CCJ Leadership

CCJ’s leaders are driven by one cause: to serve the Jewish community. The program is shaped by rabbis, for rabbis. Our faculty will have lived the challenges our graduates will face and will use their experience to prepare them for success.

CCJ Founding President

RABBI Dr. Gary P. Zola

CCJ Founding President
CCJ Professor of the American Jewish Experience

CCJ Founding President

Dr. Gary P. Zola— a renowned rabbi, professor, and prolific author of the American Jewish experience— has been named the Founding President of the College for Contemporary Judaism (CCJ) by the college’s Board of Trustees.

Dr. Gary P. Zola is a champion of the American Jewish experience who has dedicated his career to bringing together, educating, and uplifting rabbinic students and American Jews. As president of CCJ, Dr. Zola brings his well-honed skills as an administrator, visionary, indefatigable community-builder, convener, and inspiring leader. He is wholly dedicated to building CCJ as a driving force for the recruitment and subsequent ordination of highly accomplished rabbis who are committed to building a brilliant future for Jewish life in North America.

Learn
More

CCJ Honorary President

Rabbi Sally J. Priesand

CCJ Honorary President
Rabbi Emerita, Monmouth Reform Temple, Tinton Falls, New Jersey

CCJ Honorary President

Rabbi Sally J. Priesand— a history-making, trailblazing rabbi and community leader, and champion of all things Jewish — has been named the Honorary President of the College for Contemporary Judaism (CCJ) by the college’s Board of Trustees.

Rabbi Sally J. Priesand, ordained on June 3, 1972, became the first woman in North America to achieve this historic milestone. She is universally acknowledged as a pioneer who has inspired generations of women across all denominations and around the globe. As Honorary President of CCJ, Rabbi Priesand brings pioneering leadership, mentorship, and clarity of purpose which will help guide CCJ to attract, educate, and inspire the diverse range of exceptional rabbinic leaders essential to a flourishing Jewish future in North America.

Learn
More