by Beth Rodin and Solly Kane

We are delighted to share two exciting staff updates within the URJ OSRUI and NFTY Chicago Area Region, both designed to increase our engagement with youth and teens throughout the region and allow for greater partnership with area URJ Congregations.

We are thrilled to announce that Naomi Segal will become the NFTY CAR Regional Director and OSRUI Assistant Director. In her role as Regional Director for NFTY CAR, Naomi will support teens, youth professionals, congregations, and area partners to organize events and programs for young people and those who work with them. During the summers, Naomi will serve on the Leadership Team at OSRUI. Naomi will begin to transition onto our staff part time later this month and will continue her work with Temple Jeremiah through the High Holidays.

We are also incredibly excited that Dylan Singer will join the team as OSRUI Assistant Director. In his role as Assistant Director, Dylan will work closely with Solly and OSRUI’s Associate Director Susan Alexander. He will be an integral part of the OSRUI Leadership Team in the design and execution of the camp program, in the recruitment and retention of campers and families, and in the identification, hiring and training of staff members. During the school year, Dylan will support year-round programs including family camps and NFTY retreats. Dylan will join the team full time in September.

Dylan and Naomi will be in touch after their respective first days to share their URJ contact information. See below for more information about Dylan and Naomi.

By expanding our professional team within the region, URJ Youth aims to strengthen its focus on youth engagement in NFTY’s Chicago Area as well as to increase participation in Camp and URJ-sponsored programming throughout the OSRUI catchment area. We believe this will also further enhance the strong partnerships between the URJ and its member congregations. Naomi and Dylan will work closely with the existing OSRUI and NFTY teams to launch the 2018-2019 program year from a place of great strength and support for congregations.

In the past months, Scott Goode has been instrumental in supporting NFTY CAR through this staffing transition. His guidance and care for the regional board was central to maintaining the momentum of the spring and preparing for the events in the upcoming program year. We are so grateful for the impact he has had on the region. Please join us in thanking Scott for his support of NFTY!

You can continue to send regional and event questions to nftycar@urj.org and the team will respond to you. In the meantime, be sure to check out the dates for NFTY CAR events this year – and sign up to be notified when registration opens for NFTY CAR Kickoff (a joint event with OSRUI!) very soon.

Naomi Segal

Naomi has been active in the OSRUI and NFTY community as a camper, NFTY-CAR president, unit head of Kallah, and now as the NFTY-CAR Regional Director and OSRUI Assistant Director. She believes that Jewish summer camp and youth group are places and communities that allow kids to find their voice, develop lifelong and meaningful relationships, and discover their Jewish identities.

Prior to joining the OSRUI and NFTY team, Naomi worked at Temple Jeremiah in Northfield, IL as the Youth and Family Engagement Director and oversaw youth group programs for kids 0-18. Naomi was also the Youth Group Director at Temple Beth El in Madison, WI. Naomi spent a year after high school in Israel studying Jewish leadership in youth movements and has a wealth of experience with informal Jewish education.

Naomi grew up in Oak Park, and received her degree in Jewish Studies and International Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago.

Dylan Singer

Dylan is thrilled to be joining the OSRUI staff as the Assistant Director. He attended OSRUI beginning as a camper, staff member, and later as the unit head of Kibbutz HaTzofim in 2017.  Dylan loves being part of the OSRUI community and being able to spend his summers in Oconomowoc.  He grew up in Deerfield, Illinois and graduated from the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities with degrees in Business and Marketing Education, Jewish Studies, and Hebrew.  During his senior year, Dylan served as the student president of Minnesota Hillel, creating dynamic programming and working to engage students in Jewish life on campus.

After graduating, Dylan worked in Bloomington, Indiana working as a Springboard Innovation Fellow at Indiana University Hillel.  While there, he worked to further students’ connections to Judaism, progress their leadership development, and created a warm and welcoming Jewish environment.  In his free time, Dylan likes to read books and spend time in nature.  Dylan is looking forward to making each summer unforgettable for campers and staff alike.