Serena Young has been promoted to Assistant Vice President, Institutional Advancement, as of November 1, 2020. As Senior Director of Philanthropic Development Leadership, she has been leading the Institutional Advancement department since October 2020, while Hebrew Union College has conducted a search for our next Vice President, Institutional Advancement.
Serena will serve on the Institutional Advancement senior leadership team to develop the fundraising strategic plan, establish policies, procedures, and goals, and ensure maximization of team efforts to achieve department objectives and institutional mission. In addition, she will develop and implement strategies that elevate stakeholder engagement and relationships, demonstrate specific campaign impact and aims, and advance HUC’s mission.
“As a strategist, fundraiser, and manager with over 25 years of experience building relationships, creating new initiatives, and raising major gifts, Serena Young provides resourceful, motivated, and creative approaches to advancing our financial sustainability,” stated Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., HUC President.
In addition to managing a personal fundraising portfolio and leading and supervising assigned division staff, she has sustained a culture of effective teamwork and innovation, fostering collaborative working relationships, best practices, and shared messaging, information, and materials among the Institutional Advancement staff across multiple locations. She has led change by developing policies and processes that optimize individual, team, and division effectiveness and productivity, while partnering with the National Office of Communications and Public Affairs team to develop a strategic communications plan for high-level donor and stakeholder audiences.
Previously, she served as Senior Director of Philanthropic Leadership and Director of Development, Eastern Region, at HUC-JIR. Prior to HUC-JIR, she was National Director, Leadership and Engagement at the Birthright Israel, after serving as Vice President, Development—Grandparents, Parents and Alumni Campaigns; Regional Director, Tri-State Campaigns. Prior to Birthright, she worked in development at the Educational Alliance, the American Camp Association, and UJA-Federation of New York.