BJE Names Miriam Heller Stern as Incoming Chief Executive Officer

BJE: Builders of Jewish Education has named Miriam Heller Stern its incoming chief executive officer, effective July 1, 2025.

Stern, a longtime Jewish professor and academic leader, succeeds Gil Graff, who led BJE for more than three decades and in early-2023 announced his intention to retire by the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.

Stern, currently the director of the school of education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), where she also served as vice provost for educational strategy, brings two decades of experience in Jewish educational leadership to BJE, BJE Board President Craig Rutenberg said in a statement announcing Stern’s hiring.

“We are thrilled to have engaged Dr. Miriam Heller Stern, and excited to benefit from her vision, creativity, and demonstrated leadership skills, which will lead the BJE and ensure the continuing impact of BJE in advancing its vital mission,” Rutenberg said.

By June of next year, Stern will be at BJE full time and, coinciding with Graff’s retirement, will assume leadership of the agency on July 1.

But for now, Stern plans to continue her work at HUC-JIR, a graduate and professional school serving the Reform movement, through the spring semester while also supporting BJE program planning for 2025-2026, beginning in January.

Stern’s hiring follows a year-long transition process. With the support of a $300,000 Next Stage grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, BJE engaged a search firm to identity a successor to Graff.

Rutenberg, who headed the search committee, said the decision to hire Stern was “unanimous.”

Stern is a frequent presenter at academic and professional conferences, including sessions offered by BJE, and on webinars and podcasts. She is an alumna of Brandeis University, and she earned her PhD in social sciences, policy and educational practice at Stanford University as a Wexner Graduate Fellow.

Stern was in Jerusalem attending a Jewish education conference at the time the Journal went to press and was not immediately available for additional comment on her hiring.

On her website, she says her work happens at the “intersection of education, Judaism, creativity, pedagogy, leadership and history—with an eye toward designing the future.”

She is also a scholar-in-residence at the Covenant Foundation, where she is developing her work on Jewish creativity, the arts and education, and she serves on the boards of Shalhevet High School and Jewish arts organization theatre dybbuk.

In a statement, Stern said, “It is an honor to have the opportunity to lead Builders of Jewish Education during such a consequential moment in Jewish history, when high quality Jewish education is not just essential to ensure an imagined future, but to deliver Jewish wisdom and tell the Jewish story in the present.”

Throughout her career, Stern has argued for placing creativity at the center of Jewish education. As such, she has embraced organizations such as Moishe House that have inspired novel approaches to Jewish learning.

Graff said Stern is uniquely qualified to drive BJE’s continued success going forward.

“I can think of no one better suited than Miriam Heller Stern to lead BJE,” he said. “Her strategic thinking, educational leadership, partnership with educational institutions and foundations with an interest in Jewish education, and experience with the broad range of schools with which BJE works, represent a unique combination, bringing tremendous strength to BJE.”

In a phone interview, the BJE leader expressed gratitude that the agency had found the right person to carry the torch as it seeks to engage the next generation of Jewish families.

“I can’t articulate enough superlatives and delight how wonderful it is to have such a wonderful person leading the organization forward,” Graff said. “She brings a tremendous background, skill, creativity and vision, and she’ll serve well the mission of BJE.”

Founded in 1937, BJE is a donor-supported organization focused on fostering high-quality Jewish education throughout Los Angeles. The organization provides resources for nearly 140 Jewish day schools in the L.A. community, ranging from early childhood through 12^th grade as well as part-time religious schools. Resources provided by BJE include professional development opportunities for Jewish educators as well as grants and endowments designed to make Jewish education more affordable.

Currently, there are 33 full time BJE-accredited, K-12 Jewish private schools in greater Los Angeles, with more than 20,000 children enrolled in a various type of Jewish school, whether a preschool, a part-time religious school or a full-time day school.

Shortly after her hiring was announced, Stern emailed this statement to the Journal: “As I spend this week with a diverse cohort of Jewish educational voices from around the world, I am inspired to think together about creative approaches to the challenges our people face and the ways that Jewish education can serve as a tool for resilience and renewal at this moment.”