Interview with Phil Brodsky, Our New Executive Director!
In December 2020, The Jewish Federation of Raleigh-Cary welcomed Phil Brodsky as our new Executive Director. Three months into the job, Phil sat down with our Communications Coordinator, Rebecca Allen, to discuss how he was settling in to his new position and to talk about the Federation’s upcoming event, “(re)Imagining Our Jewish Community” on Tuesday, March 16 at 7 p.m.
Rebecca Allen: Hi Phil, welcome to Raleigh!
Phil Brodsky: Thank you, Becca! My family and I are so excited to be here. We moved to Raleigh in January from Washington, D.C., and even though the world was still in quarantine, we feel so embraced by the community here. It is clear Raleigh is a special place to live.
RA: As a lifelong North Carolina resident, I have to agree! What has been your first impression of Raleigh and our Jewish community so far?
PB: Well first of all, it’s great to be back. I grew up in Charlotte, and went to school in Chapel Hill, so I’m so excited to be back in my home state near friends and family. What has impressed me about Raleigh so far is how everyone is so welcoming here. I noticed right away that when you meet someone, they will tell you how long they have been in Raleigh – whether it's been only a few months like me, or for generations like some of our Federation leadership. Part of the social currency here is talking about when you came to the community.
RA: That’s right.
PB: I think this is an important observation for us at the Jewish Federation: our story is the story of our community members, and that means we need to emphasize the importance of connecting people to one another and welcoming newcomers. I have heard so many people say that when they moved here and were looking for new friends, they found their “adopted family” in the Jewish community. We need to make sure that the Federation is a hub of connection for all newcomers and longtime Raleighites alike.
RA: With so many people moving to this area, that makes a lot of sense. How do you think we can harness this energy?
PB: One of my core beliefs and what I have built my career in the Jewish community on is relationship building. Over my career at Hillel International, The David Project and even when I worked for AEPi Fraternity, I have always worked to build community one relationship at a time. I believe that is how you build a sustainable movement that is strong, has a thick social fabric, is able to reach goals, and has the potential to change the world for the better.
Relationship building is one of the oldest organizing strategies, but it is also modern and innovative. Especially now, considering the last year we’ve had, people are craving connection. Whether it’s on Zoom, or in someone’s backyard as seasons change and temperatures get warmer, our job at the Federation is to create opportunities for our community to come together and work collaboratively to help shape the world for the better. By connecting over shared Jewish values such as education, togetherness, justice, equality, and taking care of each other, I believe that our world can be as good as we envision it to be.
RA: I know from your past experiences with Hillel and The David Project you focused on bringing together the Jewish community with other organized communities on college campuses. What will you bring from that time in your career to the Federation and to the Raleigh-Cary area?
PB: We did some really exciting programs at The David Project. I was most proud of our Jewish-Black and Jewish-Latino community summits, in which student leaders from each community had the opportunity to meet and hear from one-another about what it feels like to be Jewish or Black or Latinx on campus today. It was important that we witnessed each other’s joys and pains, and it really built trust between the participants.
From these experiences, I believe that it is important that the Jewish community be a place where all are welcome, and where people know that the Jewish community cares about them. I think we can accomplish this through our relationship building work within the Jewish community as well as the bridge building work that we’re doing through our JCRC and other efforts.
RA: I wholeheartedly agree! Now that you’ve settled into your role here at the Federation, what is your vision for your first year on the job?
PB: So far in my first 90 days, I have taken the time to listen and learn about our community. I’ve already met one-on-one with our board of trustees, our staff, our local Rabbis, and many community leaders, and I still have so many more people I want to speak with.
What I want to hear is the story of our community, how the Federation can be of service to them, what everyone’s vision is for our community, and what they see as the Federation’s role in leading that change.
As far as this first year, I’m looking forward to partnering with our board leadership and staff to tell the story of the Federation to the community, focus on our most important engagement opportunities such as Camp JCC, PJ Library, newcomers' opportunities, Women’s Philanthropy, and community educational opportunities.
I’m especially excited about our new local speaker series initiative, in which local thought leaders will be participating in community discussions about envisioning what our community will look like as we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our first panel, on March 16, is entitled “(re)Imagining Our Jewish Community”, and will feature several leaders of local Jewish organizations. I hope everyone will participate in this important discussion and explore together what will be the same and what will be different in the years and months ahead. Later in the year, we will be hosting additional panels centered on the topics of reimagining the public space, civics and the food industry.
RA: I’ll definitely be there!
PB: Haha, Thank you, Becca. But make sure to invite your family and friends, it’s sure to be an interesting discussion!
RA: Will do! Phil, thank you for your time, I know you are extremely busy! Anything else you would like to share?
PB: Thank you for this interview. My wife Mindy and I, and our son Simon, are so excited to be here. We have enjoyed meeting so many people so far, and we can’t wait to host people around our Shabbat table as soon as we can.
If anyone reading this would like to connect with me and we haven’t yet, please know you can reach out any time via my email or my phone number: (919) 676-2200 extension 100.
I look forward to meeting you!
Phil, Simon, and Mindy Brodsky
Read some of our other blog posts!
