Youth directors from Florida recently gathered in Boca Raton to participate in a networking lunch for synagogue youth and teen directors. The program, “Creating and Developing an Effective Youth Department in Your Synagogue,” was moderated by Todd Cohn, executive director of Southern NCSY, and Naftali Hermann, OU Southeast regional director.
The event was presented by the Orthodox Union Department of Synagogue and Community Services of the Southeast Region and Southern NCSY.
A roundtable discussion on middle school was led by Jason Segelbaum, director of Emtza NCSY, a division of Southern NCSY for teens in junior high school.
Amy Jacobson, programming/marketing associate at Southern NCSY, gave a presentation on “Raising the Bar on Youth Programming.” Young Israel of Hollywood youth director Avi Frier shared with the audience “20 Programming Ideas in 10 Minutes.” Naftali Herrmann announced the launch of the OU’s youth director network. The event was culminated with Todd Cohn’s “Steal my Ideas.”
Youth directors from the following synagogues participated:
Cheli Mizrachi, B’nai Sephardim Shaare Shalom of Hollywood
Itai Bar, Palm Beach Synagogue
Tehila Bar, Palm Beach Synagogue
Shalev Peleg, Skylake Synagogue, North Miami Beach
Sasha Dominguez, Temple Menorah, Miami Beach
Avi Fried, Young Israel of Bal Harbour
Ave Frier, Young Israel of Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale
Daniel Nabatian, Young Israel of Kendall
Todd Cohen and Naftali Herrmann said in a joint statement, “This conference is an invaluable and unprecedented collaboration. Our goal is to raise the bar across the board in terms of quality and quantity of programs being offered by networking and training the top talent of experienced and new youth professionals.”