Community professionals come together for the JLC and Lead’s largest ever Jewish Community Professionals’ Conference

The 2025 Jewish Community Professionals’ Conference brought together a record breaking 150 professionals across 49 different organisations, at different levels of their career and working within the Jewish charity sector.

On Thursday 22nd May, the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) and its leadership development division Lead brought together professionals from across the community for a day of development and networking. They were joined by a host of sector experts, with special  keynotes being delivered by Dr. Susie Kahn on showing resilience, followed by David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charity Commission, who spoke about the challenges facing the sector and then more broadly during a Q&A session led by Claudia Mendoza, CEO of the JLC.

This annual Conference was an opportunity for participants to press pause on their everyday roles and allow themselves a day to learn, reflect and meet new (and familiar) faces.

With the many challenges facing both the community and the sector, eight wide ranging breakout sessions were on offer for attendees, ranging from better understanding AI, strategic thinking, finding out your true superpower, how to effectively deal with procrastination and many more.

David Holdsworth, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, said:

"Jewish charities are integral to the third sector landscape of the country, serving causes spanning education, sport, healthcare and international aid. Despite challenging headwinds, it was encouraging to hear the commitment of this community of professionals to enhancing the impact and effectiveness of their respective organisations for the good of others. That is a mission the Commission will always seek to support through our advice, guidance and wider regulatory work."

There was an amazing energy and buzz throughout the day, with participants commenting:

“I think it is testament to the work of the JLC over many years that this year's conference saw over 150 Jewish communal employees who valued the day and the concept of professional development. Supporting the development of our communal professional infrastructure is a must to ensure we keep developing, innovating and providing essential services for the betterment of the Jewish community.” Ashley Lerner, CEO Maccabi GB

“JLC as usual provide an excellent conference for Jewish professionals where we can network, discuss our shared experiences and issues and gain new skills. It also provides a good perk for staff.” Louise Froggett, Co-CEO New North London Synagogue.

Laurence Rosenthal, Head of Programmes at the JLC and Lead said: “We were thrilled to welcome our biggest delegation to this event since we introduced it to the communal calendar. As we have seen with our other programmes there is a huge desire for good quality professional development within the community, and we are delighted to be able to offer these opportunities to our colleagues from across the community. Thank you to the organisations for investing in their staff and to our wonderful speakers who made the event so worthwhile. We look forward to hosting a similar event in the regions later in the year.”