Liora Norwich appointed as the next Leon A. Jick Director of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program

February 29, 2024

liora norwich

Liora Norwich has been appointed as the next Leon A. Jick Director of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program. Norwich will join the Hornstein Program on a part-time basis in March before assuming the full time role in July.

“I am honored to be given this opportunity to lead the Hornstein Program and contribute to its long tradition of empowering Jewish leaders,” said Norwich. “I am excited to dive in by building collaborative working relationships with Hornstein students, faculty and alumni.”

With two decades of non-profit experience, Norwich is currently the Executive Director of the Network for Social Justice, a role she has held since 2019. A Canadian by birth, Norwich is also an Israeli citizen, having spent over a decade in Israel working with both local partners and international human rights organizations to advance integrated community development and social justice initiatives among Jewish, Palestinian, and Bedouin organizations. While receiving her PhD in Political Science at the Hebrew University, Norwich launched the first academic Master’s program in community development studies, the Glocal Program, at the Hebrew University in 2011. 

After a fellowship at the Azrieli Centre of Israel Studies in Montreal, Norwich moved to Boston in 2014 for a two-year teaching fellowship at the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University, and at the same time undertook an MBA in Nonprofit Management at the Heller School. Her research focused primarily on social mobilization using Israel as a case study, comparing the mobilization of ethnic minorities, and analyzing the ways in which different collectives make their voices heard and impact social policy.

Since departing Brandeis in 2018, Norwich has worked with–and consulted for–a diverse subset of mission-driven organizations in the areas of health equity, immigrant justice, and college access and readiness.