Writing in eJewish Philanthropy, Laura Herman and Deirdre Munley (then at JPro, now part of Leading Edge) write about using paired Jewish text learning within their supervisory relationship.

“Much has been written about the power of chavruta, paired learning centered on Jewish texts. Chavruta is a form of dialogue, between the study partners and with the text itself. Its virtues have been extolled in commentary dating back to the Talmud… In our experience, using chavruta within our supervisor/direct report relationship has opened up new ways for us to relate to one another and engage with deep, complex topics.”

Reimagining supervision through chavruta

Writing in eJewish Philanthropy, Laura Herman and Deirdre Munley (then at JPro, now part of Leading Edge) underscore the pivotal role that nonprofit managers play in fostering healthy, high-performing workplaces. They describe how JPro created peer-learning roundtables, skill-building resources, and communal networks to address the acute challenges facing managers, especially during periods of transition and uncertainty. They call on philanthropic partners and organizational leaders to invest in these supports so that managers can thrive and, in turn, strengthen the broader nonprofit ecosystem.

“Even in ‘ordinary’ times, most nonprofit managers work without sufficient training, resources or tools for their roles. The newly released Leading Edge report ‘State of the Jewish Workplace 2023,’ using data collected months prior to the Oct. 7 attacks, found only 59% of managers and 56% of managers of managers report having a reasonable workload. Even more concerning is that less than 40% of employees in these two groups feel that there are enough people in their organization to do the needed work. The Jewish nonprofit sector can and must buck this trend by making management training a rite of passage and ongoing support for managers accessible.”

Supporting managers when they need it most

Laura Herman (she/her), EdD, is Director, Programs at Leading Edge, where she brings a background in program design, education, and qualitative research to her work.  

Laura is an alumna of the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies and a member of class seven of the Wexner Field Fellowship. She has a doctorate in Jewish Education from the William Davidson School at the Jewish Theological Seminary and an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto. Laura began her career in the Jewish nonprofit sector at Hillel International as well as spending time working on campus at Hillel of Greater Toronto.  

Laura is an avid reader, passionate challah baker, and board game enthusiast. In addition to her work as Director, Programs at Leading Edge, Laura serves on the board of her local Jewish Family Service organization. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her husband and three young children with whom she spends a lot of time hiking and building Lego. 

Director, Programs

Laura Herman

Laura Herman is Director, Programs at Leading Edge.