Doug Seserman, he of the two s’s not three, has attracted attention for what has long been known in Colorado: his courage and sobriety to challenge received Jewish communal truths, even ones that he was hired to promote.
The Forward, a weekly newspaper, named Seserman one of the top 50 Jewish leaders this year.
The newspaper noted, in particular, that Seserman led the effort to reimagine the federation: to change its name and the way it operates. While federations around the country struggle for Jewish charitable “market share,” a debility that struck the Allied Jewish Federation as well, Doug Seserman did something about it. Long story short (well known to readers of the IJN): the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado and the Jewish Community Foundation no longer exist. JEWISHcolorado does. And JEWISHcolorado no longer distributes not enough funds to too many organizations. Rather, it asks them to apply for grants, to prove their worth and the worth of their projects.
It takes courage to look one’s organization in the eye and say: We treasure your legacy, but it’s not working anymore. Seserman did that, convincing his lay leaders to buy into the effort. Now others around the country are taking notice. They should. Doug Seserman is a refreshing voice of leadership.
Alongside Seserman, who was named in the community category, Jared Polis was named in the politics category. Polis, of course, is well known to Jewish Colorado (pardon the pun) as the phenom who seemingly came out of nowhere and now commands a significant voice in the Congress of the United States. Predictable in his philosophy, unpredictable in how he translates it into policy, Polis certainly helps put Colorado on the map of leadership in the larger Jewish community.
Part of Seserman’s leadership is his inclusion of a thoughtful Jewish word in everything he does. Perhaps other Jewish professionals around the country are struggling for another form of Jewish market share: the Torah. Not Seserman. He explicates the Torah. He gives a regular dvar Torah. He embodies the central Jewish belief that every Jew has a personal stake in the Torah — not just rabbis or professional students. Seserman sets a Jewish tone far more specific than vagaries about tikkun olam.
We await the next frontier: the privileging of intensive day school education. We have learned to take care of Israel, of Jews around the world, of Jews in trouble at home and of Jewish cultural efforts. Now we need to take care of the Jewish future.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
