Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership Opens
The Mayberg Center officially opened during a dinner and reception on March 15, 2017. Read the full article in GWToday.
Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership
Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership
Great leaders strengthen and change cultures, attract talent, and stretch others, maximizing their natural gifts and taking them farther than they thought possible. We believe that really great leadership also demands high ethical standards, mindfulness, intentionality and a deep desire to grow other people to reach their potential. The world’s religious traditions offer profound insights into these aspects of leadership. At the Mayberg Center, we draw on the deep wellsprings of Jewish knowledge and the best of contemporary research to study the art and practice of leadership within a challenging university setting to address real-world issues, bolster conceptual frameworks and help you develop practical leadership skills.
Our Mission
The Mayberg Center is dedicated to advancing community-based scholarship in the field of leadership and professional development for the Jewish community and beyond. Housed in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD), the Center is a vibrant laboratory for teaching, learning, and educational engagement. We are committed to cultivating a diverse intellectual community that bridges the work of academics and practitioners for critical conversations about the way leadership, sourced in Judaism and other wisdom communities, has the power to transform individuals and organizations, nationally and globally.
We accomplish this by:
- Offering programs on challenging, contemporary issues with an interdisciplinary approach that brings academics and practitioners together in conversation to enrich their research and their work.
- Presenting opportunities to learn the art of leadership with an array of experts in the field.
- Partnering with other nonprofits and educational institutions in a consultant capacity to train their professionals and lay boards using cutting-edge leadership literature in consonance with Jewish and other wisdom texts to build a reflective, open, and thoughtful learning communities.
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Explore Our Programs
The Mayberg Center provides programming that brings academics and practitioners into conversation with each other to catalyze creativity and innovation, both in theory and in practice.
- Fellowship & Summer Institute on Antisemitism & Jewish Inclusion in Educational Settings
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In 2023, GSEHD and the Mayberg Center launched a fellowship program for teacher education faculty at university schools of education, campus administrators, and DEI officers, focused on how to recognize, study, and teach antisemitism and foster Jewish inclusion within university-based schools, colleges, and departments of education and other educational settings. Learn more about the Fellowship >
- Conversations that Matter
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This annual lecture presents well-known academics and practitioners in conversation with each other on leadership issues of national and spiritual importance from a Jewish lens. Previous panel discussions focused on character education, civil discourse, social justice, history and truth-telling, forgiveness and brought together luminaries from multiple disciplines including David Brooks, Ruth Messinger, Jeffrey Goldberg, Sarah Hurwitz, Moshe Halbertal, Dara Horn, Deborah Lipstadt and David Gregory.
- Professional Development Seminars
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The Center runs seminars for Jewish educators and nonprofit professionals using GSEHD faculty, national and local specialists on topics such as teacher assessment and evaluation, communication and effective social media use, and anxiety management for both teachers and students. These days provide networking opportunities while bringing academics and consultants into a rich exchange with practitioners, illustrating the Center’s commitment to community-based scholarship.
- Convenings
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The Mayberg Center selects issues of national or international importance that could benefit from a deeper immersive, interdisciplinary conversation over the course of a day or a multi-day cohort based experience. We then identify key stakeholders and experts – senior professionals, lay leadership, and funders - to enhance collaboration and develop new ideas for the field. For example, we brought together heads of major North American Jewish nonprofits that provide a variety of leadership development opportunities to assess their effectiveness and share best practices. We have also hosted the Network for Research in Jewish Education Conference.
The Mayberg Center brought extraordinary wisdom, creativity and professionalism to a major collaborative initiative. Their understanding of the field of Jewish thought and approaches to conveying Jewish wisdom in ways that engage and excite participants is truly remarkable.
David Raphael
CEO & Co-Founder, Jewish Grandparents Network
The Mayberg Center has been an invaluable thought partner in working with HIAS lay and professional leadership as well as our diverse staff across the globe to help us articulate, educate ourselves, and model those core values which define us as a Jewish organization.
Mark Hetfield
President and CEO,
HIAS
The Mayberg Center provides Momentum with valuable educational and leadership consultation which contributes tremendously to the success and impact of our initiatives.
Dr. Ronit Ziv-Kreger
Director, Education and Leadership Development,
Momentum
Upcoming Events
There are currently no events available.
Past Events
Leadership Lunches
We are honored to have hosted webinars with influential leaders in the Jewish community focusing on topics such as inclusive leadership and leadership in transition.
Conversations That Matter
This annual lecture presents well-known academics and practitioners in conversation with each other on leadership issues of national and spiritual importance from a Jewish lens.
Mayberg Center In the News
New Center to Focus on Advancement of Jewish Education
A gift from the Mayberg Foundation funded the creation of the new Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership within GSEHD.
Contact Us
Dr. Benjamin Jacobs
Interim Director, Mayberg Center;
Associate Research Professor & Graduate Program Director, Israel Education and Experiential Jewish Education, GSEHD;
Special Assistant to the Dean for Jewish Studies Programs
benjacobs@gwu.edu
Learn more about Dr. Jacobs >