Stephanie Chauss

Show Notes

This week I talk to Stephanie Chauss, the new-ish CEO of the Minnesota JCC on this week’s Who The Folk?! Podcast. We talk about various transitions she has made since getting involved in the JCCs, her style of leadership, and how long does she get to be considered new in the job, on this week’s Who The Folk? Podcast. 

The Who The Folk?! Podcast is part of the Jewfolk Podcast Network, a product of Jewfolk, Inc. Episodes are produced by Jewfolk editor-in-chief Lonny Goldsmith. If you have questions, comments, or a guest to nominate, send an e-mail to [e-mail]. For more information, go to TCJewfolk.com/podcast

Creators and Guests

LG

Host

Lonny Goldsmith

Host/Editor/Producer

What is Who The Folk?! Podcast?

This is the Podcast home of TC Jewfolk's Who The Folk?! Podcast. Hear from interesting Members of the Tribe from all over the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.

[MUSIC]

Welcome to this week's Who the Folk Podcast.

I'm Lonnie Goldsmith, the editor of TCGU Folk.

This week I talked to Stephanie Chowce, the new-ish CEO of the Minnesota JCC.

We talk about the various transitions she has made since getting involved in the JCC's,

her style of leadership, and

how long does she get to consider herself new on the job?

On this week's Who the Folk Podcast.

Stephanie Chowce, welcome to the Who the Folk Podcast.

Thank you for joining me.

Thanks for having me.

Very excited to get to talk to you.

You are the new-ish CEO at the Minnesota JCC.

You started in April and now we're early December at this point.

How long do you get to be new for?

That's a great question.

I always say until the next person starts,

but that's a little different in my position.

A little bit.

So I'm going to take the first year as a full, like, getting--

Honeymoon, getting your feet wet.

Absolutely, yep.

So you are the new-ish Minnesota JCC CEO.

What's it been like for you in these first eight months as you've sort of started to

settle in and get your feet wet and gets to know this organization better?

Well, it's knowing the organization from a different lens.

And so that's been fascinating.

Having had experience with the J in different roles,

it's just really been my honor to learn this position.

I'm following in someone I respect very much, Michael Waldman,

and have been appreciative of his counsel and mentoring.

But overall, what I would say is, while I knew this,

I didn't really feel it fully until I'm in the seat.

And I realized that we have been here for so many years,

and we will be here for so many years,

and just seen that passage of time.

There is a certain weightiness that kind of comes with the stewardship of an organization

like a JCC, though, right?

Because it has been in this community--

how long has it been in this?

Almost 100 years.

So we're coming up on that.

OK.

Yeah, so that is.

And I talked to our team about it all the time

of we've been given this great gift,

and we're 100 years behind us and 100 plus ahead of us.

And so how do we think about what will be our legacy?

And for me, it's making sure we're here for generations to come.

Absolutely.

I mean, that's a big piece of what you do.

It's not just running this very large, complex organization.

It's this continued stewardship through generations.

Yeah.

And knowing that I'm making good decisions

for the present and the future.

And luckily, I have an incredible team

making sure we carry out the mission.

So I feel really lucky.

And I've gotten--

been lucky enough to get to work with a lot of the members of your team

over the years of being with you, folks.

And it's a great group of people.

And in the interest of a disclosure before I

ask this next question, my first cousin is your predecessor,

Michael Waldman.

So I need to feel like I need to put that out there

before I ask any question that may involve him.

You got to work as a COO.

Will you see--

No, you were--

Yes.

It was COO, OK.

So I actually had a before my professional career

with the JCC.

I was a board member for what was the same Paul JCC

and then the board president for three years.

So working with Michael in that capacity,

I was honored to chair the steering committee

with Hillary Federer that brought our two JCCs together.

Then I continued in my other profession for about a year

when an opportunity came forward.

So I've been with the J since January of 2021.

And then moved into this role.

So having seen it from the lay leadership level,

and not just at the lay leadership level

through the board positions, because you don't just

start as president.

You pay your dues for a little while

before you get to be the president of an organization's board.

But you said you took the board presidency at a time

where it was a pretty substantial--

a people isn't the right word because--

I think you know where I'm going with that.

It's not a people, but it was a big transformation

for our community, going from two different organizations

to this one JCC.

What was it like to see it at that level

and then sort of coming in at the staff level

to continue that work?

I think it really prepared me for my lead

into the staff position.

I also kind of a side note, my profession

before joining the JCC was with the YMCA.

And I sat on the senior team that brought

the Minneapolis and St. Paul wise together.

And so Michael was strategic in his invite.

And so I deeply appreciate that.

Having seen it from--

I think where it's been the most helpful for me now

in this role is having sat at the table

and listened to community leaders, great,

amazing community leaders, talk about where should the JB

in five, 10, 25 years.

And so having been a part of--

and doing a lot of listening during those meetings,

I feel like I was really ready to come in with--

we're hitting a lot of those markers already

and where we need to be in the next few years

having that information was helpful.

That's amazing.

It's something that I have learned

in talking to a lot of the organization leaders,

Senegal, community service organizations, whatnot.

It's not just thinking about the current moment or anything,

but it's having to do that and plan for the next 5, 10, 15,

20 years, all at the same time.

Right.

So it's a dynamic tension for sure.

I go from signing payroll to where what do we need to do

to meet this goal in five years.

And so you get to be in both worlds,

but I also think it's my responsibility to stay in both.

We have to maintain the existing organization,

but we also have to be looking forward.

So--

Well, the interesting thing you mentioned

about being at the Y is a senior leader

at the time of that transition.

Obviously, the Y is a much larger organization

than the Minnesota JZR.

And what was-- I'd have to imagine there

was some crossover in terms of challenges, opportunities,

lessons you learned from that, they were able to port into this.

Yeah, and I actually had the--

got to sit with both Joshua Word and Michael Waldman

and talk about those experiences.

One important one was what's special about one community

is likely special about the other.

We just learned to understand it differently,

and we care deeply in both situations.

There was never a question of whether one community

or the other community cared more.

Everybody cared about the future.

And so there were certainly in both situations,

some people who wanted to protect what is what was.

And now have learned it still is.

And so-- but taking on the responsibility

of what was two strong units and bringing them together

to be even stronger is--

there's a lot of data.

There's a lot of everything you can to make

that business decision is available,

except justifying the heart of what

will I miss, what will change.

So there was fair amount of similarities.

Yeah, I mean, I think we all get so wrapped up in our own thing,

whether your thing is the--

what was the safest JCC here in Minneapolis,

or the St. Paul JCC, we all get so wrapped up,

and our thing is the thing that we lose the big picture.

Exactly.

What are the positive elements that could change and evolve

from being a singular organization?

Yeah, and I really honor that, because there are some things

in my life I don't like change around.

So--

What is it?

Yeah, right.

And so--

But there's so much to say we've gained from it.

A good example is we have almost two buses

leaving the Minneapolis community, St. Louis Park,

et cetera, that go to Camp Buttwyn, which

is a different camp experience in Camp Olame.

But the key in that is we're not doing Camp Olame

at the best.

We're doing both, and they offer different experiences.

And so I think about our next generations who--

our camp is really on the one side of Egan, which we all

know is a triangle, to our JCC.

And so you start to see the reality of we're not

walking away from anything, but we're gaining more

than we would have ever even imagined.

And as somebody who worked at Buttwyn, for both of my cousins

who worked in leadership at the camp, both Michael

and his older sister, and having sent kids to Olame

as campers, they are--

I co-send this.

They are very, very different camp experiences.

Both excellent.

Both very different.

Yes.

Grounded in Jewish values, making sure kids meet other kids

that they expand their friendship.

They learn about Israel in a very positive way.

But you're right, very differently.

Put the program people in the room together,

and the landscape looks differently alone.

Let alone what kids are thinking when they come to each camp.

So that's a good example of us saying, no, we're

going to preserve both.

But we want our families, if they're looking for a different

experience, not to have to look outside the J.

And I think you'd have two very upset communities

if you changed one or the other.

Absolutely.

Or at least one very upset community, if you altered either

in either a new way.

And they both serve such an important purpose.

And that's the way I feel about our overall JCC,

that while there's some uniqueness that has been tradition,

the best way we can do it is share it with the other.

And so how can we expand some of our best programs

to make sure that all communities benefit?

How do you think you can help staying rooted in that traditional,

also evolving your organization to meet the needs of families

now and community members now?

Yeah, it's a great question, because I think in general,

people who have a strong connection to the J,

remember it with whole heart and whole mind of great experiences.

And sometimes we're making change because the world around us

is making change.

But it always gets sorted out to, oh, that must have

been how they did it over there.

Instead of, well, our parents need different things now.

Or actually, we have to put way more sunscreen on than when

you were a camp counselor, not to say it was a long time ago.

I'm just saying.

It was kind of a long time ago.

And so the world changes around us.

And I use the sunscreen example as just one

that I think we can all relate to.

Yeah, when things change around you,

that means we need more shade, that means whatever the circumstances.

But we have traditionalists in our communities who assume

some things.

I would say, but practical is we should have an evolution that

stays true to the root and how we did it.

And we might not take handwritten checks once a year for

memberships, because our world is, like, monthly, et cetera.

But we still offer a place.

I could actually-- maybe if you don't mind, can I just add another

little story I'd seem to tell?

Please.

When the first JCC in America, in wherever, built a swimming pool,

I talk about it was four men's exercise.

It was very specific.

Men were going to exercise to be fair, even exercise without

clothes on.

And so that was in our history.

That shifted when women decided they were also

going to swim for exercise.

But when they built that first pool, they had no concept of swim

lessons.

They didn't realize kids and adults needed to learn to swim.

And when we started in swim lessons, they

had no idea that a Robics class, Zumba, call it whatever you want,

would happen in the water.

But we still had the pool.

And we still have lap swimming, everyone's cloth.

And we--

We think, we think, yeah, right.

And now we've added this piece in to adapt around us.

So I talk to our team a lot about what is our swimming pool?

Where will we evolve?

We don't have to fill in a swimming pool,

but we have to fill it with people and things that are relevant.

I like that.

That's a good analogy.

That's really good.

Yeah, also.

Not one you want to visualize at the beginning.

No, I'm not even a little bit, but I like where you ended up.

Yeah, there you go.

Last maybe were you.

There you go.

That's fair.

That is very fair.

What was it about the opportunity to come to the J in the first place as staff?

Professionally, obviously, as a senior leader in an organization?

The opportunity had to be the right one for you to make that kind of move.

What was it about this one?

Well, I grew up very in Milwaukee and was a part of the JCC there.

From, I had 18 years of Jewish summer camp from day camp to overnight,

back to day camp as a assistant director, etc.

And then my dad played racquetball.

He was on the board, all of the things.

Back in a time when the board meetings happened in your house.

And so, yeah, like the board meeting, I mean, I'm older than I look.

So it was back, but it was back, you know,

and where he would host camp committee meetings.

And we all had to be quiet upstairs.

We were listening in on every word.

Of course you were.

Like we really understood the nine reasons.

You didn't know what was happening.

Right, but.

And so just this lifelong connection to the JCC.

And then when I had my daughter 14 and a half years ago,

my husband and I chose the JCC for early childhood.

We probably passed somewhere between 35 and 45 early childhood centers

along the way, but we were committed to having a JCC experience.

And so as she went through the program and knowing that we were going to go to a JCC day camp,

it all just made sense.

So in this opportunity came up, it felt to me like it was the perfect collision of my worlds.

You know, where I gave and really respect the mission of my past organization,

that had an opportunity to, you know, look at this organization from a different vantage point.

And because you've got that history in the, in the Milwaukee J, where it's,

I mean, the missions across JCC is like the communities,

community demographics are going to be different everywhere.

Correct.

But the JCC is still the JCC.

Yes.

Ultimately, you know, it's, you know, fitness and early childhood and camp and seniors and inclusion.

You know, those types of communities are pretty static, I would say, right?

Yes.

Yeah.

And even I can see it when I go to a national conference, you, again, at our core,

we're all trying to do things in our community to strengthen them through a lens of, you know,

Jewish values and making sure that we have multiple generations programming and reasons to come to the J.

What do you think's been the most unexpected part of the learning curve to CEO?

Oh, that's a good question.

I maybe could have envisioned it, but I don't think I knew it till I lived it.

The amount of time on task is hard to keep track of.

Like I could sit in a conversation with you about the future of our communities for hours.

Right.

And then all of a sudden I get back to my desk and feel like, oh my gosh, there's like, I've got to review this.

And I have to sign this contract in whatever.

And so while I understood it conceptually, I think getting into it,

the push in the pull is, has been tough.

The other thing is around, I think the dynamic tensions of a leader in terms of not only the push pull,

but the fast slow or slow fast is important.

And, you know, now then, like I think those three things I'm always trying to figure out where to land.

If you're there's a lot of wheat and hurry up.

Yes.

Yes.

We do, I say a lot often, goes slow to go fast.

Yeah.

And it's like, there are a lot of conversations or a lot of people involved.

And then once we say go, let's go.

Right.

Was there a, I mean, which is not to say my cousin wasn't an excellent mentor for you.

But in terms of like, obviously you saw a big piece of that as COL.

It's obviously different once you have the big office, right?

Yeah.

What I would say is, I feel, I want to make sure people know Michael Waldman's still a partner.

He's leading our JCC Foundation.

We're really grateful for that.

I would say Michael's succession planning in terms of where he may or may not have seen what the timeline was.

But he loves making sure that the resources are ready for the J and that the assets are protected.

And had done his time in years and operations.

And so he spent time, I would say, as a leader, making sure that I understood the difference between the two and what, you know, from the practicality of making sure everything is done in an operations role to actually in a moving into that leadership role.

So I, I would say, you know, I owe him a lot and he's, you know, he's just down the hall so it makes it.

That helps.

Yeah.

It does.

I think there's too many times in organizations you hear the horror stories that happen in transitions.

Yeah.

And I'm sure in the JCC world, like you have heard these stories from other places where even in an even in an internal higher situation, it's not as smooth as it is.

Right.

Right.

Well, I will say it was when I got married and changed my name and kept my middle name, my name, my, my maiden name was sweet.

So I'm Stephanie sweet, Chau.

Okay.

And my dad had three girls.

So it was important to keep that middle name.

But anyway, changing my name was like, yeah, I'm going to do it.

And then it was like, you got to go here to go there to the, the, the, the, and so it took like much more time than I would have ever thought.

I felt a lot like that coming into this role of, you know, we had transfer of contracts, transfer of like all these back office functions and who's the administrator and.

And so I would say that was bumpier than I think.

Oh, interesting.

We, even though we had a list, it just everything didn't go on our time schedule and because we were ready.

And so that was bumpy.

I think, you know, we had it.

I had been at all the board meetings, so handing over the board or whatever those things were easier than all of the stuff.

And he was CEO for 13, 13 and a half years.

So.

Yeah, he became bar mitzvah in his job and we knew.

Now you have to be a grown up.

That's right.

Yeah.

I mean, that's the stuff that.

It's tough to prepare for.

And it's also the stuff that.

Me or even I think a lot of the staff, but certainly myself is an outside community member wouldn't.

I wouldn't know.

Right, right.

When it no to look for and right, sure, necessarily care.

Yeah, the things I would need in the building.

We're working rights.

Right.

Yeah.

You guys do what you need to in the office.

Yeah, that's true.

You know, the other thing is, and I, you know, say all this knowing he might listen, but might not.

But Michael and I have two different styles, which made us.

And keep us a strong team.

Right.

And so while the team around us, you know, understood our different styles, you know, there was a transition period of, oh, it's all her.

Hopefully they learned, like it.

I think they always respected it, but I mean, we just do things differently.

And so you can't underestimate in a organization, whether he went down the hall or he went to San Diego, or I came from San Diego and whatever it is, it doesn't.

And you can't underestimate that, that style piece and knowing it feels disruptive to some.

It feels exciting to others.

So, yeah, I think that was that.

And I think when it was the CEO, CEO, dynamic, I think it's important that you would have a slightly different style, different voice, different.

Yeah.

Whatever tone to how you conduct business and he did because otherwise it feel I think as an employee.

I think as an employee it feels very one note.

Yes.

Literally and figuratively.

Right.

To be too same, too much the same person.

Redundance almost.

Yes.

When we think about resources.

Yeah.

I think it's good to have that kind of, you know, separation in some ways.

Agreed.

Plus my style is better.

Obviously.

Of course it was.

Yeah.

No.

Um, so, yeah, it's been a, it's been a good transition ending out the year.

But I still have, I just want to remind everyone till April 1st.

I'm still new.

You're still new.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

As you sort of, I know it's a lot of the same faces that I've seen in the JCC office.

You know, you can't fully, this isn't like a presidential administration turnover.

You fully turn over.

Thankfully.

You fully turn over like all of the operations.

But as you think about sort of your leadership team and the voices you want to have, what are you,

what do you look for in terms of a style or a voice or a personality?

Yeah.

Michael and I had started evolving our executive leadership team.

At the first of the year, we were thinking about different ways to divide.

And then this information came up.

You know, we are bored, um, found a way to make this work for everybody.

And, um, so I gave a great thought to it.

And so now, um, I, I know, I knew I was looking for people who could balance.

Um, I'm a, let's try it.

If it doesn't work, if it didn't cost us a million dollars and no one got hurt, nothing was bad about it.

Right.

We'll keep, we'll keep trying it.

Um, maybe if it didn't cost us a hundred thousand dollars, maybe a million was a, but anyway, you know, so stand the point.

Right.

And so, um, um, but when I get on a path, I take people on that path.

I hope that they buy in.

And so I needed, um, people who maybe came with soft edges and, um, also could think strategically and get us from point A to B.

Um, I can, I can get into the weeds at times, um, and then look at myself and be like, why, why was I spending time on that?

Um, and so, uh, you know, it's, we have an open office concept.

And so if I hear them talking about something interesting about Yom Hatsmoud out there, I'm going to walk out and be like, oh, have we thought of this?

And so, um, making sure that my, I felt real confident about our executive leadership on our senior team.

So that the poll was only because I was interested, not poll because I had to be connected to all the daily.

Yeah, that's an important distinction.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

For sure.

Well, Stephanie, last couple questions for, let you, uh, get back to, uh, back to it.

First, what is your favorite Jewish holiday?

I was prepared in my mind for this because I know you ask it, but, um,

um, hard for me to narrow down, uh, is right.

Okay.

So, um, my daughter at a young age, when the rabbi of our synagogue asked everybody, what's your favorite holiday or something, and he named the holidays, she, at seven, piped up and said you forgot one.

And that was Shabbat.

And so, uh, in the end, um, ever since she said that, I thought, oh, that's right.

Um, and there are ways to correct a rabbi and ways not to, but she did it very, you know what, though, when you're seven, it's, it's okay.

It's more likely than that.

Yeah, especially when you come up with a gem like that.

Yeah, that was a good one.

That was good.

Um, anyway, so I would say Shabbat.

Okay.

I really appreciate, you know, the J closes early, we, um, I love the exiting of the building on Friday afternoons where, um, the greeting is Shabbat Shalom and I get home.

My husband, um, Michael, also a Michael, um, my Michael, I call him, um, Michael, uh, makes Kala every week that's phenomenal.

So you walk into the house.

It smells good.

Um, so that's pretty cool.

And if I had to go into the other room of holidays, um, it would be Passover.

Uh, we have a large group, um, friends and family, uh, come together and it's, it's three of the families from Ida's infant room at the JCC.

Wow.

And we're still coming together, our closest friends.

And so that's amazing.

And then their families, um, but it tells a story.

And I, for me, that lands really well in how I learn, appreciate and, um, the spiritual connection and, um, so Passover in the longest table that we can possibly fit all the way through my front hall.

That's awesome.

You know, it, it mostly, it all started with the JCC and many of those cases.

So that's amazing.

See when friends become family, that's, that's the best kind of family.

Yep.

That's good stuff.

Yeah.

And what is your favorite Jewish food?

Probably my husband's chala.

Yeah.

Um, it's tough to beat a really good homemade chala.

Yeah.

And he experimented for a while.

So to be, and then every once in a while, he'll be like, oh, I think I'll try the whole wheat and we're like, uh, no, thank you.

Why would you do that?

Yeah, I know.

I'm like, you got it.

Just keep doing the same thing.

Yes.

But I also, um, anything that connects me to my grandparents, whether it's a recipe or, um, a reminder of, uh, grandparents being at the table, those are pretty special foods for me to.

Yeah.

No, that's, I mean, that's what, I mean, so much of our history, like, like, the holiday table.

Yes.

And the food that you, you grew up with and get passed out on that's, that's what the holiday is about.

Yes.

Any holiday, basically, is about.

Well, Stephanie Chaffes, thank you so much for, for the time.

It is always good to talk to you and, um, congrats on being the still new for, for another few months.

CEO of the Minnesota JCC.

Thanks for your, uh, thanks for the time.

Thanks, Lonnie.

Appreciate it.

The Who The Folk Podcast is a part of the Jew Folk Podcast Network and a product of Jew Folk Inc. Please subscribe, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

If you have suggestions for other podcast guests, please email them to me at [e-mail].

For our other shows, check out tcjufoak.com/podcast.

[Music]

[BLANK_AUDIO]