8/5/22

Update from Mike Siegel

On behalf of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board, I am pleased to announce that the Board has unanimously voted to hire Bob Goldberg as the next CEO of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

Bob grew up in Omaha and spent many days on the Federation campus. He was an active member of BBYO while attending Burke High School. He received a BS in Speech Communication at UNO and earned a Master’s degree in English from UNO. He began his Federation career in 2008 at the JFO where he was Director of Strategic Initiatives.

In 2013, Bob moved to Fort Worth, TX where he became Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Here, he was able to re-establish their Federation’s relevance as the “go-to” organization in the Jewish community. Bob handled all aspects of their business – managing financial resource development, strategic initiatives, community engagement, marketing, and communications. He used his skills to build relationships with donors and community partners. One of his biggest accomplishments in Texas was establishing a lay leadership program which successfully started a pipeline for future leaders.

In December 2020, Bob accepted the role of Executive Director at the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines. In the brief time he has been at Des Moines, he has increased their campaign by 20% year to year as well as introduced innovative events to attract community members to their Federation. Bob was very active in the community where he cultivated relationships with city officials, attended services at all synagogues and elevated Des Moines’ core pillars of Education, Outreach, Community and History. The search committee was very impressed with all of Bob’s accomplishments at Fort Worth and Des Moines.

Bob is returning to Omaha as a seasoned Federation leader, prepared to help the JFO grow to the next level. I am excited to see his many skills in action as he leads the Federation into the future.

Bob’s start date will be January 30, 2023 to allow him to properly transition out of his current position in Des Moines. The Board and search committee are more than comfortable with the temporary leadership system we have in place. Interim CEO Phil Malcom, Jan Goldstein, and Marty Ricks are doing a remarkable job and have agreed to stay on in their current roles until Bob officially joins the JFO. I will thank all three of them more thoroughly in a separate email.

Bob and his wife, Kim have one daughter, Lily, who is a senior at Washington University in St. Louis. All three Goldbergs are looking forward to being back in Omaha. Please join me in welcoming Bob as the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Omaha.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mike Siegel
JFO President