Transitioning leadership in the South Peninsula

The following letter went out last week to our donors in the South Peninsula region.

Dear Friend,

I'm writing with mixed emotions to personally share the news that Bruce Landgarten, Director of the South Peninsula Region of the Jewish Community Federation, and a valued member of our Federation team, has left the Federation, as of January 15, 2010. Bruce will be relocating to Southern California to assume the position of CEO of the Jewish Federation of Palm Springs and the Desert Area, which is a wonderful career opportunity for him. We're thrilled for Bruce, but saddened by his departure. Bruce has been an extremely valuable member of our team for almost four years, very successfully and ably providing professional leadership for the South Peninsula, building our donor base, reaching out to the next generation, and engaging the broad community. Bruce was an effective convener of Jewish agencies and rabbis in the South Peninsula, and was key to major gifts fundraising, as well as to strengthening the Jewish community as a whole. We'll miss Bruce and his sense of humor, professionalism, and energetic commitment to the mission of the Federation. We're hard at work to find a strong and effective leader to become the new South Peninsula Regional Director, and I completely recognize the urgency of filling this critical and senior role as quickly as possible. As part of the significant reorganization of Federation staff that I initiated in December, Regional Directors have been made part of the Federation's Senior Management Team, and Bruce's replacement will assume that role as well. The staff and volunteers in our South Peninsula Region are excited by the new opportunities for outreach and engagement that will come through their recent relocation to the Taube Koret Campus for Jewish Life. We look forward to greeting you there and continuing our work together to strengthen and support Jewish life for this and future generations. In addition, new state-of-the-art video conferencing tools and plans for our team to be more present in the South Peninsula should go a long way in bridging the distance between San Francisco and the South Peninsula. Stephanie Rosenbaum, Director, Women's Philanthropy and South Peninsula General Campaign will oversee regional activities and fundraising in the interim and is available to assist you in any way. She can be reached at 650-852-9020 x8002. Feel free as well to contact Maxine Epstein, the Federation's Annual Campaign Director, located in San Francisco, to answer any additional questions. She can be reached at 415-512-6202. In the meantime, we ask for your patience during this transition. Please join me in wishing Bruce all the best as he embarks on his new opportunity!

Sincerely Yours,

Jennifer Gorovitz Acting CEO