Joy Wasserman Appointed National Director of Alumni Affairs
at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

Rabbi David Ellenson, President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), announced the appointment of Joy Wasserman as the National Director of Alumni Affairs. Starting July 1, 2002, Wasserman will coordinate national alumni programming and HUC-JIR's national Alumni Council, and will work on continuing professional education, fund raising, and alumni recognition. Rabbi Ellenson stated: "We welcome Joy Wasserman, who through her extensive expertise in alumni relations and educational leadership, will provide distinguished and creative guidance in shaping HUC-JIR's national alumni relations programs."

Wasserman has served as the Coordinator of Alumni Affairs for HUC-JIR's Rhea Hirsch School of Education (RHSOE) in Los Angeles since 1994, and is a Project Administrator, Advisor, and Consultant for Jewish Day Schools for the 21st Century, a program of the RHSOE. She has also worked as a Coordinator and Adviser of another program of the RHSOE, the Experiment in Congregational Education. She brings twelve years of experience as the Director of Education at congregational schools in Ontario and Illinois, and many years of educational experience in leadership and teaching roles.

After receiving her Honours B.A. in Judaic Studies from York University (Toronto, Ontario), Wasserman earned her Master of Arts in Jewish Education from HUC-JIR in Los Angeles in 1981. She was granted Reform Jewish Educator credentials and is the recipient of the Mordecai and Eve Soloff Award in Jewish Education from the RHSOE. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Temple Educators and the Solomon Schechter Day School in Skokie, Illinois. In addition, she is the Vice President of Education and Chair of the Educational Policies and Practices Committee at the Schechter Day School. She also serves as a faculty member and Rabbinic Advisory Committee member of the Olin-Sang-Rudy Union Institute of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in Chicago.