Danielle V. Minson — Raising the Bar
Jewish Federation Inaugurates Tedd Friedman as New President
At the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati’s annual meeting on May 18, Suzette Fisher passed the gavel to Tedd Friedman, installing him as its new president. An attorney with Katz Teller, Friedman has been a leader in the Jewish community for many years. He is praised for his big-picture thinking, leadership skills, and passion for building Jewish Cincinnati. Friedman, his wife, and two sons are members of Wise Temple. Here he shares his past and his plans for the Jewish Federation.
Q: Is your family local?
Tedd: Yes, very local. My great-grandfather Charles Haas was born in 1860 in Germany. He settled in Cincinnati shortly after that and later became established in the broader Cincinnati community with his cigar business, Haas Brothers.
The other side of my family lived a very different story. Fajwel Friedman was born in Poland and fled to Cincinnati in 1886 with the flood of eastern Europeans Jews to escape the horrors of the pogroms. Like many of our families, he and his wife Bella arrived with no money, no job, no family, and no place to live.
During this chaos, there was no one place where Jews could come together to discuss challenges, to raise money, or plan how to take care of each other. Out of this was born the United Jewish Charities in 1896, which later became the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
So your family on both sides has been here since the start of what became the Jewish Federation?
Yes—remembering their struggles reminds me that we have the gift as Jews to make choices past generations only dreamed about. We can select where we work, where we live, who we associate with, and the organizations to which we belong.
Our great-grandparents lived in a world where discrimination made sure they could never forget their Jewish identity. We live in a world bombarding us with so many seductive identities that it can be hard to remember ours.
I am proud to be a part of Jewish Cincinnati.
You have two years. What are you hoping to accomplish as president?
We are only four years away from the year 2020, and our dream of Cincinnati 2020—“More Jews. More Engaged”—has taken root and is becoming reality. We have and will continue to build a great Jewish community here.
The Federation team is focused on four key areas to make this happen.
First, talent management—in other words, supporting the younger generations to be future Jewish leaders, having strong boards at all our congregations and agencies, education, and jobs. JVS Career Services is a strong partner for us here.
Second, the Federation is changing how giving happens, and we need to nurture that. We are doing things to allow people to express themselves philanthropically. We are moving from a model of the Annual Campaign as our main mode for helping people to a three-path model.
The first path, the Annual Campaign, funds our “essentials.” This is crucial and what powers Jewish Cincinnati. But we will also focus on supplemental giving—where we match donors to their funding passions. This will be our most transformative, innovative space. And the last path will be Planned Giving and Endowments, including Create Your Jewish Legacy.
Third priority? A lot of the amazing work in the community is being done by our agencies, and we have to continue to support them and help them focus on doing what they do best.
Finally, we must prioritize open dialogue and community building. And for that we need to create a more inclusive Jewish Cincinnati community.
Given these priorities, what is your overarching vision for our Jewish community?
The future is personal for me. I want to create a Cincinnati my children will love and choose to live in. But that is no different from what we all want for Jewish Cincinnati’s future.
I believe we have incredible opportunity to do something wonderful at a special time. We are lucky to live in this time, this moment of Jewish history. We are lucky to live in this place, Jewish Cincinnati. We have the tools, the will and the resources.
Together, we can do almost anything. And together, we will.
