We are pleased to announce that our very own Dr. Julie Lieber, chief Jewish life and engagement officer, and Wendy Aronson, YAD / strategic expansion and engagement director, have been selected to participate in UpStart’s first national change accelerator program.

UpStart, which began in the Bay Area in 2008, partners with the Jewish community’s boldest leaders to expand the picture of how Jews find meaning and how we come together. Their goal? To provide a stronger lab, launch pad, and support system for anyone willing to move the Jewish community forward. Since its inception, UpStart has fueled over 1,450 initiatives and trained more than 3,200 of the Jewish community’s most inspiring leaders.

Both Wendy and Julie look forward to learning how to work dynamically with their teams at Jco, identifying opportunities for growth, imagining solutions, and testing new ideas. Their UpStart program will also include figuring out the role that agility and resiliency play in fostering change, especially during COVID but also in the landscape that emerges post-pandemic.

“COVID, with all the attendant negatives, actually gives us a chance to find new ways to work with and share the messages of our partner organizations. We can’t host the large gatherings JEWISHcolorado is known for, but we can still leverage our position in the Jewish community to support and sustain it going forward. And that’s a reimagining challenge that Julie and I are excited to tackle,” said Wendy.