Adam Science — The Jewish Leadership Council

Adam Science 2022-23 Cohort

The Adam Science programme was set up in memory of Adam Science, a young dynamic lay leader who was exceptionally engaged in communal life. He recognised that the community would benefit greatly from engaging young adults at an early age and he organised events and ‘Quest’ weekends for young people to meet and be inspired to get involved in communal life.
In 1991, Adam was tragically killed in a car accident and the community lost one of its shining stars. His friends and family rallied to continue his communal work and set up a young leadership programme in his name to help young adults learn about the community and get involved in communal leadership.
The first Adam Science Programme was held in 1992, making the 2022-23 group our the 30th Anniversary cohort. The programme was originally run by Adam’s friends, many of whom are now in senior lay leadership positions across the community. It was then housed within UJIA together with the Adam Science Foundation for 10 years. Since 2011 it has housed within Lead, the leadership development division of the Jewish Leadership Council.
Each cohort of leaders has included a diverse group of people from across the community, bringing their communal, denominational and cultural perspectives to the Adam Science table. As well as learning from the professional and lay leaders that they hear from, the group also learns much from each other’s rich tapestry of backgrounds and experiences. This heavily subsidised programme has supported and developed generations of Jewish leaders since its inception and many alumni now hold senior lay and professional roles in the Jewish community. You can get a sense of the tremendous impact of the programme from the video above which we invite you to take a look at.
After a pause for the pandemic, our 2022-23 cohort featured our largest ever group of participants and for the first time included participants based in both London and Manchester. The have embarked upon a new programme featuring the best of current leadership knowledge, Jewish leadership lessons as well as amazing networking opportunities.
Information about the most recent programme, including our brochure, can be found below. We plan to begin recruiting for a new cohort later in 2024. If you would be interested in details about future programmes, please contact Nick Young at nick@thejlc.org.
The newly designed programme is specifically for emerging leaders within the Jewish Community and those wanting to lead. The programme is twelve months long and will blend in-person and online development experiences.
Vision: The vision of Adam Science is to inspire, empower and enable young adults within the Jewish community to lead and know how and where they can best contribute to a vibrant and vital UK Jewish Community
Aims:
- Understand: Engaging a broad cohort of emerging leaders to understand and navigate the UK Jewish Community, the voluntary sector, in which the community operates and the wider global Jewish community and how this may support and impact their leadership
- Lead: Enabling participants to apply this knowledge and understanding in their leadership and inspiring them to continue their leadership journey
- Network: Allowing participants to build a diverse network of connections that will support their ongoing leadership journey and help to strengthen the Jewish community more broadly.
The Adam Science Leadership Programme is scaffolded around these key questions:
What is leadership for?
What is the strategic purpose - what must it achieve for Jewish communities and organisations in the UK?
What makes a good leader?
What leadership behaviours will enable me to achieve what I set out to do? What leadership will fit my context in the organisations and places that I wish to shape?
How does leadership ‘work’?
How do these key behaviours connect with, engage and inspire followers? How can I build my vision and bring about change? What are some of the key skills I will need to take my leadership forward? What are the differences between leadership and management?
How do I continually develop leadership in myself and others?
Who am I and what do I stand for? How do I build and nurture my leadership network that will allow me to sustain and grow my leadership potential?
The programme, blends in-person and online learning sessions led by top leadership facilitators and will include core and optional modules on a range of essential topics as set out below (subject to review): The programme will also support participants in navigating the UK Jewish Community, developing their leadership vision and connecting with a network of peers.
Full Cohort Gatherings
Residential
A residential experience that builds connections between the cohort, introduces Relational Leadership practice and community mapping
Graduation event
Guest speaker and action planning
Regional Cohort Gatherings
Combination of days/evenings gatherings with local leadership to learn and reflect.  Includes cross denomination panels, Jewish Leadership Learning and current community issues
Core Online Modules*
- Introduction to Charity Commission Guidelines
- Financial Management for Charities
- Facilitating Effective Meetings
- Strategic Planning and impact measurement
- Approaching Challenge
- Working in and with volunteer teams
Optional Online Modules*
- Fundraising for Charities
- Effective Marketing and Comms
- Leading Change
- Team Dynamics
- Courageous Conversations
- Inclusive Leadership in a Changing World
- Jewish Leadership Lessons
- Navigating the lay/professional relationship
*Adam Science is a programme that is responsive to the needs of our cohort, so modules may be subject to change
Is Adam Science for you? The following are the pathways.
Current Lay Leadership Role
You are a leader who is actively engaged and involved in an existing organisation (for example as a trustee/advisory board member, committee/organising/steering group member)
Communal professional
You are working as a professional within a Jewish community organisation and will have experience to draw and reflect upon during your time on the programme from this. You may also have a lay leadership role. You may or may not manage others.
Volunteering commitment
If you don't have a current lay or professional role within a communal organisation, the programme is still open for you to apply to participate. In order to ensure the impact of the programme is maximised, for those applying in this situation and through our partner organisation JVN, we will help facilitate a substantive volunteering opportunity that will complement your leadership development.
The programme sessions are a blend of in-person and online. The schedule below offers a sense of our 2022-23 programme and we would expect future frameworks to be similar. Sessi ns below are in person, unless stated otherwise. By signing up for the course participants are committing to attending these sessions. There will also be optional sessions which will be added throughout the programme.
Opening session
- Sun 6th November 2022, daytime (Southern cohort)
- Sun 13th November 2022, daytime (Northern cohort)
- Where: TBC (Southern cohort) & TBC (Northern cohort)
Residential weekend:
- Sun-Mon 4th/5th December 2022, daytime
- Where: Hunton Park Hotel, Kings Langley, nr London
Core module 1:
- Weds 18th January 2023, evening
- Where: Online
Core module 2:
- Weds 22nd February 2023, evening
- Where: Online
Core module 3:
- Weds 19th April 2023, evening
- Where: Online
Local Gathering 1:
- Thurs 11th may 2023, evening (Northern)
- Thurs 18th may 2023, evening (Southern)
- Where:
  - TBC (Northern)
  - TBC (Southern)
Core Module 4:
- Weds 14th June 2023, evening
- Where: Online
Core Module 5:
- Weds 13th September 2023, evening
- Where: Online
Local Gathering 2:
- Thurs 12th October 2023, evening (Northern)
- Thurs 19th October 2023, evening (Southern)
- Where:
  - TBC (Northern)
  - TBC (Southern)
Core Module 6:
- Weds 1st November 2023, evening
- Where: Online
Graduation Event:
- Sun 26th November 2023, daytime
- Where:
  - TBC (Full cohort meeting in London)
Applications are closed for 2023, but if you would be interested in applying for a future cohort, please email programme manager Nick Young at nick@thejlc.org.
How long is the Programme?
The programme is 1 year long. On our most recent cohort, the first gathering took place in November 2022 with graduation planned for November 2023.
What is the model of delivery?
The programme will blend in-person sessions with online core and optional modules.
How big is the cohort?
We are looking for a broad based cohort drawing from the spectrum of the Jewish community. We will have a cohort based in London, and, in partnership with UJIA and the Jewish Rep Council, a cohort based in Manchester. In future, we also hope to include a group based in Leeds.
What is the commitment?
The Adam Science Programme has been described as a both an individual and a group journey, and we hope that those participating will bring an open mind, a growth mindset, be ready to share their skills, experiences and ideas and be receptive to others. Those accepted onto the programme will be expected to attend and participate in every core session.
This is an exceptional opportunity to develop skills, learn about yourself, communal organisations, the community and grow your network. We hope that participants will be ready to make the most of that opportunity.
There may be information shared or reading opportunities between sessions, but most of the "work" will be about what you get out of sessions and take with you out into the community.
When will sessions take place?
Sessions will take place monthly. In person sessions will normally be on Sunday daytime, with online sessions on weekday evenings. There will be approximately one session per month.
The residential in December 2022 is an overnight stay at a hotel just outside of London. We are able to provide a letter to explain that you are participating on a Leadership Programme that will include CPD if you need to take time out of work to participate.
Who are the facilitators?
The programme is delivered under the leadership of Michelle Janes and managed by Nick Young. It will include delivery by expert speakers and facilitators.
What is the cost?
The cost to each individual is £500 for,2022- 23, which is significantly subsidised. We encouraged participants to ask their organisations to sponsor them or share the cost with them and we were able to offer payment plans to participants. We aim to ensure that finance is not a barrier to participation. (cost subject to review)
What is the age of participants?
Adam Science participants over the years have tended to be in the 23-35 age bracket, but the focus is very much on developing emerging leaders in the community.
What do you offer for alumni?
As a graduate of the Adam Science Programme, with the Adam Science name on your CV, you will join a distinguished network of alumni, holding senior professional and lay leadership positions within and outside the Jewish community. You will be able to connect to the network online, at Adam Science and at JLC/Lead events.
You will also have a broader network of contacts across the Jewish community developed through your cohort which will support you in your role and, by connecting our organisations, will help strengthen the Jewish community.
What has been the impact of the programme?
Many of our alumni are now in senior professional and lay leadership roles and our participants down the years have told us about the many ways in which they’ve benefited,
The best way to get a sense of the impact of the programme, apart from talking to one of the many alumni, is to watch the video at the top of this page or read the testimonials below this panel. The video includes testimony from alumni as well as images from the programme down the years, and words from Adam’s friends and family who brought the programme into existence. We hope that you enjoy it, and if you have further questions, please get in touch.

Daisy Abboudi was born in London. Her grandparents were Jews from Sudan and this inspired her to create the website Tales of Jewish Sudan in 2015. Tales of Jewish Sudan brings together oral histories and recipes with historical research. Her work on the Jewish community of Sudan has been featured in national and in-ternational press. Since 2017, Daisy has been the Deputy Director of Sephardi Voices UK, an oral history charity that documents tes-timonies of Jews from the Middle East, North Africa, and Iran, who settled in the UK. Her interests include questions of identity, herit-age and education.

I am Fundraising Manager at Magen David Adom UK. I take the lead on patronage, events and community fundraising for the charity that represents the official Red Cross society of Israel. I find it extremely motivating to represent the very best of Israel’s society, and to inspire others to join us on that journey. My career began with working in the youth sector, empowering young people from a range of backgrounds to be the best they can be through creative curriculums and digital programming. In my spare time I enjoy spinning, listening to political podcasts and visiting art galleries with my fiancée.

Gemma is the Volunteer Development Coordinator at the Jewish Volunteering Network. Working closely with both the Jewish and wider community she is passionate about volunteering and leader-ship. Gemma first became involved in leadership roles in the South London Jewish Community aged 16 and has been involved in a va-riety of different ways ever since. Her most recent involvement in leaderships roles have been engaging in the wider community. She currently mentors graduates and helps them navigate life after university along with volunteering as a communications officer for a grassroots digital skills focused Community Centre, Framescape.

I am 22 years old and from London. I have been a part of the Jewish community my whole life, from Jewish schools to university and beyond. Last year, I worked as the President of UJS, representing 8500 Jewish students in the UK and Ireland. I now work as the External Affairs Officer at the Antisemitism Policy Trust, a charity aiming to educate parliamentarians and decision makers about antisemitism. I have also recently been appointed as a Trustee of the JLC, an opportunity about which I am very excited.

Georgie recently began a new post as CYP Training Officer at Women’s Aid and is a Trustee for Masorti Judaism. Prior to this, she was the Social Action and Volunteer Programmer at JW3, the largest Jewish arts, culture, and community centre in London. She also helps to lead other Jewish community programmes, including as a resident of Moishe House Kilburn, a residency that creates social action programming for young adults. She has previously worked with young people to help empower them to lead and create transformative communities.

Hannah Gerson hails from South Wales. After graduating from university with a degree in Media and Communications with Film &TV, Hannah worked overseas with Asylum Seekers at an NGO as the Refugee Status Coordinator during a deportation crisis. This experience shaped Hannah’s career massively and on her return to the UK she now works as the Social Responsibility Executive at the United Synagogue. Having lived in Cardiff, Florida, Israel and now London - Hannah has a clear respect and understanding for many different Jewish Communities and a diverse range of other cultures. Hannah is a drummer, self-taught guitarist and plays football for Edgware Kingsbury FC

Chair of the Yom Hashoah Manchester Committee (the largest Holocaust commemoration in the UK) and a speaker with the Northern Holocaust Education Group, I am committed to providing quality Holocaust education. Working together with other charities and organisations, sharing knowledge and resources, is of great im-portance. As a mum of two, living in a vibrant Jewish community and ensuring that this vibrant community continues is a priority for me. With a passion for learning, I take inspiration from various sources and I am constantly searching for ways to improve and aim to ‘Work smarter not harder!’

I have worked in the charity sector since 2014 after completing a degree in Geography. My journey began in fundraising at World Jewish Relief which provided me with a foundational understanding of how a charity operates and developed my interest in monitoring and evaluation. I later supported the voluntary sector in Southwark to improve their impact and evaluation skills. Since December 2020, I have been Jami’s Quality and Impact Manager. I work with teams across the organisation to better define, measure and report on our impact, so that we can keep improving our support to the Jewish community.

Ayala is a singer, cellist, composer, accomplished concert artist and function musician. After completing her BA in Music at Bristol University, she began developing her skills in music production. She is an experienced musical director and is currently chair of Minim Singers. She grew up as part of the NNLS/Noam community and, in 2021, became a member of the NNLS professional team and a Trustee. Ayala enjoys empowering others to lead services and leyn. She completed Hadar’s Davening fellowship for Emerging Leaders earlier this year and is about to start the European Academy of Jewish Liturgy’s Ba’al T’filla programme.

Michali studied Biomedical Engineering at City, University of Lon-don, where she was Jsoc president. In the summers, she ran the experiential education branch at Camp Stone in the USA. She then began working at University Jewish Chaplaincy as the Operations and Finance Executive. After a break to complete a Master’s de-gree at UCL in Advanced Biomedical Imaging, she returned to Chaplaincy as the Operations Manager. Michali lives in NW Lon-don with her husband and toddler.

Jonny is currently the Communications and Programmes Manager at the United Synagogue. He leads a relationship management programme between the centre and community leaders, runs vari-ous training initiatives for them, and coordinates the centralised email management system. At university, Jonny was President of Manchester Jsoc, and in his youth held leadership positions on camps for both Bnei Akiva and Tribe. Previously, Jonny was at UK Israel Business, creating and running business breakfasts and din-ners with high-profile speakers and organising delegations to Isra-el. With three young daughters, Jonny is kept very busy!

I work at The Fed as the Next Generation Project Coordinator. My job has opened my eyes to the struggles of those within our community, motivating me to make a positive change and a difference. It is so important to empower the Next Generation to be proud and feel responsible for helping the Jewish Community thrive. In my free time, I love socialising, going to the theatre and working out. I am looking forward to the Adam Science Programme, to connect with like-minded individuals who care about the future of the Jewish community.

Sarah Koster works for Edgware & Hendon Reform Synagogue as the Young Families Lead, working within the Education and Youth team. She is responsible for creating programming to engage families in the community, working with parents and children from babies to primary age. Previous to this role, she was the Learning and Education Manager for The Faith & Belief Forum, an interfaith charity. She has a degree in Community & Youth Studies and is a qualified Primary school teacher having spent many years working for Local Authorities and within schools with young people. She is passionate about creating meaningful encounters, bringing people together and the power of involvement in community.

Bradley is currently the Public Affairs Officer at the Holocaust Educational Trust and a Parliamentary Assistant in the Office of Nicola Richards MP. Previously, Bradley was the Head of Campaigns at the Union of Jewish Students, spearheading their IHRA definition of Antisemitism campaign. Bradley is originally from Essex and attended King Solomon High School before gaining a bachelor’s in economics from Coventry University. In his spare time, Bradley enjoys being a member of the Essex Jewish ten pin bowling league.

Currently Global HR Coordinator for an international consultancy firm, I was born in Israel before growing up in Spain. My leadership journey began as a madricha in the youth movement I attended as a teenager. After many years of unforgettable machanot, it was my time to give back to the community that nourished and shaped me. As a student I attended multiple leadership conferences where I met people from all over the world, learnt from their experiences and shared knowledge. Since I moved from Barcelona to London, I participated in the exciting, rich, and active local Jewish life made of inspiring leaders. The journey is not over, the best is yet to come.

Imogen Resnick is co-Chair of Kehillah North London, a thriving Liberal synagogue in Stoke Newington, where she co-chairs the Board of Trustees and guides the community’s strategic direction. She also represents the community on the Hackney Faith Forum. Imogen is an advocate for making Jewish life more inclusive and diverse, receiving Liberal Judaism’s national Inclusion in Action Award to develop a cheder curriculum platforming marginalised Jewish voices. Imogen aspires to be a leader known for driving positive social impact, inspired by British Jews’ rich history of progressive community and political organising.

I am 36 years old and Regional and Virtual Events Manager for UJIA in Manchester. I have focused my career in the non-profit sector having also worked for Chai Cancer Care and the JNF in event fundraising. I am passionate about all things travel and enjoy taking on new challenges. I was born in London, moved to Man-chester when I was four years old before moving back to London at 24 for seven years, and more recently relocating back to Man-chester. I have two children, Olivia who is 7 and Mason who is 4.

I’ve been working in the Jewish Charity sector for 7 years now and have been involved in my local Jewish youth movement since I was the age of 5. As the Head of Sports, Health and Wellbeing at Maccabi GB, it’s my passion and aim to engage all aspects of the Jewish Community in becoming more active in their everyday lives. Outside of my work I’m a keen footballer and play football weekly. I’m heavily involved in Youth Football as vice chair of the Maccabi GB Junior Football League and sit on the London FA Cup’s committee

I am 34 years old, and happily married with two lovely children. I have been a fundraiser for 10 years within the Jewish Community and enjoy meeting individuals from our community from various backgrounds, who I learn a great deal from, and put into practice what I have learnt, into my work within the community. I currently work at UJIA as a Senior Fundraiser for nearly 2 years, where I have taken on several projects, such as leading our Kol Nidre Campaign for 2022 (5783) and working on our Crowdfunding Cam-paign earlier in the year.

Jamie is a young professional currently working in Youth and Community work. Since April 2023 Jamie has taken on the role of Youth Services Lead at Jewish Care having spent two years as their Youth Leadership and Youth Volunteering Coordinator. He now oversees the day to day running of their Youth Leadership Programmes, Youth Services Projects, as well as recruitment, enrolment, and training of youth volunteers, allowing him to use his passion for community work to help others develop their skills. Prior to working at Jewish Care, he participated in a gap year programme in Israel.

I am currently the Projects and Partnerships Manager at Mitzvah Day UK. Prior to moving to London just under a month ago I was practicing as a litigation attorney in sunny Cape Town, South Africa. In 2020, with two friends, I co-founded a South African-based non-profit organisation called Mama Flo which aims to find sustainable solutions to alleviating Period Poverty and advocating for women’s rights. The move to pursue a career in the charity sector was certainly the right move for me as a person. I believe that working with like-minded individuals and leaders, I will be able to make a sustainable, invaluable change to the world around me.

My name is Oz Shtrosberg and I am a Chartered Financial Planner. Born and raised in Israel, I moved first to Johannesburg, South Af-rica, for 3 years and then to Manchester in 1997 where my father worked as the UJIA Shaliach. I studied Economics at Manchester University and went on to complete a MSc in Management. Fol-lowing a career as the Marketing Director of a hair care distribu-tor, I went back to my roots and passion for financial planning, joining MAG Financial Services in 2015. I enjoy meeting new peo-ple, our community and espressos (not necessarily in that order).

Adam Science Leadership Programme

Adam Science 2022-23 Cohort