SRE Network to convene hundreds to learn from diverse Jewish voices leading positive workplace and communal culture change
May 25, 2022
A “Return to Basics” theme for the network’s annual conference spotlights inspiring models and emphasizes tangible tools for community leaders seeking to create inclusive workplaces and effectively address gender-based harassment and discrimination
On June 8 & 9, 2022, SRE Network will virtually host its 5th annual Convening: “Return to Basics.” Hundreds of SRE Network members representing Jewish nonprofit organizations, funders, and synagogues from across North America will gather to learn from innovative and courageous leaders, and share tools, practices, and resources with the collective aim of addressing gender-based harassment and discrimination, and creating inclusive workplaces.
“Positive change starts with the most basic of steps—focusing on how we treat each other,” says Elana Wien, SRE Network's Executive Director. “We are living and working in complex times, which requires us to improve how we engage in the workplace and in our communities. The stakes are high—we must proceed with care and courage to ensure that women and people of all gender expressions and identities can safely thrive. Bringing together leaders to learn, challenge one another and refocus collectively on the basics is necessary to ground and fuel this positive culture change work for the long-term.”
This year’s convening comes in the midst of ongoing global and local trends and dynamics reshaping how we experience and show up in our workplaces. At the same time we’re seeing an ongoing reckoning within the Jewish communal sector over the handling of both historic and more recent cases of abuse and misconduct. Together, these factors drive SRE Network’s “Return to Basics” focus on taking stock and recentering the basic principles of safety, respect, and equity.
The SRE Network Convening is designed with an understanding that solutions are not one-size fits all and positive change requires a long-term commitment on the part of leaders and organizations. The lineup of speakers and panelists for Return to Basics reflects the need for multiple strategies, as well as many perspectives and stories of courage to help inspire and energize.
Program Highlights
- Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, is the first woman to lead Central’s Reform congregation in its 180-year history. She’ll share the story of repair work done at her synagogue in the wake of revelations related to decades-long misconduct and abuse by a former senior rabbi. We’ll hear the steps taken by her congregation to create a safe space embraced by victims and the broader community.
- Dr. Keren R. McGinity is an Interfaith Specialist at the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and a Forward 50 honoree for her activism in the Jewish #MeToo movement. She will share her expertise advocating for spaces free of abuse and harassment and for creating inclusive Jewish communal spaces grounded in her own personal experience.
- Dr. Shira Berkovits, President and CEO of Sacred Spaces, will share the toolkit she’s developed for supporting safe workplaces with a uniquely Jewish lens.
- See the full agenda and lineup here. srenetwork.org/2022-sre-network-convening/
Return to Basics Details
- Dates and Times: June 8 from 9:00am - 12:30pm PT; June 9 from 9:00am - 12:30 pm PT
- Cost: Free for SRE Network Members
- Program: speakers, panel discussions, facilitated breakout sessions, interactive
Press Access
- Press is welcome to attend the panel discussions and keynote speeches. The breakout sessions will be restricted to SRE member attendees only and will be off the record.
- Reporters looking to attend or receive more information should send a request to shaina@srenetwork.org.
About SRE Network:
We are a Jewish network of over 150 organizations rooted in a shared commitment to safety, respect, and equity-for all. We inspire meaningful change in workplaces and communal spaces by bringing people together to address gender-based harassment, discrimination, and inequity. Our work is focused on building community, research & learning, and strategic community investments, using an intersectional lens of gender justice.
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