The Starr Seminar to NYC is an intensive four-day seminar in which first-year students have the opportunity to meet, learn from, and network with executives from a diverse set of Jewish nonprofit organizations. In the photo above, Hornstein Program students from the Class of 2018 posed for a group photo at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, one of fifteen organizations they visited in February 2017. 




What
 Students Say

Photo of Adam Kolett

"The Starr Seminar provided me with an opportunity to learn from some of the preeminent leaders of major Jewish organizations in America. The intimate nature of the sessions allowed us to discover in detail what it is like to work within these organizations. It also gave us a chance to discuss and debate with today's leaders about difficult issues facing the Jewish community that are important to us. The perspectives and encouragement that I gained from this program left me feeling even more excited to be entering the field of Jewish professional leadership at this time.” —Adam Zohar Kolett MA/MBA’09

Starr Seminar

Hornstein Class of 2018 visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage, 2017


During their first year, students visit New York City for four days of briefings at the national offices of both well-established and emerging Jewish organizations. Students have the opportunity to explore issues from a variety of perspectives with the leaders of as many as 15 diverse Jewish nonprofits.

The seminar and fieldwork (which students usually undertake in the summer semester) are integral components of the required course, Organizational Behavior in Jewish Nonprofits, taught by Professor Mark Rosen, who also leads the seminar. In Organizational Behavior, students examine contemporary management theories and case studies, participate in experiential exercises, and use traditional Jewish teachings to "make sense" of organizational dynamics and better understand, predict, and influence behavior in Jewish nonprofit organizations.   

Organizations Visited on Starr Seminar (2014-2018)

  • American Jewish Committee
  • American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
  • Amplifier
  • Anti-Defamation League
  • Avodah
  • Bikkurim
  • Birthright Israel Foundation/Birthright NEXT
  • Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters
  • Columbia/Barnard Hillel
  • Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
  • Footsteps
  • Foundation for Jewish Camp
  • Hazon
  • JCC Association
  • Jewish Education Project
  • Jewish Federations of North America
  • Jewish Funders Network
  • JPro Network
  • Leading Edge
  • The Maimonides Fund
  • Mechon Hadar
  • Museum of Jewish Heritage
  • National Council of Jewish Women
  • Prizmah
  • Repair the World
  • Shalom Hartman Institute of North America
  • Sharsheret
  • Slingshot Fund
  • UJA-Federation of New York
  • Union for Reform Judaism
  • Upstart
  • YIVO

Jenny Kibrit Smith, Jessica Levine, Isaac Rothbart, Prof. Mark Rosen, NYC MAY 2013

Professor Mark Rosen (far right) visits regularly with Hornstein alumni in New York City. Here he's joined by Jenny Kibrit Smith MA/MBA'09, Jessica Levine Rothbart MA/MBA'10, and Isaac Rothbart MA/MBA'09.