By Adam Grobman

 

Jonah Geller has had many JCC experiences growing up, but one of his favorites was a program called Israel Connection, which took Jonah and his high school classmates to Israel in 1992.

“It was the first enormous snow Israel had gotten in several years,” he recalls. Their trip, as many to Israel are, was altered and adjusted, but still had an impact on Jonah.

“It was my first time climbing Masada and seeing a Kibbutz,” he says. “That laid a strong foundation for going back many times.”

Jonah Geller grew up in JCCs. From his developing pre-school years at the Pittsburgh JCC, to participating in day and overnight camps, playing in the orchestra and changing scenery for plays, and becoming a counselor, he just always seemed to be in and around them.

“JCC was like my home,” he says. “I really connected to everything they were doing.”

As the new CEO of the York JCC, he hopes to help bring that formative experience – one that he credits with being crucial in his development as a Jew – to people of all ages and faiths.

All these experiences led Jonah to get involved with Jewish professional life – he’s worked at Jewish camps and conference centers for more than twenty years before finally “coming home” to work at the York JCC, his first full-time JCC role.

What attracted him to come to York?

“I loved the values and commitment to diversity and inclusion that the York JCC has,” he says. “The ‘Everyone is Welcome’ banner exemplifies their mentality and their welcoming atmosphere.”

Since starting in the role in December, he has many important goals for the JCC, but hopes to learn as much as possible to best serve the building and its community.

“It’s always in partnership,” he says. “I really like the team I work with and spend a lot of time out in the building, listening and asking questions about the good and the challenging, and learning a lot before even thinking about doing anything significant.”

Still, he hopes to tackle major obstacles, both separate from and caused by COVID, such as staffing needs, facility challenges, and reinstating popular programs that were reduced during COVID.

“Whatever I can do to help us grow,” he says. “I hope to build a team and move forward with one cohesive voice, strategy, and north star.”

Jonah’s main interest in the role is the community that is inherent with JCCs. “Relationships are everything,” he says. “I’ve always been interested in community – whether as part of a sports team or facilitating a large group in conversation. People want to be with people and JCCs help them do that wherever they are.”

It is that recognition of the need to bring people together that has guided the York JCC and Jonah during the latter part of the pandemic. Jonah’s first few weeks in the role were marked by the temporary closure over the holiday season – a period of quiet before the storm of people anxious to get back in the building.

“Right now, we’re still offering online programs for people who aren’t ready to come back, but most of what were’ doing is in the building,” he says. “It’s one think to be on a Zoom call, but another to be on the basketball court or around a conference table, working together to build community.”

While every day is different, he says the role is “exactly what I expected it to be,” even with the added challenge of working in a hybrid in-person/online environment. “Sometimes you pick up one stone and you see ten more,” he says. “But the people have been an inspiration in terms of how they’ve embraced and guided me.”