Sarah Feinberg has come a long way from being the only observant Jewish child her age in Madison, Wisconsin. She now serves as chief financial and administrative officer at the Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, a position she’s held since
May 2021.
She has spent her career doing nonprofit management work in the Jewish community, which she is passionate about. Feinberg has held positions at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and Brandeis University. She lives in Silver Spring and belongs to Ohr Kodesh Congregation.
Describe your Jewish upbringing and background.
I grew up as the child of a rabbi in Madison, Wisconsin, then I moved to Poughkeepsie,
New York, when I was in high school. I grew up in [an] observant home with lots of Judaism and Jewish activity.
[The Jewish population in Madison] was a small community but big enough to have both Reform and Conservative synagogues. But I was the only observant kid my age. I think my parents made sure that it didn’t feel isolating. They were really great about figuring out how I could participate in things while still being observant. So, if friends had a birthday party on Shabbat, if I could walk there, I was allowed to go. If they had a birthday party at McDonald’s, I would just bring a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with me.
They really tried to emphasize the beauty of Judaism and also how to be flexible so that I wasn’t isolated. In elementary school, I always missed school for all of the holidays — not just [on] Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — but we would take a field trip to my house to visit the sukkah every year on Sukkot and my dad would come in and build a shofar. Madison was a place that was all about diversity and celebrating diversity, so my friends always thought it was cool to see how I did things.
How did you end up at Bender JCC?
When I graduated college, I ended up in a job in the Jewish community, and this set me down this path of being a Jewish communal professional. I left, so to speak, to business school, and thought that would actually be my break and I wouldn’t stay working in the Jewish community, but in interviewing for jobs, I realized that this was actually the world that I cared more about and have worked in the Jewish community.
I worked in Jewish education for a long time, then I worked at the Federation’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies in Boston for 11 years, and really got to grow and find my path. I discovered that operations and budgeting were my strengths and my interests, and so I got to hone in [on] that. From there, I ended up moving down here [to Silver Spring] to be closer to family and worked in a bunch of different places.
What are your responsibilities as CFAO at Bender JCC?
I oversee finance, HR and IT. It means that every day, my day is going to be different. Some days I’m working on finance stuff, some days I’m working on HR stuff, some days I’m working on both. I get to do IT strategy also. I like having my hand in a lot of different pockets.
How do you foster community in your role?
I try to do it one-on-one by connecting with my colleagues and connecting with our members. I am a user of the JCC, so I exercise there, and that puts me in the locker room and I get to meet members that way.
I walk the building and try to engage with the different activities that are happening at different points during the day. I work to develop relationships with my colleagues and to support them in the work that they’re doing. I’m not front-facing the way many of my colleagues are, so [I try] to give them the tools and the resources so that they can do the really great work at the Bender JCC.
What inspired you to go into nonprofit management?
I think I’ve just always been driven by trying to make the world a better place and doing that through people. That works better for me: the idea that we are focused on the mission. A mission-driven organization speaks to me more than the corporate world.
What advice do you have for Jewish professionals starting out in the nonprofit field?
Follow your passion and try and connect with as many people as you can. You never know how those connections will guide you and support you and help you as you build your career.
What is your favorite aspect of the local Jewish community?
I love that there’s so many options and opportunities for engaging in Jewish life. No matter what your interests, your backgrounds, your desires, your practice, there are lots and lots of organizations and resources to help people find a home.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
I like to spend as much time as I can with my 11-year-old daughter going on adventures, gardening and cooking.
