July 17, 2014
Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Staff Member Selected for National Outreach Initiative
Flora Oynick joins the Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliates to better serve less-engaged Jewish people in the community.
(Sarasota-Manatee) The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee recently announced that Flora Oynick, an engagement director at the organization, successfully completed the training to become a member of the North American Cohort of Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliates, a training series and collaborative network for Jewish professionals who want to “expand the tent” of the Jewish community by reaching out to less-engaged Jews. The program provides one-on-one coaching, peer support, program implementation guidance, and program evaluation assistance.
Oynick, who was born in Mexico City, began her Big Tent Judaism Professional Affiliates training in June 2013, and will work with local professionals, as well as staff and lay leadership at the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, to implement programs that foster engagement with the Jewish community. She says she’s delighted to be affiliated with the program.
“The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee strongly believes in creating lasting relationships that lead to deeper engagement with Judaism,” says Oynick.
“I look forward to ‘opening the tent’ to less engaged Jewish people and families through outreach programs and events that foster a deeper involvement.” She adds that the program “welcomes, includes and serves all who would enter, regardless of where they may be on their religious journeys, their choices of life partners, their race and anything else that has the potential to contribute to the beautiful diversity that has become the Jewish community.”
Oynick graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. In 1988, Oynick moved to Sarasota with her husband Guillermo, and worked at Temple Beth Sholom schools as the education director for 24 years. In 2013, she graduated with a master’s degree in Jewish education from Hebrew College.
The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to save Jewish lives and enhance Jewish life in the Sarasota-Manatee region, in Israel, and throughout the world. In addition, the Federation is responsive when worldwide catastrophes occur. For more information about The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, call 941-371-4546 or visit www.jfedsrq.org.
