Goodman's
Goodbye
LONNY GOLDSMITH
Staff Writer
Iff ay 1 would have marked
Alan Goodman's ninth
anniversary as executive
director of Jewish
Family Service.
He will leave just one day short of
that milestone to become executive
director of the Educational Alliance in
New York City. The ENs board rati-
fied Goodman's hiring two weeks ago.
"This was a fantastic offer that I
just couldn't turn down," Goodman
said. "New York was the only place
that I'd consider making a move to at
this point in my career. There aren't
too many options in terms of making
a move up, since Detroit is so large."
While Goodman couldn't turn the
opportunity down, the decision came
after a lot of long and hard reflection.
"I changed my mind eight times on
whether to stay or go," he said. "If
another move were going to happen,
at my age (47), it was going to have to
happen soon. It's also important to be
close to my family there.
JFS President Brent Triest praised
Goodman's legacy at JFS.
"Alan's leaving the agency in good
shape for the future," he said. "JFS has
changed a lot in Alan's nine years, and
we're poised to meet any challenges as
we go forward."
The EA began more than 100 years
ago as one of the original settlement
agencies, helping Jewish refugees and
immigrants get situated in America.
The agency now has a staff of 750
(compared to JFS's 120), 28 offices
(JFS has two) and a budget of $22
million, almost five times as high as
JFS's. It serves people of all races and
religions and remains headquartered
on New York's Lower East side.
"I've never run an ageny this big,
but I've run all the components that
make it up," Goodman said. "If you
combined JFS, Federation
Apartments, Agency for Jewish
Education, the Jewish Community
Center and Fresh Air Society, that
"
would be the Educational Alliance."
Said Arthur Sonnenblick, the presi-
dent of the EA, "In short, we hired
him because he's terrific. He has a dis-
tinguished background in the social
services field, and has successfully run
programs and provided services similar
to what we offer."
Goodman's stint at JFS has been a
productive one, including the creation
of the JFS branch office in West
Bloomfield, Jewish hospice, the
Windows Program for domestic vio-
lence prevention, the merging of the
Resettlement Service with JFS, and
the development of a strategic plan.
The Resettlement Service was previ-
ously housed at JFS, but was a sepa-
rate entity.
The move to New York is a return
to Goodman's professional roots, and
a return home for his wife Susan.
Goodman was the executive direc-
tor for the JFS of Albany from 1982
to 1989. He also held staff positions
with the Jewish Child Care
Association in New York and the
Syracuse Jewish Federation from
1977, when he moved to,the United
States, until 1981.
He left Syracuse for his native
Johannesburg for family reasons;
became the executive director for the
Johannesburg Association for the
Aged in his one year back in South
Africa, in 1981-82.
Goodman earned his bachelor's
degree at Rhodes University in South
Africa and then made aliyah to Israel.
He worked at the Magdiel Youth
Village and served in the Israeli army
before moving to New York.
Goodman got his master's in social
work from the Wurzweiller School at
Yeshiva University.
Even with his experience,
Goodman lacked confidence when he
first applied for the Education Alliance
position.
"Given the job is in New York, I
had thought that there would be a .
large pool of applicants," he said. "As
the process went on, I became more
invested in what was going on."
Now that the decision has been
made, Goodman has a plan in place
for when he starts his job in New York
on May 18.
"I'll first need to get a grasp of the
range of services offered, and to see
how they operate," he said. "I also
know there will be issues waiting for
me when I get there, and will rely on
the staff to assist me."
Goodman also has seen what issues
lie ahead for the next executive direc-
tor of JFS.
"The agency needs someone who's
politically astute, and understands
how legislative changes, such as wel-
fare reform and managed care, impact
the agency," he said.
An interim executive director has
been identified within the community
who runs an agency of comparable
size to JFS, said Goodman, but he
would not divulge the individual's
name. The JFS executive committee
and board met at the end of this week
to approve the transition plan. Triest
expects the search for a full-time direc-
tor to take up to eight months.
Said Goodman, "I learned that
when opportunities present themselves
you need to take them because they
may not come around very often. It
may not be the ideal time for the
agency, but it's a good move at this
point in my life." 0
3/20
1998
9