Selah Leadership Program

Bend the Arc’s Selah Leadership Program, in partnership with the Rockwood Leadership Institute, is designed for Jewish social justice leaders working in Jewish and secular organizations.

Like social change, leadership is about engaging others, sustaining and cultivating communities and movements, inspiring others to give their best, and fulfilling your vision and your organization's mission.

Selah Cohort 15 is currently underway, from January through June, 2018. Stay tuned for announcements about Selah Cohort 16 in the fall of 2018.

Since 2015, the program has been dedicated to supporting the leadership of self-identified Jews of color to help our institutions better reflect the full diversity of the American Jewish community.

Selah is the first leadership training designed specifically for Jewish leaders working across the social change field. Since its founding in 2004, Selah has trained more than 340 leaders from over 200 organizations.

The Selah Approach FAQ Selah Alumni

  • The core pillars of Selah—Purpose, Vision, Resourcefulness, Partnership, and Performance—have become my organizational life blood. I use the teachings of each of these pillars in everything that I do, whether it be motivating staff, writing performance evaluations, public speaking, or fundraising.  

    Robert Bank, Cohort 2: East Coast, 2005; and Cohort 7: Organizational, 2009

  • Before I discovered Selah, I could not find a program that combined the concrete skills, experienced peers, program design and level of time commitment that convinced me to take the leap.

    Andrea Levere, Cohort 9

  • Selah was not only an incredible experience to help me focus my energy on how to be the best professional I could be, it also helped me fully evaluate my personal ecology and purpose and vision for my life.

    Lacey Schwartz, Cohort 5: National

  • The Selah program gave me concrete tools to use in my everyday life to help me to maximize my potential as a rabbi.

    Rabbi Felicia Sol, Cohort 1: East Coast, 2004

  • I recommend Selah for anyone who is prepared to challenge all of his assumptions, take ownership of and responsibility for her personal and professional power, and commit fully to relationships with some of the finest human beings in the community.

    Shawn Landres, Cohort 4: National, 2007

  • Since participating in Selah, I have begun a regular practice of rest and reflection. This practice has made my social change work more sustainable.

    Quito Ziegler, Cohort 2: East Coast, 2005

  • The people in my cohort are wonderful—activists/leaders/artists—people who will make a difference. Selah helps us connect to each other and deepen our understanding of each other's work.

    Heather Booth, Cohort 4: National, 2007

  • Who ever thought being pushed to acknowledge the full complement of my strengths and my obstacles to success could be so rewarding and so enjoyable! The relationships I have built in Selah have proved invaluable, personally and professionally.

    Elissa Barrett, Cohort 5: National, 2008; and Cohort 7: Organizational, 2009

  • It is rare to find a leadership program that effectively balances training, intentional relationship-building, and strategic thinking for the movement. I consistently find that I refer back to the practices that I learned at Selah.

    Jaime Rapaport Barry, Cohort 4: National, 2007

  • Selah has equipped me with the tools, concepts and language that have just begun to deepen my skills and ownership of my leadership and personal power for the benefit of my community. Executive leadership is incredibly demanding and Selah has bolstered my ability and confidence to more effectively address the challenges I encounter in my work.

    April Baskin, Selah Cohort 10: National