Always looking forward, learning from everyone and everything, concentrated on the margins of society, feeling it is my duty to promote change, to make every place a better one, looking for the newest challenge, believing a small change can make a big difference. Having the priceless privilege of influencing a new generation of Jews, humans and members of the community, to watch them grow into great leaders in their own right, contributing to their communities and the world around them.
Orna Gerling’s passion for Jewish values and pluralism makes her a leading social activist, entrepreneur and advocate for marginalized populations in the Jewish nonprofit world. Orna has led an NGO promoting arts for underserved children, directed education and programming for 180 Jewish community centers in the Former Soviet Union, created centers for learning and resilience centers throughout Israel. Since moving to the Washington area two years ago, she has brought educational and Jewish cultural knowledge and not-for-profit savvy to the founding of Moed: A Jewish Afterschool Community – the area’s first cross-denominational afterschool Hebrew program. Orna holds a bachelors and masters from Tel Aviv University and lives with her partner of 18 years and their two children in Chevy Chase.
