A
n iconic
photograph in
Michael Jeser’s
childhood home
is one with him, his parents,
and his two brothers in front
of a sign that reads “We Are
One.” Hard as one might
look, you will not actually
find Jeser in the picture
taken during an historic
1975 mission to Israel that
drew more than 1,000
participants. That is because
he was not yet born.
Needing roughly three months longer before his
birth, Jeser says, “My coming into this world is
part of the Jewish story. I was coming in as part
of a family – not just a nuclear family, but one that
expands across the US and thousands of miles
across the ocean.”
This was the prologue to a story that Jeser
says unconsciously set the stage to connecting
within the greater Jewish community. The latest
chapter finds the 42-year-old named as the Chief
Executive Officer of the Jewish Federation of San
Diego County, which identifies and addresses the
Jewish community’s most critical needs.
The path that began atop Masada, the ancient
fortress in Israel, was nurtured by Jeser’s parents
who were highly engaged in Jewish life. His father
was a Jewish Federation executive in Maine and
Florida, and his mother, a music teacher at the
Jewish Community Center (JCC) and later in
reform, conservative as well as Orthodox Day
Schools around the country. The couple nurtured
their son’s Jewish identity through Jewish camps,
JCC programs and Jewish education.
As an adult, Jeser chose his own path, parlaying
his childhood experiences into a career as a
Jewish communal professional at summer
camps, the JCC, and Hillel (the Jewish college
campus organization). He had his sights set on
becoming a Jewish camp director; however, he
turned his attention to fundraising while serving
as a field intern at the Jewish Federation in Los
Angeles during graduate school.
“I did not realize I would fall in love with
fundraising and working within the Federation
system,” Jeser shared with Giving Back
Magazine. “I love fundraising strategy – enabling,
empowering, and equipping others to do the
important work that needs to be done.”
Now married and the father of a 21-month-old
daughter, Jeser’s primary motivation is to take
dollars raised and put them to the best use in the
community.
“I have the opportunity,” he says, “to bring
community partners together. Federation is the
connector, but not the parent. An organization is
most effective when people feel equal.”
Jeser looks forward to wrestling with challenges
that come with addressing the needs of people in
various ages and stages of life and regardless of
their affiliation with religious practice.
“As a CEO, a lot of the work is about raising
money, but not for the thrill of closing a gift,” he
explains. “I love the transformation that takes
place in getting someone to give for the first
time. I get to see donors light up when I have
conversations with them or when they are able
to stretch their gift. It is about the process of
philanthropy. I see donors moved by their peers
who give because they are motivated by a value
system that compels them to do so.”
www.jewishinsandiego.org
OCTOBER 2018 | GBSAN.COM 11