Adam Silver, the former executive director of Toronto’s Bernard Betel Centre, is taking his Jewish leadership skills to Western Canada, where he will serve as the new CEO of the Calgary Jewish Federation.
Taking a few minutes to speak to The CJN amid the chaos of packing up his life in Toronto to move with his wife and three children to his new home in Calgary, Silver said he’s excited about his new post.
“I get the sense that the community is warm and welcoming. They’ve welcomed me already, and embraced me and my wife. Our family has yet to travel there as a family unit, but we’re excited to begin that chapter,” said the 43-year-old Silver. “There are a lot of good things happening and there is also a lot of opportunity.”
Outgoing CEO Drew Staffenberg, who is retiring and moving back to his hometown in New Jersey to be with his children and grandchildren, is pleased with Silver’s appointment.
“He started here officially in November, and we’ve had some chance to transition. I’m very pleased with the decision the search committee made for their next leader,” said Staffenberg, who first served as Calgary’s Jewish community leader from 1983 to 1993, and again from 2011 until now.
“I think Adam has some tremendous strengths. He’s got good leadership skills, a big vision and believes in a strong Jewish community. I feel like I’m handing over the community to a strong next leader… He’s a very thoughtful, strategic guy.”
In addition to working at Bernard Betel since 2008, Silver has worked for the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
He also worked as a part-time professor in Seneca College’s social service worker program.
He holds a master of education degree in adult education and community development from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, and has completed coursework toward a master of arts in philanthropy and development at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
As the new CEO of a federation that represents about 8,400 Jews, Silver said he’s looking forward to getting to know the community.
“It is a vibrant and engaged community. There is a real sense of pride in their local and national partnerships as well as in their partnerships with communities in Israel. People roll their sleeves up and make things happen,” he said.
“I have to learn the community and learn some of the nuances and figure out what I need to address and where I can bring some strength in terms of leveraging already successful ventures.”
Silver said he’s confident that there is opportunity for growth in leadership development and engaging the next generation.
“There are some great initiatives that are coming out here that are maybe not as well known in other circles across the country. They have an integrated bursary program for people who want to live a Jewish life. Rather than going to the camp, the shul, the school, etc., and asking for subsidies, it’s a centralized subsidy application that says, here’s what a Jewish life is going to cost, here is what I can afford as a potential community member, and it is a really dignified way of engaging people,” he said.
“I think there is a lot of opportunities to leverage that and either roll it out across the country through the lessons learned or even continue to refine it locally to get more people engaged in Jewish life.”
Silver said he expects some challenges when it comes to achieving his goals.
“We have limited capacity because we don’t have as many potential leaders, or as many infrastructural pieces in place. I think that is part of it. In general…the growth of Jewish communities across the country is a little bit slower than other ethno-specific communities, and I think our remaining a valid voice… takes strategy. It doesn’t just happen… I think we need to be mindful of how to do that.”