June 4, 2009
To help foster collaboration and expand partnerships, during the afternoon of the ICC’s Spring Consultation, coalition members took part in a structured networking program that encouraged consultation participants to make 15-minute appointments with other professionals, students and ICC staff members. By all accounts, the networking exercise received high marks from all present.
Doron Rubin, the Jewish Agency’s Shaliach to Hillel, met at length with Andy Borans, Alpha Epsilon Pi’s Executive Director, to discuss the opening of AEPi houses in Israel and coordinating with the work of Hillel in Israel. “It is essential that as coalition partners with common goals, we cooperate wherever we can, especially in today’s economic climate. It was wonderful to have this opportunity to sit and discuss future plans in person with Andy,” Doron said. Andy added, “Especially in this day and age when so much of our communication takes place by phone or e-mail, it’s a gift to be able to talk about areas of collaboration in person – between genuine partners – as we did at the ICC Consultation.”
Stacey Popovsky, the Anti-Defamation League’s Director of Campus and Confronting Anti-Semitism Initiatives, used her networking time to connect with Carolyn Greene, the Deputy Director of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. As is the case for many Jewish organizations, the ADL and the Conference of Presidents are focused on the issue of Iran and its potential threat to Israel – and Stacey and Carolyn focused their time on discussing ways their organizations can work together to take action. As Stacey noted, “The ICC Consultation provided me with the opportunity to learn about the community action plan to be launched by the Conference of Presidents Task Force on Iran and discuss ways that we can connect university students with the efforts of the broader Jewish community to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”
For many participants, it was a rare opportunity to connect with a number of coalition partners one-on-one to make plans for the summer and fall. As Rebecca Kahn – the Campus Programs Manager for the Jewish National Fund – summed up, “We frequently come together as a coalition to dig deeply into major issues as a group, which is critical. But it was invaluable for me to be able to spend time planning and strategizing face-to-face with coalition partners – especially those with whom I have not been able to have in-depth, in-person conversations for too long, given the hectic pace of the school year.”