A delegation of 15 leaders from the Anti-Defamation League Mountain States Region, including 10 members of this year’s Robert B. Sturm Leadership Fellows Program, participated in ADL’s National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. from May 15-17.

The delegation met with several members of Congress, including Colorado Representatives Mike Coffman, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis.  They learned about ADL’s work with a wide variety of coalition partners, and participated in plenaries and breakout sessions highlighting ADL’s leadership in fighting anti-Semitism and bigotry throughout the world. The Summit featured talks from leaders in government, policy, law enforcement, education and more.

Here is a sampling of the conference speakers and panelists:

1. Plenary sessions at the conference featured prominent speakers and international leaders including United States Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Israeli Knesset Member Yair Lapid and Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer.

2. “Anti-Semitism in Europe: Fighting Back” – This panel conversation on May 16 featured:  Roza Alchanati, Board Member, Jewish Youth of Athens, Greece; Yonathan Arfi, Vice President, Council of Jewish Institutions of France; Rabbi Joav Melchior, Chief Rabbi of Oslo, Norway; Nuno Wahnon Martins, European Jewish Congress; and Moderator Rebecca Shimoni-Stoil, Washington Correspondent, Times of Israel.

3. “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down on Internet Hate: The Experts Decide” – This panel conversation on May 15 featured:  Patricia Cartes, Head of Global Policy Outreach, Twitter; Danielle Citron, Lois K. Macht Research Professor and Professor of Law, University of Maryland Carey School of Law; David Post, Contributor, Volokh Conspiracy; and Kaitlin Sullivan, Associate Manager of Product Policy, Facebook.

Videos of these sessions and more may be found here: http://www.adl.org/video/.

ADL’s Robert B. Sturm Mountain States Leadership Fellows Program was created to involve people between the ages of 25 and 45 who are committed to ADL’s mission “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” The Sturm Fellows Program, which runs from September-June, exposes participants to educational programming about the substantive issues of ADL’s agenda and gives them the opportunity to become ADL leaders in the community. A highlight of the Program is attendance at the ADL National Leadership Summit in Washington, DC.

Applications are due by August 1, 2016; applicants will be notified of acceptance decisions at the beginning of September.  Through this competitive application process, ADL recruits and invests in a diverse group of young people that are committed to civil rights, religious freedom, and anti-bias education.

Though ADL accepts nominations from community members for potential Sturm Fellows, applicants need not be formally nominated to apply.

Upon acceptance, Sturm Fellows are required to sign an Acknowledgment of Expectations, reflecting their commitment to attending:

• A half-day retreat
• Monthly meetings highlighting an ADL issue and/or program area. Sturm Fellows are advised of all meeting dates if accepted into the program and are expected to miss no more than two meetings. Missing more than two meetings may impact a participant’s eligibility to attend the National Leadership Summit.
• The National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., which will take place in the spring of 2017 (participants pay their own travel costs and a registration fee, which is partially subsidized by ADL).

Sturm Fellows will also have the opportunity to attend:

• All ADL Board of Directors meetings (two at no cost)
• ADL’s Governor’s Holocaust Remembrance Program
• Meetings of ADL’s standing committees
• ADL Civil Rights Awards Reception
• ADL Diamond Anniversary Dinner

While there is no charge for the Robert B. Sturm Mountain States Leadership Fellows Program, all Sturm Fellows are asked to participate in ADL’s annual campaign by making a recommended minimum contribution of $250 per participant.   Please contact ADL Regional Director Scott Levin at slevin@adl.org or Associate Director Sue Parker Gerson at sparkergerson@adl.org . Download the application today!