Hillel Board Presidents’ Challenge

Wayne

As immediate past president, I have seen firsthand how Hillel of San Diego has grown to meet the increasing demands from the Jewish students across our four San Diego campuses.

I’m so proud of how far we’ve come, but much work still needs to be done! Student participation doubled last year and has increased by an additional 20% already this year.

On the heels of Mitch Siegler’s Presidents’ Challenge, I’m pleased to share that Mitch Siegler, Todd Kirschen, David Michan, Emily Jennewein, and I have been joined by other past Hillel of San Diego board presidents Herb Solomon, Steve Solomon, Joel Smith, Hollie Bierman, Bob Lapidus, Michael Breslauer, Jane Scher, and Judy Gumbiner to challenge our community to match our increased annual gifts and raise $175,000 by midnight, December 31st!

Naomi and I have been longtime supporters of Hillel, but now, we all must step up even more. We give to Hillel because Jewish continuity matters to us. Hillel impacts Jewish students beyond their four years of college.

Hillel’s Board Presidents’ will match your gift dollar-for-dollar. Please join us in building a brighter Jewish future.

With sincere appreciation,

Wayne

Other Stories From Hillel

Not Spooky, More like Totally Inspiring

October 30, 2026

Let’s be real, we live where people vacation. San Diego is the best city in the world, and we all know it. And word has gotten out. San Diego is attracting the next generation of Jewish adults.

Ok, so that was pretty perfect.

October 16, 2026

Full disclosure, we were very nervous about hosting our first fundraiser in 10 years. This evening represented more than a fun party. It was a chance to highlight our intentional design around user experience that cultivates meaningful connections and belonging – basically the work we do every day for our students.

We could have broken. Instead, we were forged.

October 7, 2026

Just like 9/11, I will forever remember where I was and what I was doing on 10/7. I think that is how it will be for a lot of us.

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