The Future is Bright: The new generation of trustees taking our community by storm!

On Thursday May 1st, around 40 senior communal leaders gathered with young communal trustees and potential lay leaders of the future at the Head Room Café, Golders Green for our most recent event; The Future is Bright: The new generation of young trustees taking the community by storm!

The event featured 3  of the most outstanding and talented young trustees in our community. Judith Flacks-Leigh (Chair of HIAS + JCORE, trustee of UJS), Edward Isaacs (trustee of UJIA) and Annabel Mahgarefteh (trustee of World Jewish Relief) talked powerfully about what it takes to become a trustee of a Jewish community organisation, why they do what they do, the barriers they had to overcome, and the value of what young people can bring to a trustee board - with their skills, insights and lived experiences.

We were also joined by Osaro Otobo, ambassador of the Young Trustees Movement (YTM) and founder of Make Diversity Count, who spoke about the work of YTM and underlined the benefits of an age-diverse trustee board.

The second half of the evening featured breakout spaces. Eli Gaventa (JVN trustee) and Nina Freedman (JLC trustee) facilitated a Q&A/discussion for young trustees/potential trustees reflecting on what they’d heard, while Debbie Fox (Chair of Lead) and Osaro Otobo led a conversation space for senior communal lay leaders and professionals who shared their thoughts on the topic and possible ways forward.

Thank you to all who joined us and look out for our next event in our Leadership Pipeline series!

Quotes from participants:

“I thought the event was very well thought through and formatted. I really liked that you had both younger trustee prospects and actual senior leaders from the charities. Normalising cross-generational events and conversations like that are a key part of the solution!.”

“I enjoyed the event last night, more of the same please!”

“The speakers were excellent and showed how they added value to the their boards. They were focussed and highly intelligent. The event has prompted me to remind existing Trustees they need to create pathways for young people to join their trustee board, and a trustee role may not be the first point.”

“I could see myself becoming a trustee in the future but not in the immediate future….potentially in 2-3 years time.”