Alena Akselrod is the Program Director of Leading Edge. Alena sees her work at Leading Edge as the perfect outlet for her passions as she works on supporting and enhancing the Jewish nonprofit field and the talent that is responsible for all facets of Jewish life. In her capacity as Program Director, Alena works within the Leading Places to Work Initiative and Talent Network. Alena’s portfolio encompases the Leading Edge Employee Experience Survey, Talent Network initiatives, and graphic design for an element of fun. Her work, in many ways, is focused on helping Jewish organizations on their journey to become even better places to work.

Alena grew up in Brooklyn after emigrating from the Former Soviet Union in the mid-90s. Her passion for working with youth, propelled her into a career working with Russian-speaking Jewish (RSJ) immigrant families at a community center in South Brooklyn. She grew her career to encompass a robust marketing, community organizing, and communications portfolio, but her true love will always be facilitating identity and leadership programs, as well as creating new entry points into Jewish life for the RSJ community. Alena left the agency after 13 years to pursue a dual Masters - an MBA in Nonprofit Management and an MA in Jewish Professional Leadership at Brandeis University. She is an MBTI certified practitioner, a proud Wexner Graduate Fellow & Davidson Scholar, and a JCCA Merrin Teen Professional Fellow.