On May 12, more than 100 of the Federation’s best and brightest young leaders came together to brainstorm, discuss, and share best practices for continuing the life-changing work of the Federation.

“We’ve been hearing about a variety of outreach and engagement strategies being tried by the different Federation young leadership groups,” said Brad Conroy, who conceived the idea for the pep rally along with fellow National Young Leadership Cabinet member Yael Irom. “The idea of the pep rally was to get everyone in one room so we can get to know each other, share what we’ve been doing and see how we can collaborate in the future.”

Invitations to the Pep Rally, which was held at the Encino home of Dennis Rose and General Campaign Chair Bettina Kurowski, were sent to every member of a Federation young leadership steering committee as well as all participants in the four young leadership training programs: Young Leadership Development Institute (YLDI), Entertainment Industry Leadership Institute (EILI), New Leaders Project (NLP), and The Geller Leadership Project.

Conroy and Irom each gave a short welcoming speech before introducing the city and valley chairs of the Ben-Gurion Society who were in attendance. Lonnie Weiss, Howard Gross, Jodie Platt, and Todd Gindy spoke to the group about the past successes of Young Leadership, and the importance of continuing these strong and successful events and programs.

Kurowski, who was also one of the driving forces behind the pep rally, gave an empowering speech, urging the crowd, which included Federation Chairman of the Board Stanley Gold, to continue getting involved in all aspects of the Federation, telling them, “Your time to lead is now.”

After enjoying kosher treats provided by Kurowski, the young leaders split into smaller groups, where they had the opportunity to share and discuss ideas, events, programs, and other materials.

“I think everyone was fired up by learning they weren't the only young leaders trying to make a difference,” said Irom. “Everyone at the pep rally is passionate about making a difference in the lives of others, ensuring a strong Jewish community here and now, and building something that will sustain itself throughout the future.”

For more information about Federation Young Leadership, please contact Jodi Berman at (323) 761-8227 or JBerman@JewishLA.org.