Local Professional Selected to National Outreach Initiative

Rena Elbaze of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg inducted as a 

Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliate

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Big Tent Judaism/Jewish Outreach Institute is proud to announce that Rena Elbaze of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg has become a Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliate.

* Rena is the Jewish Engagement Specialist at the Federation.

* The Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliates Program is a collaborative network for Jewish communal professionals who want to "expand the tent" of the organized Jewish community by reaching and serving less-engaged Jews, including unaffiliated intermarried families.

JULY 10, 2013— Big Tent Judaism/Jewish Outreach Institute (www.JOI.org) is delighted to announce that Rena Elbaze, Jewish Engagement Specialist at the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, has become a Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliate. Having completed an orientation training, Rena helps open the tent of the Winnipeg Jewish community through innovative outreach and engagement programming, including Public Space JudaismSM programs that take Jewish community outside the four walls of institutions and out to where people are in public secular spaces, such as “Passover in the Matzah Aisle” and “Hands on Hanukkah” in shopping malls. At any given time, the majority of Jewish households are not engaging with the organized Jewish community in North America, and Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliates seek to demonstrate to the unaffiliated the meaning and value in participation.

Rena is the Jewish Engagement Specialist at the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg where she actively engages less affiliated long-time Winnipeggers and newcomers to the community through public space events and one-on-one meetings. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada, she settled on the French Riviera in 1986, to pursue her studies while teaching Communications at various Graduate Business Schools. In 1999 Rena earned her doctoral degree in Information and Communication Sciences with her thesis on Israel’s image in the French Media. Rena, along with her husband and three daughters, returned to Canada in January 2007, to work as Director of Communications in the Francophone community. She later worked as international education brand manager for the Council of Ministers of Education Canada, as well as at the Center for Higher Learning Research and Development (CHERD) from the Asper Business School where she continues to teach Communications online. Since her return to Winnipeg, Rena has been actively involved in various projects in the Jewish and general communities. She speaks English, French, Hebrew and Spanish, which she uses regularly

in her work at the Jewish Community Campus with many of the newcomer families.

The Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliates program, which began in the Spring of 2012, is a training series and collaborative network for Jewish communal professionals who want to "expand the tent" of the organized Jewish community by reaching and serving less-engaged Jews including unaffiliated intermarried families. The program provides free, exclusive education on proven outreach best practices; one-on-one coaching; peer support; program implementation guidance; and program evaluation assistance. The program works to achieve measurable impact by tracking agreed-upon numeric benchmarks with each Professional Affiliate, working with them to not just find the less-engaged in their communities, but to create lasting relationships that lead to deeper engagement.

Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky, Executive Director of Big Tent Judaism/Jewish Outreach Institute, looks forward to the expansion of the program, as JOI surpasses 130 Professional Affiliates. “We are equipping these communal professionals on the front line with the best of best outreach practices. They are key to the future growth of the community and we are proud to have them on our team.”

Rena began her Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliates training in late January, and works the Jewish Engagement Team and lay leadership at the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, as well as professionals in local synagogues, the JCC and other Jewish organizations to implement Public Space Judaism programs throughout 2013 and create relationships with newcomers to the community to foster future engagement.

For more information about Big Tent Judaism/Jewish Outreach Institute, or to schedule an interview with Dr. Elbaze, please contact Amanda Kaletsky at [email protected] or (212) 760-1440.

Big Tent Judaism/Jewish Outreach Institute (JOI)—is an independent, national, trans-denominational organization reaching out to unengaged and intermarried Jewish families, and helping the organized Jewish community better welcome them in. JOI conducts research, runs programs, and serves as a national training institution and network for outreach professionals, guiding and supporting innovative outreach in communities throughout North America.