C ommunity / mazel tovs
COMMUNITYBRIEFS JEVS CEO to Retire, Successor Named
JAY SPECTOR, the longtime president and CEO of
JEVS Human Services, Inc., will retire in June and
be succeeded by Cynthia Figueroa, deputy mayor of
the Office of Children and Families, the nonprofit
announced on Dec. 7.

Figueroa will start on Feb. 7; her last day with the
city is Jan. 10. She will work together with Spector for
four months before he retires.

“I’m so excited to have this opportunity to
build upon the inspirational history and legacy of
its founders and work with an exceptional team
to expand opportunities for those it serves,”
Figueroa said.

JEVS was founded in 1941 to help Jewish refugees
from war-torn Europe restart their lives. Today, it is
the largest human services and employment nonprofit
in the region, helping those facing socio-economic
challenges to lead independent lives. It annually
assists more than 30,000 individuals with a staff of
more than 1,000.

Spector has spent the last 26 years as president
and CEO.

He joined JEVS in 1979 to expand the organization’s
workforce programs and helped the organization
build programs to help people with intellectual,
physical and mental health disabilities to remain in
their homes.

Spector helped design a welfare-to-work program
that brought attention to the significant barriers that
confronted those on welfare, according to a JEVS
news release.

Under his leadership, JEVS grew from a $5 million
nonprofit into one with a budget of more than
$100 million.

“I am very excited about this next chapter in JEVS’
history and am confident that Cynthia is the very best
choice to lead this extraordinary organization into
its next 80 years,” Spector said. “Her commitment to
our region’s families is underscored by her impres-
sive background and the passion with which she has
worked on behalf of the communities we serve.”
Figueroa was a member of Mayor Jim Kenney’s
cabinet and “is widely credited with transforming the
Jay Spector
Photo by Linette Kielinski
City’s Department of Human Services into a national
model as a high-performing, outcomes-driven child
welfare system,” the release said.

“Under her leadership, family involvement in the
child welfare and juvenile justice systems decreased,
prevention services increased, PHLpreK expanded
to 4,000 annual seats and more family supports are
available at community schools,” Kenney said in a
statement. “In response to the pandemic, Cynthia
successfully led programs that provided food access
and created safe spaces for young students while they
transitioned to virtual learning.”
92Y, Curtis Institute Announce Collaboration
The 92nd Street Y in New York City and Philadelphia’s
Curtis Institute of Music announced a collaboration
entitled Curtis at 92Y.

Curtis will work with 92Y to develop adult educa-
tion classes taught by Curtis faculty and alumni,
which will be featured on 92Y’s global adult education
and culture platforms.

92Y is a Jewish cultural and community center on
Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Curtis at 92Y launches on Jan. 19 with a multi-ses-
sion, online adult education course taught by Jonathan
Coopersmith, chair of Musical Studies at Curtis. The
course will center on Franz Schubert’s ”Quintet in
C Major.”
Cynthia Figueroa
Photo by Gabrielle Mahler
On Feb. 18, the first of two annual Curtis on
Tour concerts premieres with a Curtis ensemble
performing Schubert’s work on the stage of
92Y’s Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York City.

A second Curtis on Tour offering at 92Y will be
announced later.

In addition, Curtis and 92Y will work together
to develop educational activities around Curtis on
Tour appearances on 92Y’s concert series for students
enrolled in 92Y’s School of Music and in the larger
New York City community. It will focus on the
community served by 92Y’s Center for Arts Learning
& Leadership; pre-pandemic, the program served
more than 15,000 primarily under-resourced NYC
public school students in person.

In the summer, selected students from 92Y’s
Recanati-Kaplan Program for Excellence in the Arts
will study with Curtis alumni teaching artists in
an online intensive instructional and mentorship
program. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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