It is with great excitement and enthusiasm that I share the news that earlier today the CJP Board of Directors voted and unanimously approved the selection of Rabbi Marc Baker to be the next President of CJP.
Marc is a familiar name and face to many of you: he is a North Shore native who has served as Head of School at Gann Academy in Waltham for the past 11 years. He has been a scholar-in-residence of the Cynthia and Leon Shulman Acharai Leadership Program at CJP since 2012.
With all that Marc has achieved in his life and at Gann Academy, it was apparent to the Search Committee that he was the most qualified candidate with a level of talent, experience, and passion that made him the ultimate choice to be our next President. He is nationally recognized as an innovative and inspirational Jewish leader. We believe Marc is a worthy and able successor to Barry Shrage’s truly remarkable 31-year legacy as CJP President.
The Search Committee and the CJP Board believe Marc is exceptionally and uniquely qualified to be the next president of CJP. Gann Academy, as an institution, is a prime example of the mission and values that CJP embraces. The way Marc describes his work at Gann is “…to inspire and mobilize an increasingly diverse community and the next generation to find meaning and purpose in Judaism, to create a vibrant Jewish future, and to build a better world.”
I want to recognize the outstanding work of our President Search Committee over the past eight months. Led by Shira Goodman and Aron Ain, the Committee worked tirelessly to find an outstanding leader for CJP. Its members identified numerous exceptional and diverse men and women from around the world who represented a strong mix of experiences, backgrounds, and places.
The presidential transition will occur during the summer after the completion of Gann’s school year and CJP’s Annual Campaign. In the coming year, we will plan a series of events to allow the community to get to know Marc better.
We look forward to officially welcoming him in the summer 2018.
