JCC Association Names Chicagoan
Alan Solow Next Chairman
NEW YORK, NY, APRIL 6, 2006
– The Nominating Committee of the JCC Association Board
of Directors has named Alan Solow its next chairman, effective
in May. He will be formally inducted into office at the JCCs
of North America Biennial in Philadelphia, May 7-10.
Solow follows Edward Kaplan in leading JCC Association, the
continental umbrella organization for the Jewish Community
Center Movement. More than 350 JCC, YM-YWHA, and camp sites
are affiliated with the association, which also oversees the
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, an accredited government agency
serving the religious and social needs of Jewish military
personnel, veterans and their families. JCC Association responds
to the challenges facing contemporary North American Jewry,
providing direction and critical resources to its affiliates
for educational, cultural, social, recreational and Jewish
identity-building programs.
A lawyer with the Chicago firm of Goldberg Kohn, where he
chairs the Bankruptcy Group and serves on the Management Committee,
Solow brings to the post a decades-long commitment to Jewish
communal service. His insider’s knowledge of JCC Association
has been cultivated through years of involvement on the board
of the Jewish Community Centers of Metropolitan Chicago, his
hometown, and on the continental board. He is currently one
of the JCC Association vice chairs, and chairs the Governance
Committee. He previously served as chair of the Community
Services Committee, which assists with consultation to JCCs
and provides guidance to the field on policy issues. As a
member of the Beyond 2000 and Hagshama Commissions, Solow
participated in the creation of reports envisioning the future
of the JCC Movement and the action steps needed to implement
it. He first joined the JCC Association board in 1997.
Discussing his vision for JCC Association, he credited his
predecessors for establishing a firm financial foundation
and creating the New Initiatives Fund to enable JCC Association
to support innovative projects that promote personal and communal
Jewish journeys. “The JCC is so much more than an entry
point or a portal to Jewish life,” he said. “It’s
an entity that encourages people to move on to other Jewish
experiences, both at the JCC and beyond. We want JCCs to offer
Jewish experiences on a continuum, from the time a person
comes into the world through senior adulthood. These experiences
necessarily differ in response to peoples’ needs at
different times in their lives, but provide meaning and a
Jewish context in which to live their lives.”
“With more choices than ever before,” he continued,
“people need to feel that they can live their lives
at the JCC. JCCs play a key role in helping Jews understand
the depth of our traditions and the breadth of issues that
Judaism addresses, so they will find their lives enriched
when they include a connection to Jewish life, rather than
move away from it. That is what our motto, ‘Inspiring
Jewish Journeys’ is about.”
Choosing the Jewish Council for Youth Services as a good place
to begin his work in philanthropy, Solow served there for
many years on the board and as president in 1985-86. At the
JWB Biennial in 1982, held that year in Chicago, he was recognized
with a New Leadership Award and received the Distinguished
Alumni Award from JCYS in 2001. He subsequently was elected
to the board of directors of the Jewish Community Centers
of Metropolitan Chicago. For years, he held various executive
and board positions, including the presidency of JCCs of Chicago
from 1996-98, and is now an honorary director for life.
Work at the JCCs of Chicago brought Solow into close contact
with the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and its
affiliate, Jewish United Fund. He ascended the leadership
ladder, beginning with board positions at both agencies in
1996. He is currently a vice chairman, concurrently serving
as chair of federation’s Jewish Community Relations
Council. He has also served as a member on the Chicago delegation
to the General Assembly of United Jewish Communities, federation’s
national umbrella organization. At UJC, Solow has been a member
of the Caregiving Task Force of the Domestic Affairs Pillar
and today participates as a member of the Renaissance and
Renewal Pillar. He has made numerous trips to Israel on federation
missions, often leading political figures to educate them
about the Jewish state. His most recent trips with lawmakers
were this past January with Senator Barack Obama and last
August with Cong. Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Solow has been married for nearly 32 years to Andrea Lavin
Solow, an active participant in Jewish life and chair of Chicago’s
Partnership 2000 Committee. She is also a board member of
the World Confederation of Jewish Community Centers. The two
met as students at the University of Illinois, where Solow
received a summa cum laude degree in political science in
1976. He went on to study at Harvard Law School, earning his
JD cum laude in 1979. Among other professional honors, he
was selected by his peers as a fellow of the American College
of Bankruptcy. The Solows have three children: David, a student
at Northwestern University Law School; his wife Brooke Hillman,
an executive assistant attorney general for the state of Illinois;
and Daniel, who works in the sports information department
at Northern Illinois University.
###
JCC Association
is the leadership network of, and central agency for the Jewish
Community Center Movement, which is comprised of 350 JCC,
YM-YWHA and camp sites in the U. S. and Canada. JCC Association
offers a wide range of services and resources to strengthen
the capacity of its affiliates to provide educational, cultural,
social, Jewish identity-building, and recreational programs
to enhance the lives of North American Jews of all ages and
backgrounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also the U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
Miriam
Rinn
Communications Manager
JCC Association
15 E. 26 St., NY, NY 10010
212-786-5092
grounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also a U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
The NFL Youth Football Fund (YFF) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization
founded by the National Football League and NFL Players Association
in 1998 to use football as a catalyst to promote positive
youth development. Through the YFF, hundreds of thousands
of youngsters have been given the opportunity to learn the
game of football, get physically fit, and stay involved in
productive after-school activities with adult mentors. The
YFF also provides youth football participants with safe and
accessible places to play, as well as programs and initiatives
that address the importance of proper coaching, academics,
health and safety, and life skills development.
fax: 212-481-4174
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