Ethan Helfand, a Leawood native and a 2004 graduate of Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, recently took the reigns as EMTZA Region USY regional youth director. He said he’s really looking forward to this multi-faceted job with the Conservative movement’s youth group.
Helfand will engage, mentor and inspire the 400 teens in EMTZA Region USY, which encompasses the majority of the Midwestern United States including Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Western Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}He brings a love of USY and passion for working with Jewish youth to his new role.
“I’m thrilled to be back home in EMTZA, the region that I grew up in and have always known as ‘home,’” said the 29-year-old Helfand. “I’m proud to be able to show a whole new generation of Jews the amazing opportunities that USY can provide.”
Helfand attended his first convention as regional youth director in April, Spring Kallah held in Ogden, Iowa, but he has been going to conventions since long before he could walk.
“I attended my first USY convention at only a few months old, and it’s fair to say that I’ve never really left,” he said.
He is the son of Richard and Vicki Helfand. His father was a METNY (New York) regional president and served as the regional youth commission chair for EMTZA Region USY and both his brothers held prominent leadership roles in both regional and international USY.
“There really has never been a time where I wasn’t connected to USY. Taking on this position feels like a natural transition, something I was meant to do,” Ethan Helfand said.
As regional youth director, Helfand said his primary responsibility is to plan a series of six conventions a year for the region. He also gives direction to a regional executive board of seven teens plus a regional board of another 40 teens. Additionally, he works with chapters in the various regions on a variety of programming.
Helfand also has obligations to the international organization. Right now he is working on some educational materials and plans to staff a summer trip in Portland.
“No day is the same and the responsibilities are endless. It’s a massive job but a fun one,” he said.
USCJ Director of Teen Learning Rabbi David Levy said, “The role of the regional youth director is to partner with our kehillot (communities) to help inspire Jewish teens and instill in them a love for their Jewish identity and values.”
“Ethan is a perfect fit, with his long history of leadership in the Jewish community and proven dedication to empowering teens. We are excited to see the great work he will do with the next generation of Jewish leaders.”
Helfand holds a master’s degree in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, with a concentration in Holocaust studies and American Jewish literature, from Brandeis University. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., double majoring in Judaic Studies and philosophy.
A former USYer himself, Helfand served on the board of KCUSY (the local chapter) and in various regional leadership positions as a teen. He also traveled to Israel with USY in 2003 on USY Israel Pilgrimage.
He’s been a staunch supporter of the organization for a long time.
“USY is truly the only organization where our teens are given the opportunity to lead and bring their ideas and initiatives to life.”
This is Helfand’s first full-time job in Jewish communal work, but he has extensive experience working with Jewish teens. He has served as director of Jewish education for Herzl Camp in Wisconsin and staff for the American Jewish Society for Service, a summer program that links social justice to Jewish values.
Helfand proudly points out that his two brothers are also Jewish educators. His older brother Corey is the rabbi of Peninsula Sinai Congregation in Foster City, California. His younger brother David just came back from staffing Nativ, the USY gap year program in Israel. David will soon be embarking on a new Jewish journey at Har Shalom, a Conservative congregation in Potomac, Maryland, where he will be the director of youth engagement.
Ethan Helfand credits his parents, who are members of Congregation Ohev Sholom, with the boys’ love of Judaism, noting they grew up learning and living in a traditional, Conservative Jewish household.
“My parents instilled in each of us the importance of giving back to the Jewish community with their involvement with things like CAJE and the Hebrew Academy and Israel Bonds and being on the board at the shul. It instilled in all of us the desire to give back to the community and find a way to do it in a way that’s meaningful to us,” he said.
He said the Kansas City Jewish community has always supported him and his brothers and their desire to be Jewish, in this place “where it can feel difficult to be Jewish for some people.”
Congregation Beth Shalom’s Youth Director Stef Williams also played a big role in Helfand’s desire to work in the Jewish communal world.
“She is also a big reason why all three of the boys in my family have been involved because we had the mentorship and leadership Stef provided,” he said.
Right now Helfand is one of two people employed by the Conservative movement in Kansas City, but when Jay Weiner leaves this month along with his wife Rabbi Alexandria Shuval-Weiner for her new pulpit in Atlanta, Georgia, Helfand will be the movement’s sole representative in the metro area.
“I want to be a resource to the Jewish community however it is,” he said.
He would love to have the opportunity to teach and is looking forward to working with all the other Jewish youth directors in the area.
“I am a huge advocate for the things that the Kansas City Jewish community offers. Since I grew up here, I understand it better than most.”
Even though he’s only been on the job a couple of months, he hopes he can make a big impact.
“I want to find a way to provide whatever I can to the community when it needs it and when it wants it.”{/mprestriction}
