A Message from the Board of Directors of The Bronfman Fellowship
October 21, 2021
The recent Medium blog post entitled “Tell Everyone” was painful to read for those of us who care about the Bronfman Fellowship and care about every young person who participates in the program. We empathize with the distress the author has felt.
We take all allegations of improper behavior seriously. In publicly responding to this matter, we wish to balance our commitment to the privacy of all young people with our obligation to assure the community that the organization is operating with integrity.
In 2017-2018 we undertook an internal review, with the assistance of legal counsel, of the interactions that the author of the post had with other Fellows and with our team of faculty and staff. No incidence of wrongdoing by staff or faculty was found.
We deeply believe in the Bronfman Fellowship’s mission of nurturing intellectually curious young Jews to build a more dynamic and pluralistic future. Over the 35 years that the Bronfman Fellowship has been in operation, we have abided by a rigorous set of policies and practices, reinforced by training programs. We consistently review and seek to strengthen these with the goal of fostering a positive, respectful, and inclusive culture.
We recognize that the Medium post may generate strong feelings in members of our broader Bronfman community. If anyone in the community is in need of support at this time, we direct them to this site, where resources are available. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to our Board at Board@bronfman.org.
Working with young people requires a thoughtful, responsible, and acutely sensitive approach. With this in mind, we are committed to ongoing reflection and examination, and we will continue to act in accordance with best practices.
Dana Raucher, President
Ned Foss, Vice President & Treasurer
Jonathan Wachter, Secretary
Ryder Kessler
Noam Lockshin
Alisa Mall
Kira Sheinerman