H eadlines
Kaiserman JCC Hires New CEO From JCC Ranks
L OCA L
ANDY GOTLIEB | JE MANAGING EDITOR
anniversary, as fallout from a
collapsed pool roof in 2013 led
to a steep drop in membership
(there was no indoor pool again
until 2019). And because of the
pandemic, the JCC went from
closure and furloughs of nearly
the entire staff to the rehiring
of many of those employees
after securing a federal Payroll
Protection Program loan.

The fitness facilities remain
closed to members, although
some group fitness classes are
UPPE R DU BLI N
! M LE
OO LAB
DR AI
BE V
2 TS A
I UN
N M OW
OD L
EL EA
S SIN
OP G
EN !
THE KAISERMAN JCC
named veteran JCC executive
Alan Scher as its new CEO,
effective July 1.

Scher, 41, an associate execu-
tive director at the 14th Street
Y in New York City, pledged to
listen well and build relation-
ships as the JCC considers its
post-pandemic future.

“I’m a JCC guy,” he said.

“I’ve had the honor and privi-
lege to work at five different
JCCs.” Scher replaces Amy Krulik,
who served as CEO from 2017
through March of this year.

She left to become executive
director of Main Line Reform
Temple. Jay Steinberg is serving
as the interim CEO.

Scher enters into a difficult
situation as the Wynnewood-
based JCC celebrates its 50th
Alan Scher
UPSCALE LIVING
STEPS ABOVE IT ALL!
Designed with luxury in mind, The Residences at the Promenade
off er lavish apartments situated above a beautiful town center.

• Park Trails
• Pool with Sundeck
• Dog Parks & Washrooms
• Media & Game Rooms
Amenities too many to mention!
• Bocce Court
• Fitness Center
Clean Juice • Sprouts Farmers Market • Lululemon • Fine Wine and Good Spirits!
Coming Soon!
Home Goods • Banfi eld • La Scala’s Fire • Trinity Physical Therapy
Smashburger • Carbon Health • Starbucks • Serenity Nail Bar
Welsh & Dreshertown Roads • Dresher, PA
833-238-1100 ResidencesUD.com
A Bruce E. Toll Community
8 MAY 6, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
held online and two are held
outside. Its preschool continues
to operate, the pool just opened
for the summer and Camp Kef
is slated to begin in June.

Board President Cindy
Smukler said Scher is the right
person for the job and stood
out among the dozen candi-
dates seriously considered.

“From the get-go, I felt his
love for the JCC,” she said.

“The JCC is in his blood.”
Smukler said Scher will offer
a fresh set of eyes to consider
the institution’s future.

“He’s not afraid to roll up
his sleeves and get dirty,” she
said. “The big question for a lot
of JCCs is what we look like in
the community now.”
Krulik, who participated
on the search committee for
her successor, said Scher is
well thought of among Jewish
communal professionals. She
noted there’s an added element
for the position.

“You’re looking at things
through a Jewish lens ... and
must be mindful for supporting
and honoring our heritage and
culture,” she said.

Scher grew up near Sandy
Courtesy of Kaiserman JCC
Hook, New Jersey, and has
Philadelphia childhood
memories — a frequently
visited cousin in Mt. Airy. He
and his wife and two daugh-
ters will be moving to a home
just four blocks from where the
cousin lived.

After graduating from
the University of Southern
California — he later completed
a master’s degree at Sonoma
State University — Scher began
his JCC career in Chicago. After
a stint as a supervising teacher
at CalSERVES, NCOEwest, he
worked for five years at the
Jewish Community Center of
San Francisco.

In 2013, he returned to
the East Coast as managing
director of youth and family
services for the YM & YWHA
of Washington Heights and
Inwood in the New York City
area. He joined the 14th Street
Y in October 2017.

Although each of the JCCs
is different in terms of size,
amenities and other factors,
Scher sees a common element:
the ability to bond and inspire
the community. That will be
valuable post-pandemic.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H EADLINES
The Kaiserman JCC pool’s heated tent
Courtesy of Kaiserman JCC
I see the antidote to the last 16 months as
[being] JCCs. “People need community more
than ever before.”
National Nurses Week
May 6 – 12, 2021
ALAN SCHER
“I see the antidote to the last
16 months as [being] JCCs,” he
said. “People need community
more than ever before.”
Scher has no preconceptions
heading into the job, saying
“it’s somewhat folly,” to come
in with pre-formed ideas. By
listening and building relation-
ships, the proper direction
should present itself, he said.

Scher described the JCC
fi nancially as a three-legged
stool, with Camp Kef and the
Robert J. Wilf Preschool and
Kindergarten components
doing well — camp enrollment
is topping the pre-pandemic
2019 numbers — but the
largely closed fi tness compo-
nent creating a major hole.

Th at means fundraising will
be a key component of his job.

“Fundraising is essential for
every JCC right now. It’s not a
luxury right now,” Scher said.

“Increasingly, philanthropy
has had to fi ll that gap.”
Th e structure of local JCCs
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Einstein Healthcare Network
nurses are superheroes
who give their all, every day.

Please join us in thanking
our extraordinary nurses for
the work they do and their
dedication to their profession
and our healthcare network.

has changed radically in recent
years. The Jewish Community
Centers of Greater Philadelphia
split up in 2009, leaving
the three branches — the
Kaiserman JCC, the Gershman
Y and the Klein and Stiff el
JCCs — on their own, including
regarding fundraising.

Th e Kaiserman JCC is now
the only true JCC in the fi ve
Southeastern Pennsylvania
counties. Th e Gershman Y
morphed into the Gershman
Philadelphia Jewish Film
Festival and the Klein and
Stiff el JCCs merged into one
entity called KleinLife to refl ect
a larger communal role.

Still, Scher said he’s an
optimist by nature.

“I have found out already
that the Philadelphia Jewish
community is a special place,”
he said. ●
agotlieb@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0797
JEWISH EXPONENT
MAY 6, 2021
9