Jonathan Korman (Courtesy of Jonathan Korman)

Jonathan Korman, a member of South Philadelphia Shtiebel and a Center City resident, is stepping in as Federation’s Philadelphia National Young Leadership Cabinet chair in September.

Korman grew up watching his parents and grandparents take on various roles within the Jewish community. So, when it came time for him to engage on his own, it was a no-brainer.

“I was really fortunate,” he said. “All of my grandparents [and parents] modeled different types of involvement, whether they were involved in boards or contributing financially to the community or being Jewish professionals themselves.”

Korman attended the University of Pennsylvania and was an active participant in Jewish life at Penn Hillel. In law school, he participated in the Jewish Law Student Association but said it wasn’t until the executive director of Hillel of Greater Philadelphia offered him a chance to serve on the board that he came into his own.

He went onto become a board member of the Jewish Graduate Student Network while simultaneously serving on the board of Hillel of Greater Philadelphia for almost 10 years.

In 2016, while involved with restructuring Hillel of Greater Philadelphia, Korman participated in the Wexner Heritage Program, a two-year educational program for Jewish learning and leadership training.

“I really credit the involvement in Wexner and the relationships I built there in helping give me, and some other folks on the various campus boards, the tools to navigate the reorganization process for Hillel,” he said. “It was really a valuable program and I think helped us think constructively and collaboratively outside the box.”

While still building his career as a lawyer, Korman then served on the Anti-Defamation League’s regional board and became a member of the board of trustees for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia as part of the JFNA National Young Leadership Cabinet.

“I think one of the things that is great about Cabinet is it gives the opportunity to engage nationally and learn about what Federation is doing nationally, but also gives a lot of us the opportunity to see what’s going on locally and figure out what it is that we want to do,” said Korman.

Today, Korman is entering his fifth year of serving the Federation and will be serving as chair.

“One of the things that I’d like to do is help those of us that are in Cabinet from Philadelphia figure out what our priorities are, what are our individual interests, how do we most want to contribute,” Korman added. “How do we leverage our Cabinet experience to help other organizations in the community.”

Korman explained that growing up, his family was deeply connected to the Philadelphia Jewish community, something he has continued to model with his two daughters.

“I think my generation, in particular, has been the beneficiary of work that our parents’ and grandparents’ generations did and it’s incumbent on us to sustain these organizations,” Korman said. “I have two young children. I think it’s really important that these organizations be there for them because they’re critical to the safe existence of Jewish life in Philadelphia and America [and] globally.”

Korman added he is grateful for the opportunities to participate in the various leadership programs. “I think that Federation and other organizations have invested a lot in me … because someone saw something in me and I feel a sense of responsibility to live up to the opportunities that I’ve been given.”

As a part of his new role, Korman recently attended the national Cabinet retreat in Minnesota.

“I think [what] is one of the most inspiring things about Cabinet retreat, in particular, is you get to see all these people who are so committed to trying to make the Jewish community and Judaism better,” he said. “It’s energizing to see all that work and really helps motivate me to do the work.”

mresnicow@midatlanticmedia.com