LEADERSHIP OFFICERS Felicia K. Gottdenker, Chair of the Board of Directors Heidi Hookman Brodsky, Chair-Elect Helen Rubin, Administration/Finance Chair & Treasurer Arthur Polott, Development Chair Adam Polsky, Membership & Programming Chair Holli Beckerman Jaffe, Governance Chair Neil Gurvitch, General Counsel Andrew Chod, Secretary Brian Gaines, Assistant Secretary Matthew Weinberg, Assistant Treasurer Lisa Gunty, Ombudsperson IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Bradley C. Stillman BOARD OF DIRECTORS Brent Berger, MD Randi K. Meyrowitz Mindy Berger Jill Myers Robert I. Black Candace Ourisman Nathan Bortnick Tracy Bloom Schwartz Andrew Bridge Reed Sexter Elana Fine Andrew P. Shulman Brett Friedman Dale Singer Samuel Gallo Maurice “Mac” Ron Gorfinkel VerStandig Toby Gottesman The Honorable Jeff Meredith Jacobs Waldstreicher Rami Kandel Sharon Zissman COUNCIL OF ADVISORS Daniel H. Abramowitz Michael Smith Liss David S. Bender Lawrence Mann Stuart Bindeman Alan Meltzer Dean Eisen Pamela Nadell, PhD Bernard Forseter Robert Phillips Greg Friedman Howard Ross The Honorable Julie Silver Douglas F. Gansler Kathy Sklar Toni Goodman Marc Solomon Eric Kassoff Robin Taub Michael Kay Michael E. Winer Mark Lerner Susan Zuckerman Jeffrey Linowes PAST PRESIDENTS Morris Cafritz Steven D. Lustig Marcella E. Cohen Philip N. Margolius Scott M. Cohen Col. Benjamin Ourisman z”l The Honorable Sydney M. Polakoff Stuart E. Eizenstat Richard B. Reff, M.D. Barry P. Forman Leo Schlossberg z”l z”l Rosalie B. Gerber Burnett Siman z”l Michael S. Gildenhorn Beth C. Sloan Col. Julius Goldstein z”l Charles E. Smith z”l Simon Hirshman z”l Andrew M. Stern Lesley Israel Bradley C. Stillman Rosalyn Levy Jonas John D. VerStandig Edward H. Kaplan Bernard M. Weisz Joel S. Kaufman z”l Bernard S. White z”l Harry King z”l Morton H. Wilner z”l Fred Kogod z”l Donald E. Wolpe Robert P. Kogod z”l Samuel Lehrman of blessed memory Harry M. Linowes z”l
EXECUTIVE TEAM Michael Feinstein, Chief Executive Officer Treva Bustow, Chief Marketing Officer Debra L. Cooper, Chief Financial Officer Amy I. Gantz, Chief Operating Officer Tom Rogers, Human Resources Director Adam Tennen, Chief Development Officer EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EMERITUS Robert H. Weiner z”l
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New J, New Year, New Us Message from Michael It has been a summer of change. Our reading Timothy Gallwey’s classic book “The renovation of the building continued Inner Game of Tennis,” which is about so with Phase 2, which included completion much more than tennis. Gallwey defines the of the preschool (lower level and new “inner game” as the game that takes place in corridor) and renovation of the indoor our minds in which our opponent is lapse of pool and adult locker rooms. Our name concentration, nervousness, self-doubt and changed to the Bender JCC of self-condemnation. These are the Greater Washington, thanks inner demons that keep us from to an incredibly generous and performing our best – at tennis or transformational gift by the in life. Howard and Sondra Bender family. We completed a staff It turns out that these vastly reorganization that brought different books complement each talented new personnel into key other in ways that I would not positions and involved a number have imagined. Gallwey reminded of transitions in the jobs of our Michael Feinstein, CEO me of a simple, but important tool senior leadership team. That is to deal with change and stress: quite a bit of change in a short time. focus attention in the present moment. If I’ve learned anything in my years as a leader, it is that with great change comes great stress. Our members were stressed by the unavailability of facilities that they wanted to use. Our staff was stressed by temporary relocations and adjusting to new colleagues and responsibilities. And, yes, I was stressed by the increased demands on my time for construction meetings, onboarding new staff, closing a fiscal year, preparing for the fall calendar of events, and the need to raise the final $2 million to complete our New J. (Yes, we are still working to reach our goal.) Not surprisingly, the time pressures to complete our work on schedule meant that patience was not always in abundance. With so many moving pieces, it was difficult to always be my best self. The arrival of the New Year is just what I needed to wake myself up and begin anew a journey of self-reflection and self-discovery. My annual ritual involves re-reading sections of Rabbi Alan Lew’s book “This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared,” which takes the reader on a spiritual journey around the Jewish rituals from Tisha B’Av through Sukkot. As I think about all of the external forces affecting me this past year and summer, I ask myself in what ways I need to improve. What do I need to forgive myself for and what do I need to seek forgiveness for? I was contemplating these questions at the same time as I started re-
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How many times have I (or you) been in conversation with someone while thinking about something else, sat in a meeting or had a conversation while looking at a smart phone, or engaged in distracted walking by texting at the same time? I am convinced that multi-tasking keeps us from being present and bringing our best selves to the task at hand or the friend, colleague or loved one we are with and who deserves our attention. We are always on a journey, but sometimes we are not really conscious of where we are and where we are going. According to the great contemporary philosopher Yogi Berra, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” The shofar is our call to be mindful of our journey and find ways to improve ourselves. It is our annual call to consider what a “new us” looks like and take the steps to get there. One of my goals for the New Year is to be more present. I’m sure I’ll come up with some others before the gates close. Wishing you Shana Tova U’Metukah, a good and sweet year. May it be a year of peace.
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Photo by Shmulik Almany
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