The questions facing Greater Boston's Jewish community are neither simple nor new – but the urgency surrounding them has sharpened. As CJP launches its 2027 Annual Campaign, we’re proud that two leaders have stepped forward to help guide us. Michelle Black returns for a second year as co-chair, while Jeffrey Wolk joins the campaign leadership for the first time.

As a team, they bring complementary perspectives. Michelle has deep roots in CJP’s board, teen engagement, and campus work. Jeff brings fresh energy, shaped by his years of board and committee experience, and a genuine excitement to connect with the CJP community in new ways. We sat down with both to hear more about what animates their commitment, how they hope to reach people who've drifted from Jewish communal life, and what a thriving Jewish future looks like to them.

Jeff, what made you say yes to co-chairing the Annual Campaign this year?

I’ve been involved at CJP currently as a member of the Board of Directors, previously as chair of the Budget & Administration Committee and, a long time ago, the Commission on Caring and Social Justice.

Co-chairing the Annual Campaign gives me an opportunity to connect with CJP and the community in a new way. The moment also felt right to me, both because I feel the urgency of doing my small part to help strengthen our Jewish community and because CJP is embarking on such a bold vision for the future. I’m honored to have this opportunity and looking forward to meeting people and helping connect them.

Michelle, why did you want to co-chair CJP’s Annual Campaign for another year?

My belief in CJP’s mission has kept me deeply involved over the years. I believe in the essential role a federation plays in building and sustaining a strong Jewish community.

Through the Annual Campaign, I can connect with people, help them understand our community’s challenges and opportunities, and show how their philanthropy makes a real difference. I want people to feel informed, included, and confident that their gifts matter.

As Campaign Co-chair, I help keep this work relevant and compelling while engaging others in shared responsibility for our community’s future. It’s a meaningful role because I can inspire generosity in service of a mission I deeply believe in.

Jeff, what are you most looking forward to in stepping into this role?

I am most excited about the chance to connect with more people across Greater Boston. Both to hear what they are thinking about with regard to our Jewish future, and to share how CJP is approaching the opportunities and challenges ahead. I also hope to engage people who may not, historically, have had strong ties to CJP. I want to share with them the amazing work CJP is doing, in many cases behind the scenes.

Michelle, you've worn a lot of hats at CJP over the years — board leadership, teen engagement, now campus work. Is there a specific thread that connects all of it for you?

The thread for me is Jewish identity. Whether it's working with kids and teens, Jewish education, day school — that's about getting the next generation to understand the importance and richness of being Jewish.

The campaign role is the same thing. I want adults who are thinking about philanthropy to give in a way that makes them feel connected to their core Jewish values. Anything that helps bring people closer to what it feels like to feel good about being Jewish, to support Jewish community, to support others who are part of that peoplehood mission…it's really about community and identity for me.

Jeff, we're living through a period of sustained pressure on the Jewish community both locally and around the world. How does that shape the way you're thinking about this campaign?

It’s true the external environment is challenging in many ways. But I have never been more excited about the way CJP is approaching the opportunity to grow and sustain a vibrant Jewish community in Boston and beyond. I see the campaign as an opportunity to help people understand CJP's vision for the future — how it's intending not only to address the pressures, but the opportunities.

I am excited how much of CJP’s strategy and work focus on Jewish joy, connection and meaning, with an eye always toward a vibrant Jewish community and ecosystem. So I see the Annual Campaign as an opportunity to help people see the strengths that CJP is bringing to this moment.

Many members of the Jewish community are looking for a greater sense of connection and solidarity at a time when there's more pressure on all of us. I think CJP has this opportunity to engage people across generations, to help people feel the strength of the collective community when they might otherwise be feeling isolated. Those are things that energize me.

Michelle, how about you? How does the current environment shape the way you’re thinking about this campaign?

More people are coming out of the woodwork who want to be engaged—that’s one real impact of the sustained pressure. But it doesn't shape the work itself, because the work has always been important. The pressures on the Jewish community have never been the reason I'm stepping into this role.

I believe that if we can build the community, strengthen the community, then we can withstand the pressure in a better way. The biggest impact I see from a campaign perspective is that people are caring more and stepping forward more.

Jeff, how do you talk about CJP to someone who's never given before, or who's drifted away?

It starts with helping people understand what CJP does. For a lot of folks who are either not connected or have drifted away, they may either have no understanding of CJP, or they have an old, outdated understanding. They may think of CJP as a more passive entity, allocating funds to the community rather than trying to be an agent of change.

So that conversation starts with understanding: helping people see what CJP is aiming to do and how it connects to whatever is of interest to them. One of CJP's great assets is its breadth: it's a very big tent, with lots of ways to add value to people's Jewish lives, whatever their interests or passions or concerns. I feel like that breadth is a real asset in that introductory conversation.

Michelle, the Annual Campaign funds so much. How do you go about making the case for it?

I always mention the three pillars that define our work: a safe, strong, caring community; Israel; and the next generation. But when I'm actually talking with people, I talk about the trust I have in the staff, and the growth and leadership I've seen over the past years. This is a trusted, reliable organization that's helping to shape the future. And together, we can do more than we can do alone.

I talk about how CJP is meeting needs, filling gaps, being there for the places I'm not supporting directly. I know I can feel good because CJP is taking care of the whole. And people like to hear about the shift from grant-giving to more strategic philanthropy.

Ultimately, I try to figure out what each person cares about, and connect their core values to the opportunity to be philanthropic — to help them see the connections and draw their own lines.

Jeff, when you picture a thriving Greater Boston Jewish community five years from now, what does that look like?

A few things come to mind, all geared around connection: people across generations feeling proud to be Jewish, feeling connected to Judaism in whatever way they want to be. It's about meeting people where they're at but also fostering a broader sense that we are. Not necessarily unified, but connected. I want to see people feel less alone or isolated. More able to celebrate their Judaism in whatever way feels right for them. More connected to Israel, more connected to each other.

And you, Michelle?

I love it when our CEO Rabbi Marc Baker says, "more people doing more Jewish." A thriving Jewish community to me means people are engaged in Jewish life in areas that feel passionate and compelling to them — and they understand that they're part of something larger. They see the lines of connection between all of the organizations, the whole community. It's people who know they're not just showing up individually, but that they're part of a bigger mission, a bigger story.

Michelle and Jeff arrive at this work from different places, but what they share is a conviction that a stronger, more connected Jewish community is how we meet this moment. You can join them by donating to CJP or exploring other ways to give.