What is it?

• A conference for Jewish communal professionals and volunteer leaders from across denominational and institutional lines to address the biggest issues facing North American Judaism today. It is designed especially for those devoted to creating a more welcoming Jewish community and securing a vibrant Jewish life.



• An interactive event where together we will envision an ideal community. Sessions will provide concrete techniques, effective strategies, and innovative approaches to take home to help transform your community through outreach.

• Maya Escobar, a Guatemalan interdisciplinary artist and educator, through the performance of actual and fictitious moments in her life, explores her personal identity as the daughter of a Guatemalan father and a Jewish mother
  
  
• Learn how you can bring effective outreach programs that work to your local community
  
  
• Performance by Peter Pitzele, the bibliodramatist
  
  
• Workshops and networking opportunities
  
  
• Learn how you can transform your organization into a Big Tent organization
  
  
• Sessions for newcomers and advanced conference attendees
  
  
• Learn how to effectively partner and collaborate with other Jewish organizations in your community

• We believe it is important to transform existing communal institutions with creative outreach programs, professional education, and training.

• "Wow, what a GREAT conference!!! I learned so many great best practices and I networked with so many amazing outreach professionals."

• "I was truly overwhelmed with the warm welcome we received. You and your staff went out of your way to ensure that our needs were addressed, and that we were integrated among the attendees..."

• "Thank you and everyone at JOI for a remarkable and wonderful conference. I gave a d'var this past Friday night relating some of what I learned..."

• "Thank you for the enlightenment..."

• "I appreciated the diversity and wide range of experiences represented by speakers and participants..."

To honor and celebrate Terry and Ruth Elkes and the work of outreach that they held so dear during their lives, current leaders of the Jewish Outreach Institute (JOI) have chosen to name the national conference The Ruth and Terry Elkes Memorial Conference.

Terry Elkes served as president of JOI with distinction, vision, and dedication for close to ten years and much longer as an active board member. He championed the cause of outreach to intermarried Jewish couples and their children, fostering a shift in attitude that continues to this day toward greater welcoming and inclusion within the Jewish community. JOI remains at the forefront of this work.