Shira Brudoley, Kansas City’s new NCSY and Jewish Student Union (JSU) director, already feels like she is at home after just two months on the job. Her passion to help middle and high school students “experience, explore and be empowered by their Judaism” is a driving force behind her work, and she expressed sincere gratitude to the many students, parents and donors who have already shown an incredible amount of support to her and the local organization.
“Stepping into this role has felt natural and supportive. Natural in the sense of my familiarity of NCSY and Kansas and my passionate appreciation for both. On the supportive end, there’s no way I could do this without the incredible support here,” Brudoley said.
NCSY recently held a “Shabbat Shabang” mini-retreat for high schoolers, and Brudoley attributes much of its success to her supporters. Support included students helping coordinate and develop program ideas, parents volunteering to host meals and house students, and generous funding to help support these types of events where students can connect, learn and develop leadership skills.
A Minneapolis, Minnesota, native, Brudoley developed close friendships with many Kansas City high schoolers during her own high school NCSY regional experiences. She still has many close friends in Kansas City, and is now married to one of them: Rabbi Ariel Brudoley, with whom she has two children.
“My mother and siblings were all involved in NCSY, and so was I,” she said. “I made very good friends at regional conferences… I always felt connected to Kansas City due to the deep friendships I made with people from Kansas City.”
Brudoley is excited to be a part of an organization that gave her so much during her own teen and tween years. She began in Junior NCSY in sixth grade and took on local NCSY leadership positions in high school.
“I have the purest memories of connecting to others, to Judaism and to myself through these [NCSY] programs,” she said.
She also participated in NCSY Give in high school, an Israel summer program that helped shape her future.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take a year in Israel or go to college at that point,” she said. “One of my advisers and I connected during my time in Israel, and that connection helped me form my path in life. My NCSY Give experience ultimately brought me to Sha’alvim for Women in Jerusalem to study.”
After studying in Jerusalem, Brudoley returned to the United States to attend Stern College for Women and University of Minnesota, where she earned a BA in psychology with a minor in biology.
“Growing up, I wasn’t sure how much of my life I wanted to focus on secularism or Judaism,” she said, “but NCSY and going to seminary made me realize you don’t have to choose one or the other. You can form a meaningful life of Judaism in everyday life.”
Brudoley is passionate about taking on the role as local NCSY and JSU director. She is excited to step into the program and has already worked with several past Kansas City directors to strengthen her network of support and further enhance the organization.
On the horizon, Brudoley envisions revitalizing and reinstituting programs such as JSU Shabbat dinners, more “Shabbat Shabang” retreats, NCSY and JSU volunteer opportunities, “Pizza in the Hut” (where students make their own pizzas in the Sukkah) and more consistent programming for NCSY students, including the ever-popular weekly “Ice Cream and Inspiration” gatherings. Her goals are to create consistency, and to “connect with the students outside of school and make them feel like this isn’t just a club, it’s part of something in their daily lives.”
Leadership development is another priority. At the time of this interview, Brudoley was focused on facilitating an NCSY event on Oct. 6 to commemorate the events of Oct. 7.
“All of the ideas came from the teens. I’m just facilitating,” she said. “A big part of NCSY is to help teens develop leadership skills. I want to make sure I’m here to provide support but that I’m not the only one running the show.”
Junior NCSY for fifth-through-eighth graders is another area for growth.
“I want to work on strengthening [Junior NCSY] this year and make the tweens feel that they have a place with ice cream events and more regular holiday programming,” she said.
Brudoley is also extending the reach of JSU into more local high schools and middle schools. With chapters in eight local high schools and two middle schools, Brudoley is currently in the process of setting up two new JSU chapters — one in high school and the other in middle school.
To aid with the expansion, Brudoley invites KC area parents and/or grandparents to contact her at or (952) 228-9428 with interest in creating new JSU chapters.
“It is helpful to connect me with the school administration, so they know there’s interest at the school. Then I can work with the school to find a teacher sponsor and a date for our first meeting,” she said.
