Author: Kerry M. Olitzky

Kerry M. Olitzky is the former executive director of Big Tent Judaism (formerly Jewish Outreach Institute), the only national independent organization dedicated to bringing Judaism to interfaith families and the unaffiliated. He served as visiting professor at the Abraham Geiger Kolleg in Berlin, Germany and has been a Fellow at the City University Graduate Center in its Jewish Studies Program. He was named as one of the 50 Leading Rabbis in North America by Newsweek. Olitzky served as vice president of the Wexner Heritage Foundation, the premier adult Jewish learning and Jewish leadership program in North America. Previously, he was national Dean of Adult Jewish Learning and Living of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion where he served on the faculty and administration for fifteen years following his tenure at Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford, Connecticut. A leader in the development of innovative Jewish education, particularly for adults, he has shaped training programs for clergy of all faiths, especially in the area of pastoral care and counseling in the Jewish community. He has done pioneering work in the area of Jewish Twelve Step spirituality, as well as Jewish Gerontology. Olitzky is the author of over seventy books and hundreds of articles in a variety of fields. His opinion pieces are published in leading publications throughout North America and in Israel. Among his most recent publications are: New Membership & Financial Alternatives for the American Synagogue From Traditional Dues to Fair Share to Gifts from the Heart (Jewish Lights Publishing) with Rabbi Avi Olitzky, and Playlist Judaism (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers).