Hillel International Names Shira Hutt as Vice President for Global Leadership
Hillel International today named Shira Hutt as Vice President for Global Leadership, tasked with developing and integrating lay leaders into its global mission. Hutt comes to Hillel from the Birthright Israel Foundation, where she served as vice president for institutional giving and strategic partnerships. In this new position, Hutt will work closely with all of Hillel International’s leadership bodies to create and implement best practices for fulfilling their roles and imagining new ways of supporting Hillel’s work.
“We are very excited to have Shira join the Hillel International team as we progress in our Drive to Excellence strategic plan,” said Eric D. Fingerhut, President and CEO of Hillel International. “Shira’s strong relationships in the American Jewish community and foundational experience will be an asset to our work as we broaden the basis of support for Hillel’s vision of inspiring every Jewish student to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel.”
As vice president for global leadership, Hutt will support the growth of Hillel International through lay leader development and long term succession planning. Based in New York, she will help recruit and support lay leaders and develop and implement strategies for engaging lay leaders of local, regional and global affiliates of Hillel International.
“I look forward to working with Shira to build and effectively utilize Hillel’s lay leadership,” said Tina Price, chair of Hillel International’s Board of Directors. “Shira’s experience, savvy and energy make her an ideal partner for our Board members and other stakeholders.”
In nearly eight years at Birthright Israel Foundation, Hutt oversaw the organization’s relationships with its institutional givers and strategic partners, including foundations and Jewish federations. She represented the Birthright Israel Foundation on Birthright Israel’s International Education Committee and worked to align funder interests with programmatic offerings.
She previously spent 10 years with the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life, where she served as the Senior Program Officer and worked to develop and strengthen an array of philanthropic and programmatic offerings. Prior to that, she served as the Arline and David L. Bittker Senior Fellow at Hillel’s Schusterman International Center.
“I am thrilled to rejoin Hillel International and help them reach their goals by providing the highest quality experience for its lay leadership,” Hutt said. “I look forward to partnering with all layers of the organization to ensure that current and future lay leadership are adequately identified and supported as they volunteer on behalf of Hillel.”