BJE Announces Next Executive Leader
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BJE is pleased to announce that Dr. Miriam Heller Stern will succeed Dr. Gil Graff as Chief Executive Officer of BJE, effective July 1, 2025. Dr. Stern, currently the Director of the School of Education at HUC-JIR, where she also served as Vice Provost, comes to BJE with two decades of experience in Jewish educational leadership. She will continue her work at HUC through the spring semester, while also sharing in BJE program planning for 2025-2026, starting January. By June, she will be at BJE full time, assuming leadership of the agency, July 1, upon the retirement of Dr. Graff.
With the generous support of a Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles Next Stage grant, BJE was able to engage a search firm to guide a year-long search process, and plan, appropriately, for the forthcoming transition, after thirty-two years of Dr. Graff’s leadership. Miriam Heller Stern was the unanimous choice of the search committee, headed by BJE President Craig Rutenberg. Reflecting the sentiments of the committee, Craig said: “We are thrilled to have engaged Dr. Miriam Heller Stern, and excited to benefit from her vision, creativity, and demonstrated leadership skills, which will lead the BJE and ensure the continuing impact of BJE in advancing its vital mission.”
Dr. Stern is a frequent presenter at academic and professional conferences – including sessions offered by BJE – and on webinars and podcasts. She is called upon as a strategic thinker on national task forces across multiple sectors of Jewish education. An alumna of Brandeis University, Miriam earned her PhD in Social Sciences, Policy, and Educational Practice at Stanford University. She is a Scholar in Residence at the Covenant Foundation.
Looking to her leadership role at BJE, Dr. Stern remarked: “ It is an honor to have the opportunity to lead Builders of Jewish Education during such a consequential moment in Jewish history, when high quality Jewish education is not just essential to ensure an imagined future, but to deliver Jewish wisdom and tell the Jewish story in the present.”
Commenting on Dr. Stern’s appointment, Gil Graff opined: “I can think of no one better suited than Miriam Heller Stern to lead BJE. Her strategic thinking, educational leadership, partnership with educational institutions and foundations with an interest in Jewish education, and experience with the broad range of schools with which BJE works, represent a unique combination, bringing tremendous strength to BJE.” BJE looks forward to welcoming Dr. Stern in the new year. To read more about her, see www.miriamhellerstern.com