Rabbi Charles Savenor has been appointed executive director of the New York Metropolitan Region of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, effective in mid-July.
Rabbi Savenor, 39, is associate dean and director of admissions at the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary and a former international president of United Synagogue Youth. He succeeds Bruce Greenfield, who was fired in March following allegations of financial improprieties at METNY.
Irwin Scharf, president of METNY, said he is confident Rabbi Savenor will“use his passion for the Conservative movement, leadership skills and management experience to bring new vision and vigor to the METNY Region.”
He said Rabbi Savenor was selected from among 30 candidates to lead the region, whose 110 synagogues and 37,000 families makes it the largest in the country.
Rabbi Jerome Epstein, the United Synagogue’s executive vice president, noted that Rabbi Savenor’s administrative experience, as well as the fact that he once served as an associate rabbi in Chicago, gives him the breadth of experience needed for the job.
“I’m impressed with a number of his ideas to begin to engage people,” he added.
Rabbi Savenor said he believes the movement must reach out to “a whole population of professionals 25 to 45 who are unaffiliated … We want to become more visible and clear about why we are valuable.”
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