SF Diller Teen Fellows
Step into your leadership. Elevate your Jewish identity.
Become a San Francisco Diller Teen Fellow!
Applications and nominations for Diller 2024-25 are now closed.
Established in San Francisco in 1998 by the Helen Diller Family Foundation, the Diller Teen Fellows program is San Francisco’s premier leadership development program for Jewish teens in 11th grade.
Now operating in 32 communities in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, South America, Europe, and Israel, the goal of the Diller Teen Fellows program is to develop future generations of active, effective leaders with a strong Jewish identity, commitment to the Jewish people, respect for pluralism and love of Israel.
Diller Teen Fellows empowers teens from across the globe to become activated leaders of tikkun olam. This emerging generation of international Jewish leaders gain the tools to serve as a force for good throughout their lifetimes.
The International Diller Teen Fellows
Both the International Diller Teen Fellows office and the local Bay Area Diller Teen Fellows program are located at the Jewish Community Federation’s office in San Francisco. To learn more about the International Diller Teen Fellows and the numerous communities that they oversee, visit their website.
Diller Teen Fellows is an immersive leadership program inviting a select group of Jewish 10th and 11th graders from 32 communities across 7 countries to step up, lead their communities, and help repair the world.
This yearlong program includes local workshops (mifgashim), hands-on opportunities to lead tikkun olam initiatives, local weekend retreats (shabbatonim), a weeklong visit from partnership community from Upper Galilee, and culminates in a Summer Seminar in Israel with 700 Diller Fellows from around the world.
Each year, a select group of 20 fellows learn and experience:
- Design thinking
- Collaboration skills
- Value-based leadership
- Tikkun Olam grant project
- Relationship-building across the globe
- High-impact volunteering activities
- Deepened connection to Jewish identity, pluralism, peoplehood and Israel
Becoming a Diller Teen Fellow
Applications for Diller Teen Fellows San Francisco Cohort 2024-2025 are now closed.
How to Apply
Prospective applicants must be current 10th-grade students who reside in the bay area. We are looking for applicants who represent the Bay Area in all of its diversity in regards to Jewish practice, school type, personal identity, and family background.
Applicants for the program demonstrate:
- Leadership skills or great leadership potential
- Enthusiasm about community service and empowerment
- Interest in exploring their Jewish identities and relationship with Israel
- The desire to fully participate in workshops, retreats, Shabbatonim, the Jewish Community Mifgash, and the Israel Summer Seminar
We ask that all applicants:
- Complete an online application
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Submit two references.
Forms should be sent directly to your references to complete. -
Participate in a group interview with other San Francisco Diller applicants.
Interview slots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so we encourage you to submit your application early in order to secure your desired time slot.
Program Cost
Each participant receives a $10,000 subsidy from both the Helen Diller Family Foundation and the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, which brings the program cost to $3,800 per Fellow, including a program deposit.
Financial Aid
The Diller Teen Fellows program offers need-based scholarships to its participants upon acceptance into the program.
Questions?
Please email Kyla Sokoll-Ward with any questions.
