Continuing its drive to cultivate the next generation of Jewish leaders, Hillel International is expanding its Springboard Fellowship with a second cohort of 25 new participants for the next year of the program, building on the first class of 20 early career professionals.

Northwestern Hillel will host one of these Fellows starting next school year who will be trained in social action and community organizing methodologies to ensure that social justice is a theme woven into regular Hillel programming.

The two-year fellowship provides hands-on mentorship, competitive compensation and dynamic professional development opportunities from local and national Hillel staff as well as experts from across the corporate and non-profit worlds.

The “Bet” class of fellows will focus on either innovation or social justice, while the “Aleph” class will enter their second academic year, continuing their concentrations on innovation and social media.

In recent years, as the level of student activism on social justice issues has increased at Northwestern, Jewish students have become more engaged in this activism on campus and in the local community. While some student activists are connected to Hillel, others do not have a strong link to Hillel or the Jewish community.

According to Executive Director Michael Simon, “The Fellow will work with students to identify causes and partner organizations that Hillel can work with or help support in new ways. By engaging students through the lens of social justice, the Fellow will help connect them to the Jewish community while enabling them to build bridges and take action together with diverse advocates in the wider campus community.”

“The Springboard Fellowship provides Hillel with an opportunity to foster the next generation of Jewish leaders while also creating a positive impact for current students,” said Mimi Kravetz, Chief Talent Officer of Hillel International. “Adding a social justice focus was a natural progression, given our students’ interests and the Jewish mandate to pursue justice.

“By positioning these young professionals on campuses across the country, we have the opportunity to reach thousands of students in new and exciting ways,” she said.

Hillel International launched the Springboard Fellowship in 2016 to train cohorts of young Jewish professionals in highly-valued skillsets and place them at local Hillel campuses for two years. The Springboard Fellowship is a reimagining of the Steinhardt Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellowship, which Hillel ran from 1994 to 2008 and trained a generation of emerging Jewish communal leaders through their roles in Jewish student engagement.

In addition to compelling work and professional development training, Springboard Fellows will receive a minimum base salary of $40,000 as well as full benefits, jointly funded by Hillel International and by the local Hillel campuses that they serve, as well as generous donations from the Beacon and Shapira Foundations and Mosaic United.

For more information, and to apply for the Springboard Fellowship, visit hillel.org/fellowships .