CCAR Announces Rabbi Hara Person as New Chief Executive

Rabbi Person Becomes First Woman to Lead A Reform Legacy Organization

New York – November 15, 2018 – The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) today announced Rabbi Hara Person as the organization’s next chief executive. Rabbi Person, who currently serves as CCAR’s chief strategy officer and publisher of CCAR Press, will become the first woman to serve as the top leader of a legacy institution of the Reform Movement.

“We are so thrilled to announce that Rabbi Person will be making this historic ascension to the leadership of CCAR and the broader Reform Movement,” said Rabbi David Stern, President of CCAR. “I have personally had the privilege of working closely with Hara during my presidency and have been continually impressed by her intellect, her vision and her undeniable passion and love for the rabbinate. We are truly blessed to have such a gifted and devoted individual to lead us into the future.”

“I am profoundly honored to accept this position in an organization that supports rabbis in a myriad of ways,” said Rabbi Person. “I am excited to take on the challenge of serving our diverse rabbinate, including through professional and personal enhancement and expanded opportunities for rabbinic education. I’m also looking forward to strengthening CCAR’s bonds with our partner organizations in the Reform Movement and the wider Jewish community, so that together we may build a vibrant Jewish future.”

Rabbi Person brings a wide and diverse array of experience to the position of chief executive. During her 10 years at CCAR, she developed a multi-dimensional communications strategy to position the Reform rabbinate as a leading voice on issues of national and international importance within the Jewish and interfaith community. Since 2008, Hara has served as publisher of CCAR Press, transforming the publishing arm of the Reform Movement into a vibrant and successful publishing house providing liturgy and other resources for Reform Jews and the broader Jewish world.

In addition to her work as chief strategy officer and publisher of CCAR Press, Rabbi Person leads CCAR’s Task Force on the Experience of Women in the Rabbinate, helping to advance the cause of gender equity within the Reform Movement and addressing the unique challenges of women rabbis.

Rabbi Person will succeed CCAR’s current chief executive, Rabbi Steven A. Fox, who announced his retirement earlier this year and led the organization for 13 years. She will officially assume the role on July 1, 2019.

“It has been a true privilege to serve as CCAR’s chief executive for the past 13 years. For much of that time, I have been blessed to have Rabbi Person by my side in leading the CCAR through an exciting period of change and growth,” said Rabbi Fox. “With Rabbi Person filling the chief executive position, I feel extremely confident that the future of CCAR and of the Reform Movement is in good hands.”

Rabbi Person’s selection is the culmination of a robust search process, including deliberations by the CCAR Board of Trustees and conversations among a broad and extensive array of CCAR members, as well as engagement with Movement partners and others.

Contact:
Elliot Levy, 202-800-7409, elliot.levy@berlinrosen.com