois much different than running a camp. Finally, the lay leaders all know and love Eric. They will give him their full support...until...and how soon will that happen? Any odds on the over/under of his tenure?
the wheels on the bus go round and round. Oh yes. We have well meaning people on our bus but sitting in the wrong seats. Good people set up for a bumpy or fatal bus ride. another case in point, Elissa Maier. The JFNA search is alas over for that formidable resource development leader that CEO Jerry has been seeking and seeking for many months and years. The leader who will take our system to new heights. The leader who has been there done that and can lead with decisiveness. Elissa is good at what she has been asked to do (training, making sure the bus runs on time) but really?? The role has now been cast as a planner of meetings and not a mover of resources. Elissa is wonderful but this is like taking a camp director and making them the head of a major city Federation. another day in the surreal world of our jfna.
Amazing...another large city federation opening and they hire a non-Federation outsider...a "homer" from that city. Makes you wonder who applied? If anyone is really interested in these jobs and willing to relocate?
Moreover, with the new JFNA Budget where they are basically cutting out the Mandel Center -- JFNA will no longer help with searches -- not only at the CEO level but at any level.
This is the continuing demise of the field of Jewish communal service. Jewish Jobs Weekly, Monster.com, and LinkedIn cannot be the answer to recruitment into this field. We need professional support to enable people "to move up" which may mean "moving out" to a new community. Mort Mandel always said it is about "the who."....now all we hear is "huh?"
Atlanta has had a very difficult history over the last 15 years with CEO's who failed terribly. Both of the last two came out of the field - one an executive from an intermediate size city and one a former President of a large city. Eric is deeply rooted in Atlanta with great relations with the most senior lay leadership, both Jewish and in the broad community. He articulates a clear vision for the Federation and he is committed to building a strong community. He is not just a camp director, but a director of a system of eleven camps which he has helped develop. Prior to that he had experience in New Jersey and New York in the Center field , a field which has contributed major leadership to the Federation field. Before one makes judgements from afar I think one should do their homework and understand better the local dynamics and the cast of characters in a given city.
I agree with 7:23.
Eric has had experience in the 'federation system' in a Large City environment. He knows the intricacies of federation and agency relations. And he has the support of Atlanta Leadership.
Give him and the Atlanta Leadership credit for doing their homework.
Richard, I wonder if your opinion of Eric would be the same if all his professional experience occurred in Chicago.
I believe that Eric is a fine person and leader; as I quoted in the Post: "A gifted relationship builder and an active Jewish communal lay leader." Perhaps my point was too subtle, too cute or both; but I know that those of you who have written to underscore Eric's leadership qualities have missed my point.
Richard,
We haven't missed your point....but please don't miss ours (or should I say mine): Yes, the track record of federation CEOs that have been 'parachuted' in from outside the federation system, whether they were volunteers or professionals, has been abysmal, without question. However, not coming up through the federation system should not disqualify a candidate. It is the responsibility of the Search Committee, the lay leadership, and the major donors to make a decision based on all factors, and allow 3 years for that new CEO to succeed in navigating the myriad of challenges that a federation CEO encounters, particularly when he/she (hopefully more 'shes') is from 'outside the system'.
There are a lot of talented people out there.
Anonymous 6:40am - would you ever go to a Doctor who didn't go to medical school? Of course not. Same with the Federation system - to be the head of a Federation one MUST have some successful Federation training and experience.
Knowledge is clearly not relevant to you 8:18. There are 4 extremely successful (by any standard) Execs in Detroit, Phil, Montreal and LA who all came from outside the Fed system. Add the promise in SF and NY and you couldn't be more incorrect.
It is not necessary to attack another Commentator so let's just say that the last one is guilty of no small degree of overstatement and misinformation: Detroit's excellent CEO was a long-time Federation senior professional; LA's CEO, now in his 4th or 5th year led a Jewish agency with ties to the Federation before becoming CEO; and New York UJA;s new CEO is a long-term federation Board leader and philanthropist.
Other than Detroit, where success is clear, the results are not in as yet in any of the other communities. Everyone hopes for the best but that doesn't make Anonymous 8:18 AM wrong across the Board when other communities including Atlanta, about which Richard wrote today, Palm Beach, San Francisco (at least twice before Dan Grossman), and others too many to count seem to have been forgotten by the most recent Comment.
You are all getting distracted from the task at hand which is to radically change our national organization and bring it back to life - to get it to spend our money where it should be spent in order to make us all great once again.
We need to pull together and force the needed changes in direction and in leadership that are so long overdue.
If we don't get our national act together it isn't going to matter what this or that federation is doing because if we are not together we have no future anyway.
Anonymous 11:15. THANK YOU
So JFNA has announced that they are no longer in the executive search business - "blamed" on budgetary pressure.
Now how about cutting back on some other big items that are not needed and are just wasting valuable resources and maybe allowing the organization to get back to what it really should be doing.
Some examples:
> stop all the useless self-aggrandizing PR hype like Fedworld and Fedweb. PR and marketing should be for campaign, not for promoting JFNA!
> stop wasting time and staff on so-called "global operations". Close it down already. It is not our job and others can do it well - much better than we have been.
> start FRD collective campaign
support and a real national campaign - this should be our core business!
These are just a few examples - serious strategic planning will no doubt lead to many more ways to make the long overdue turnaround happen.
But is anyone doing any serious strategic planning - any planning at all?
Is there anyone there behind the steering wheel?
I want to thank all of you who have Commented with such insight and focus. The debate on these pages should be the debate that takes place within JFNA, within its Budget & Finance Committee -- but, of course, there is no debate there at all -- one of the seminal failures of the many that afflict and have afflicted JFNA.
"The debate on these pages should be the debate that takes place within JFNA, within its Budget & Finance Committee". Right. So why are you attacking new Execs? Seems a little contradictory, no? Or is it your way of welcoming people to the battle?
Why is no one at the JPro conference?
It doesn't seem to me that Richard is attacking new execs, but rather stating the situation as it appears to him. His indictment is of the system that appears to be hiring people with less evident qualifications than should be the case. I'm pretty sure that if the PR that went out about the new Atlanta exec had included some of the information and qualifications stated by various Anons Richard would have included it. All in all it does seem like recent new execs have much less training and experience from within the system than certainly was the case in the past. Without this experience and background training institutional memory disappears. JFNA is a perfect example of what happens in a similar situation.
There clearly are JFNA supporters/employees reading this blog - this comment is addressed to you: how about a list of specific accomplishments this CEO can be credited with over the past several years. Same for the Sr VP I&O.
I would say zero plus/minus - probably the latter - for both.
To Anon 5:27: We all know that Jerry Silverman and probably Rene Rothstein read this blog, so I'm sure we'll get a response from an Anon.
So here it is several days later and no-one has been able to list one accomplishment of the CEO or the Sr VP I&O. And as the previous commenter pointed out, we all know Silverman reads this blog.
Even the board chair hasn't weighed in; posting anonymously, of course.
So what does this tell us?
Mr. Board Chair, when will YOU take responsibility and end this farce? Both the CEO and Sr VP I&O need to go. Otherwise, like your predecessors, YOUR reputation will be "in the toilet."
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