JTConnect Board of Directors is excited to announce that Caroline Poland will be JTConnect’s new Executive Director. Caroline comes to JTConnect with experience and a passion for Jewish teen education. Caroline holds a Masters of Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco and has a strong background in nonprofit fundraising, program planning and development, and partnership building.
Everyone on the Board and Search Committee was immediately impressed with Caroline’s commitment to the Jewish community and experience with Jewish teen education and leadership development, as well as her warmth, positivity, and genuine desire to further our mission at JTConnect. Her enthusiasm made everyone very excited about the next chapter in our organization.
Caroline and her family relocated back to the area almost a year ago, after living in San Francisco for 15 years, where Caroline worked at the SF-Based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund as a project director for their teen philanthropy programs, and as a program officer for strategic grantmaking. Her experience working with Jewish teens in leadership programs, as well as her experience in grants and fundraising initiatives were some of the many reasons we are excited to welcome Caroline into this important role.
We are all looking forward to introducing Caroline to our partners throughout the community at our Eat, Drink, and Connect fundraising event on April 3, or in the near future. All of the leadership at JTConnect is excited to start working with Caroline as she transitions into the role of our next Executive Director.
As you all know, our outgoing Executive Director, Eric Maurer, has made JTConnect into the premier Jewish teen educational program that it is today. The Board of Directors is grateful to Eric for all that he has done in his six years as Executive Director to establish an outstanding program and we wish him all the best in his next steps in his stellar career.
Please join us in welcoming Caroline over the next few months, and officially on June 1. Caroline can be reached at caroline@jtconnect.org
Please see Caroline’s introduction letter below and join me in welcoming her to the community.
Looking forward to seeing you on April 3 at Eat, Drink and Connect!
Lauren Benthien
President, JTConnect Board of Directors
This work is such a gift. I’m honored to introduce myself and to be serving as the incoming Executive Director of JTConnect. Our family has recently relocated from San Francisco to Granby, CT and have begun our journey of rooting ourselves in Jewish life and community here. My husband Jeff and I have 3 fantastic kids: Sadie Louise (9) and twins Sawyer and Grayson (6). Working in the Jewish community touches my soul because it sparks my passion for creating positive change in the world. I have served in many nonprofit leadership and management roles over the course of my 20 year career – including working with marginalized youth and families, mental health/substance abuse programming, developing and directing Jewish teen programs, Jewish youth and family philanthropy, strategic grantmaking, nonprofit fundraising, and donor engagement. Most recently my work as a Program Officer at the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund focused on overseeing a large portfolio of Jewish communal grants and partnerships, and managing Jewish scholarship funds serving families in the Bay Area for a wide variety of Jewish opportunities. During my tenure there I also participated in a transformational community building initiative that has strengthened the diverse landscape of Bay Area Jewish communal organizations. That work shaped me as a Jewish professional and leader and I am proud to bring these strategies and practices with me to help fuel new opportunities in Jewish teen engagement, connectivity, and participation in our local community. My family and I look forward to getting to know more of our community in the months ahead and please reach out to me via email at caroline@jtconnect.org, I want to meet you!
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