JFCS serves as host agency for 2022 NJHSA PowerNet Conference
Annual conference was held in-person for first time since 2019
JFCS was honored to serve as the host agency for this year’s Network for Jewish Human Service Agencies’ (NJHSA) annual conference, “PowerNet 2022: Realizing Global Impact Through Collaboration,” which was held May 15-17 at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center and at JFCS’ Golden Valley office.
NJHSA member agencies from around the U.S. and Canada attended the annual conference. This year was the first year since 2019 that it was held in-person. Several JFCS staff members presented at the event, including Carrie Fink, PJ Library Coordinator; Isaac Ezra Jennings, J-Pride Coordinator; Ruth Paley, Children and Family Programs Director; Leah Persky, Family Life Education Manager; Dana Rubin, Development Director; Dana Shapiro, Community & Volunteer Engagement Manager; and Amy Weiss, Community Services Director.
In addition to the many informative presentations and workshops, the conference marked the end of JFCS CEO Judy Halper’s term as the NJHSA Board Chair, after serving two years in that position. She pointed out that the PowerNet Conference was the first meeting she chaired in-person during her time as Board Chair.
Despite the majority of the work happening remotely in those two years, she said, the NJHSA accomplished much. The Network added 33 new organizations and agencies to its membership, doubled its operating budget to $4 million and added six new staff, growing to a current team of 13 in order to branch out in new directions to offer even more value to our membership, she said.
“NJHSA is no longer in its organizational infancy,” Halper said. “We are even past toddlerhood. As I was taught many years ago, just as with human beings, organizations must first crawl, then walk, and finally run. NJHSA is clearly jogging, if not readying to compete in marathons.”
She praised the work of NJHSA CEO Reuben Rotman, as well as its staff and lay leaders.
“I feel confident in saying that the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies is more than ready for the challenges we know are on the horizon. Whether it means welcoming the stranger, and re-opening our resettlement programs to meet the needs of refugees from Ukraine and other war-torn spots, or responding to the employment needs of all those individuals whose jobs and careers were upended during the pandemic, or addressing the multitude of mental health challenges that have arisen as a result of disruption in every part of our lives, NJHSA will be the source we turn to for advocacy, training, funding, support, and partnership.”