Jewish Federations of North America recently announced that Danielle Gross, a member of Greater Phoenix’s Jewish community, will be the new co-chair for the National Young Leadership Cabinet (NYLC). Starting next month, Gross and her co-chair, Brett Tanzman of New Jersey, will work towards developing the capacity of young Jewish leadership nationally and across the world.
NYLC is the Jewish Federation’s young leadership development program meant to inspire the next generation of global Jewish leaders towards philanthropy, communal engagement and activism. Since it was founded in 1963, NYLC has worked to create and connect Jewish leaders and philanthropists, and has more than 450 current members and 4,200 alumni. Last year, its members raised over $3.725 million for their local Federation annual campaigns, the largest NYLC campaign in Jewish Federation history.
Gross has been part of NYLC for the last six years and this year, as its leader, will be her last. She was first introduced to the program by Rachel Hoffer, the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix’s board chair, who let her know it was a place for like-minded people where she could see all the Federation’s work firsthand.
“I was drawn to the opportunity within Cabinet to be with like-minded young leaders who are in similar positions in their communities and to discover new ideas that I could bring back to Phoenix,” Gross told Jewish News.
Gross is very active in the local Jewish community. Currently, she is the Arizona political chair of AIPAC and secretary of the board for the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix; she has served on the Phoenix AIPAC Council and the board of the Minkoff Center for Jewish Genetics and is also a member of Temple Solel in Paradise Valley.
Gross, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska and attributes a part of her passion for Jewish leadership to both of those biographical details.
“My grandmother would always tell me how hard life can be and that helped me to see the big picture and know that even when I feel overwhelmed, I can handle it,” she said. She was taught to feel a responsibility to repair the world, “even if it’s only one step at a time.”
Being raised in a small city with an even smaller Jewish community, Gross learned to embrace her identity and put herself forward. Every summer, she went to Jewish camps where she was able to immerse herself in a Jewish world fully, which helped remind her who she was in a city with so few Jews.
When she graduated high school, her family moved to Scottsdale and she went to University of Arizona in Tucson, where she studied psychology. She also has a master’s degree in counseling and practiced as a mental health therapist for a time. Now she enjoys being thoroughly ensconced in the world of Jewish philanthropy. Still, her background in therapy assists her work because she’s comfortable being vulnerable, good at expressing herself and enjoys deep conversations.
“Quality relationships are the foundation of being an effective lay leader. Mutual respect in the relationship between lay leaders and professionals allows clear communication and propels the meaningful work that we can accomplish together,” she said.
Ben Schindler, NYLC’s senior director, praised Gross for her “impressive leadership” in Greater Phoenix, and is confident that she will “galvanize the next generation of Jewish leadership to build flourishing Jewish communities and lead with purpose.”
NYLC trains promising volunteers ages 30-40 for leadership positions in the Jewish community. Its focus is to provide tools for participants to better themselves and their capacity as leaders through continued learning, reflection and action. Members participate in a five-year curriculum that builds on a series of Jewish values: hineni (call to leadership), achrayut (responsibility), kehilah kedosha (sacred community), Klal Yisrael (Jewish peoplehood) and hazon (vision).
Gross said to be a Jewish leader in a world with so many challenges and competing opportunities, one has to be “smart, open-minded, flexible and innovative.”
She also stressed how grateful she is to the leaders who came before her and those who have supported her and helped her strike a balance between work and family. Gross is married with three children: twin seven-year-old sons and a four-year-old daughter.
“It’s important to acknowledge that I couldn’t do this work without a supportive and encouraging family. The time I have to spend away from my kids is spent creating a positive impact on the Jewish community, which will benefit them in the long run,” she said.
She has a lot on her plate, but she’s excited about starting work as a co-chair of an organization that has already helped her find her legs as a young Jewish leader in Greater Phoenix.
“I’ve learned that leadership is not about where I’m going but about the people with me. I hope to inspire my peers and empower them to pursue their leadership dreams, and Cabinet is an excellent platform to achieve this.” JN
To learn more about the National Young Leadership Cabinet, click here.
Jewish News is published by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, a component of the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix.
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