Ms. Weber Succeeds Founding Director Naftuli Moster
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Shira Dicker
s.dicker@yaffed.org/ 917.403.3989
September 20, 2022 (New York, NY) – The Board of Directors of Yaffed is pleased to announce the appointment of Beatrice Weber as our incoming executive director, effective October 3rd. Ms. Weber succeeds Yaffed’s founder Naftuli Moster who served in this role since 2012. Mr. Moster is leaving to pursue other endeavors.
News of Mr. Moster’s impending departure was made public in June, at which time the board undertook a rigorous search for a capable leader to usher Yaffed into its second decade. After reviewing many candidates, it turned out the leader they were looking for was already in their midst, working as a parent ambassador, writing, speaking and advocating for the rights of Hasidic children.
Beatrice Weber holds an MBA from Wayne State College. She has over 15 years of leadership experience at multiple organizations, most recently at the Ronald McDonald House in New York, where she focused on improving Health Equity for children and their families in New York City.
Ms. Weber was raised in the ultra-Orthodox community in Toronto and lived in Jerusalem and Monsey as the wife of a Hasidic rabbi. She is a graduate of Leadership Rockland and an Interspiritual Minister at OneSpirit. The mother of ten children – all of whom attended or are currently attending Hasidic Yeshivas, she is the first (and only) parent of a child in a Hasidic Yeshiva in NYC to file a lawsuit against the Yeshiva, NYC and New York State for not providing her son with an education.
“Naftuli Moster poured every ounce of his passion into Yaffed, bringing the issue of systematic education neglect in the Hasidic community into the public square. He is the very model of an activist,” said Anita Altman, Yaffed’s Board President “As he leaves Yaffed, we could not hope for a more brilliant, capable and charismatic new leader than Beatrice Weber. Her fearlessness, especially, is a key asset for this job”.
This transition in leadership follows a month filled with significant accomplishments for Yaffed. On September 11th, following two years of painstaking research, the New York Times published a blockbuster investigative article about the education neglect crisis in the Hasidic schools of New York State. Days later, the Board of Regents voted unanimously to adopt new regulations for substantial equivalency in secular education in nonpublic schools. The vote is a huge step towards greater enforcement of much-needed education standards in ultra-Orthodox Yeshivas.
“I am humbled, honored and inspired to step into my new position,” said Ms. Weber. “The coming of the New Jewish year makes this transition especially auspicious. The past week has shown the importance of advocating for justice. And I’ve learned from Naftuli that Tikkun Olam — the Jewish value of working on behalf of social change — begins at home.”
For further information please contact Shira Dicker at s.dicker@yaffed.org or 917.403.3989.
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Yaffed is a nonprofit organization founded by individuals raised within Hasidic and Haredi communities and is committed to improving secular education in Hasidic and Haredi schools. Please visit www.yaffed.org.