As the 2015 Annual Campaign starts this month, so does the Jewish Community Board of Akron’s new Campaign Director. Development professional and active community member Julie Katz is coming on board in this position. 

“Julie’s primary responsibility is growing the JCBA’s $1.3 million Annual Campaign and building strong relationships with beneficiary agencies, synagogues, and other Jewish organizations to foster a climate of community and collaboration,” says David Koch, CEO of the JCBA. 

Prior to taking this role, Katz served the Akron Bar Foundation as its Director of Development and was Fund Development & Events Specialist for Big Brother Big Sister of Summit, Medina and Stark Counties. She also has experience in Jewish education – as director of Chadash Community Hebrew Academy in Canton, Temple Beth Shalom’s school principal, and a teacher at Beth El. 

“I am excited to welcome a professional with Julie’s depth of experience to the JCBA team,” Koch says. “That Julie and her family are also active members of the Akron community is a real plus.”

Katz has been involved in the Akron Jewish community since 1994 when she and her husband Randy went on a JCBA mission to Israel. “I have been President of The Lippman School Board, a JCBA Board Member, Women’s Board President, a JFS Board member and a Campaign cabinet member,” Katz shares some of her leadership roles in the community. 

She values the size and closeness of the Akron Jewish community. “People in this community celebrate and grieve together,” she says. “Whether it is a personal, community or international triumph or crisis we are there to support each other.”

“In comparison to other Jewish communities, the Akron Jewish community participates at a much higher rate,” Katz says. “In fact, we have raised as much money as communities double our size…This demonstrates to me that the Jews of Akron really care about the community in which they live. I see the community as a reflection of myself. At 5’1,” I’m not very big so I need to make sure that which is important to me gets expressed effectively – I can’t rely on my size alone.

“In the 20 years I have been involved in this community, I have seen it change and adapt with the times and the needs of its members,” Katz says. “Not every Jewish community or Jewish institution can say this and they either don’t exist or are shadows of themselves.  I look forward to bringing resources that can help shape the Akron Jewish community for the next generation. Dreams for the future are important but so are the resources to make those dreams a reality. This community has shown its ability to dream and change. I hope I can help it have the resources to evolve and strengthen even more.”