Jonathan Schick left after 12 years of teaching in Jewish education because he noticed something missing. To address that gap, he founded GOAL Consulting Group in 2004 to help repair relationships between institutions’ executive boards and CEOs.
Schick said he’s dedicated his life to helping nonprofit organizations, specifically Jewish groups, past “a lot of dysfunction.”
He brings firsthand experience, having served on the board of various Jewish organizations and day schools in Texas and New Jersey.
Schick was raised in Silver Spring and lives in Kemp Mill, with his family, which includes two teens. His older seven children have since moved out. Schick belongs to Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington and Chabad of Silver Spring. An ordained rabbi, he leads services at a neighborhood chavurah as a volunteer.
Tell me about your Jewish upbringing and background.
I actually grew up in the neighborhood in the Woodside community. I grew up and went to the old Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington, which is now Berman [Hebrew Academy]. I was part of an Orthodox synagogue, Woodside Synagogue, then for high school and above, I went to school out of state. I studied abroad in Israel for a couple years and got my rabbinic ordination. [I] have a master’s in educational administration from Boston College. I got more Jewishly involved in terms of nonprofits and education and I ended up being the founding head of two Jewish schools: one in Boston and one in Dallas.
How did you get to where you are today?
The journey was interesting. I started teaching in 1992 in New Haven, Connecticut, then I moved to Boston when I was offered the opportunity to start a new school. I then founded a similar school in Dallas. After 12 years in Jewish education, I noticed that there was something significantly missing — and it’s still a problem today — in terms of the relationship between the board and head of school. In 2004, I decided to leave formal Jewish education and moved to consulting, and I started my company with the express intent of repairing the breach between boards and executives. I make the contention that that is the primary driver of success in nonprofits even though it’s grossly overlooked.
What are your responsibilities as a consultant?
I go into schools, nonprofits and government agencies and I’m an advisor and a facilitator. I bring a lot of knowledge and wrote a book called “The Nonprofit Secret: Six Principles of Success for Board/CEO Partnerships.” I use that as the framework for my work when I’m working with the institutions and their boards. But often what’s interesting is that this is not an area that most companies realize is a problem. Probably 60% of my work is strategic planning, and often from the strategic planning, [my clients] realize that one of the keys to success is the board/CEO relationship. So we do transformational strategic planning, board governance, board and staff retreats and organizational restructuring.
Why do you choose to help Jewish nonprofit organizations?
I’ll use a joke that I say often: I started my company initially to work with Jews, Jewish organizations, but they knew everything already. So I worked with secular nonprofits and became a very well-known consultant in the Southwest and nationally.
I’m very, very passionate about helping Jewish organizations. Why? People ask the question, [how are things] going to be with the next generation of leaders and nonprofits? I just attended an event of a major Jewish organization and the average age was probably 60. The reason the younger generation is not involved, either on the board side or on the professional side, is because the system is fundamentally flawed; the processes are as well. If we don’t change that, then we’re not going to have the next generation of Jewish leaders. So I’m very passionate about it.
How else are you involved in the local Jewish community?
I’m the hazzan, so I lead services [at a small community chavurah in Kemp Mill]. I give an afternoon talk usually every Shabbat to a group, both Torah ideas and combining them with current events. I also serve on the Jewish burial society, the Chevra Kadisha.
How does your work relate to Jewish values?
The reason I do what I do is because of my passion, my Jewish upbringing and my calling. I could do what I do as a part of Boston Consulting Group, Booz Allen, PwC, whatever — there are [companies] that are available out there that make a lot more money. But as we say, tikkun olam, repair the world, and the world is very broken. I see people who are really good people leaving the Jewish nonprofit space to either the non-Jewish world or the not-for-profit world because they get burnt to a crisp by bad actors and bad processes. I’m not pointing a finger at individuals; I’m pointing a finger at the processes. I’m extremely devoted to Jewish education and values.
