More than 500 ADL leaders and Jewish activists from across the country gathered for ADL’s annual Shana Amy Glass National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. from May 7-9. A delegation of 20 leaders represented the Mountain States Region, including 12 members of this year’s Robert B. Sturm Leadership Fellows Program. Government officials, policy experts, journalists, opinion makers and other public figures addressed the participants on some of the most critical issues of the League’s agenda.

 

Featured topics and speakers included:

• FBI Director James B. Comey in his final public address as Director, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Arizona Senator John McCain, Minnesota Senator Al Franken, Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, and Republican Strategist and Political Contributor to CNN, ABC News and Telemundo, Ana Navarro.
• “Voices of Everyday Heroes: Champions and Trailblazers for Change” featuring speakers Vanita Gupta, President & CEO, The Leadership Conference; DeRay Mckesson, Interim Chief of Human Capital, Baltimore City Public Schools and Co-Founder, Campaign Zero; Jibran Shermohammed, ADL Glass Leadership Institute Participant, Community Activist, Atlanta
• “Securing Justice and Equality for All: The Fight for Civil Rights Now” featuring panelists Julie Fernandes, Advocacy Director for Voting Rights and Democracy, Open Society Foundations; Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, Director of External Relations, National Center for Transgender Equality; Michael Waldman, President for the Brennan Center for Justice; and ADL’s own Michael Lieberman, ADL Washington Counsel & Director, Civil Rights Policy Planning Center

Members of the Mountain States delegation also met with staffers at the offices of several members of Congress, including Colorado Representatives Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis, regarding areas of legislative interest to ADL.

View videos of these sessions to learn more about the Summit.

 

Applications are now being accepted for ADL’s 2017-2018 Robert B. Sturm Mountain States Leadership Fellows Program. The Program was created in order 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” in the work of the League. 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, 2017. Applicants will be notified of acceptance decisions by the middle of August.  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. While 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 2018 (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 Fall Dinner
• ADL Civil Rights Awards Reception
• ADL’s No Place for Hate® Celebration Breakfast
• ADL’s Governor’s Holocaust Remembrance Program
• Meetings of ADL’s standing committees

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 Assistant Director of Development at aholsopple@adl.org for more information or download the application today!