Jessica Silver

This month is Women’s History Month. Why is it important to you to recognize women’s impact?
Women’s History Month is such a valuable time for everyone to center the experience of women and think about who we are as people and as leaders. It may not have been possible 50 years ago, and certainly not 100 years ago, for the three of us to be in leadership roles at this institution. It’s important to think about things we might take for granted and how much work it took to get us here, and also to think about what we want to accomplish for ourselves and for women that come after us.

What inspires you?
I’m inspired by people who are courageous and who are boundary breakers. When I look around me at HUC-JIR, I see people like this everywhere. HUC-JIR is full of committed people, passionate people, and people who care about their communities and each other. They are being really intentional in their lives and careers, and are building something that serves their communities.

As a leader at HUC-JIR, how do you hope to inspire others?
I hope that we can all feel inspired by how we work together, how we build community with each other, and how we set goals for ourselves as an organization that are meaningful and then find ways to deliver on those goals. What inspires me in a workplace is how we can be co-creators and collaborators, and how we can be mission driven and achieve things for our communities. If I can play any role in that here, I will feel proud and I hope it can be an inspiration.