About
JLA
We are on a mission to help recent Jewish college graduates build leadership capacity while navigating Jewish identity in professional life by empowering them to learn from inspiring local Jewish leaders.
A New Model for Jewish Leadership
The Jewish Leadership Accelerator is a program of the Jewish Leadership Fund, a registered 501(c)(3) housed at the Jewish Federation Bay Area. Founded and led by Laura Lauder, a Silicon Valley venture philanthropist and social entrepreneur, JLA's mission is to build leadership capacity in recent Jewish graduates and grow the next generation of Jewish communal leaders through a tight-knit, accountable peer cohort and lasting mentor relationships. Fellows also receive a $2,000 stipend upon completion of the program.
Throughout the fellowship, fellows will help run intimate monthly dinners with local Jewish leaders across tech, business, science, and philanthropy, and can request mentorship in their chosen field whenever they need it. Mentors offer personalized guidance on real career decisions and on navigating Jewish identity in the workplace, giving each fellow a steady thought partner throughout the program. By the end, each fellow leaves with a concrete plan for how they want to lead, whether that's a board seat, a new initiative, or something else. JLA isn't just a speaker series; it’s a place for emerging leaders to actively figure out what kind of Jewish leader they want to become, and the support to help get them there.
Why JLA
When most programs end at casual networking and passive lectures, JLA is built for action, empowering fellows with the active agency, executive relationships, and concrete tools to drive meaningful change.
A Founder & Team Invested in You
Our founder and staff are personally invested in every fellow's growth, offering hands-on mentorship and direct introductions throughout the program.
Highly Selective, Deliberately Small
JLA admits a small, highly curated cohort each cycle, keeping the room intimate, trusted, and filled with exceptional peers.
Leading, Not Just Listening
Fellows moderate their own dinner conversations, introducing speakers, driving the Q&A, and guiding table discussions. Fellows are empowered to actively engage with senior leaders, not take a backseat or listening role.
Our Approach
Learning and Inspiration
Monthly Dinners with Senior Leaders
Convening monthly on weekday evenings, JLA dinners pair intimate dining with candid, off-the-record conversations featuring two senior Jewish leaders from business, tech, government, and communal sectors. Our speakers will share how Jewish values inform real workplace decisions, navigating complex board dynamics, and leading through challenging environments. In teams of 2–3, cohort members step up as session moderators, introducing guests, driving the opening Q&A, and leading table discussions. It is an intentional model engineered to sharpen facilitation skills, elevate fellow agency, and build lasting relationships.
Mentorship and Shadowing
Mentorship at JLA is fellow-driven and built around direct initiative. JLA empowers fellows to define their own goals, target organizations, or ideal mentor profiles, and when a specific need arises, JLA leverages its network — including dinner hosts, board members, and our Founder — to make targeted introductions across business, philanthropy, government, and Jewish communal life. Whether a fellow wants an introduction to a lobbyist navigating policy in Sacramento or seeks to observe a board managing state reimbursement for organizational security, JLA opens the door. Beyond one-on-one connections, fellows gain access to exclusive shadowing opportunities across business, philanthropy, government, and Jewish communal life, offering a front-row seat to what high-level leadership looks like in action.
Community Building
True community also happens between the formal dinner sessions. Shortly into the fellowship, fellows will participate in an immersive, day-long weekend retreat. The getaway is intended to foster meaningful self-reflection, relationship building, and Jewish learning, grounded in a case study of leadership development from traditional Jewish texts.
Fellows also have the option to hold JLA-funded social gatherings on their own time to deepen peer relationships and build authentic cohort chemistry. JLA is dedicated to enabling self-curated, agenda-free meet-ups for the cohort to connect on their own terms.
JLAction
The fellowship culminates with JLAction, a dedicated night for fellows to share their personal leadership visions with an intimate room of mentors, community leaders, and senior executives. Rather than a formal presentation, the evening is an encouraging forum for fellows to reflect on their growth and outline their future aspirations, whether that involves planning local convenings, stepping into civic leadership, pursuing board observerships, or something else.
Surrounded by an encouraging network of champions who offer guidance, open doors, and constructive feedback, JLAction helps fellows transition their momentum into a clear, fully supported path forward.
A Lifelong Alumni Network
Upon graduation from JLA, fellows join a robust, growing alumni network that expands every time a new cohort launches. Alumni stay connected through ongoing local events and networking opportunities. JLA will also host an annual, cross-city gathering, bringing fellows from every cohort into the same room to reconnect, expand their circle, and keep building on the momentum they started in the program.
JLA also provides funding for ongoing convenings and events that alumni initiate themselves. JLA is devoted to empowering fellows to keep building community on their own terms, and to meet fellows where they are with the support and mentorship they need long after their cohort ends.
Interested in Joining a Cohort?
Applications are highly selective and open to exceptional recent college graduates.
Not ready to apply yet? Attend an info session to hear from our founder and staff first.