Harry Kay Center for Leadership Excellence
Shaping Bold Jewish Leadership
For over three decades, the Harry Kay Center for Leadership Excellence (HKCLE), a joint program of the Minneapolis and St. Paul Jewish Federations funded by the Harry Kay Charitable Foundation, has strengthened and connected local Jewish leaders to each other and to the Twin Cities Jewish community.
Harry Kay Leadership Institute (HKLI)
The flagship program of HKCLE is the Harry Kay Leadership Institute (HKLI) – an intensive 18-month learning experience bringing together individuals ages 35-50 who have demonstrated volunteer leadership shaping Jewish and civic life in the Twin Cities.
Through the program, participants learn to:
o Understand their own leadership strengths, values, and purpose – Gilui Atzmi
o Understand the ecosystem of our local Jewish community – HaKehila Shelanu
o Understand the broader North American Jewish community – HaKehila HaMurchevet
o Locate their leadership within the story of Jewish peoplehood - Amiyut - and commit to actively contributing to and taking responsibility for the well-being of Klal Yisrael
Cohort-Based: Participants from across the Twin Cities build strong peer relationships, learn and travel together, and collaborate to address community leadership challenges.
Jewish Learning & Identity: The program draws on Jewish text and tradition, with Jewish learning as the foundation of every session.
Leadership Development: Skill-building in areas like leadership communication, nonprofit governance and finance, change management, adaptive leadership, and philanthropy and fundraising.
Immersive Experiences: Shabbaton retreats, a Twin Cities Jewish community tour, and monthly hands-on workshops that foster community and grow personal skills and capacities.
Israel trip: A two-week journey connecting participants with Israelis, including in Minnesota's partner communities of Rehovot and Sovev-Kinneret, to understand Israel, the diaspora, and broader issues shaping Jewish peoplehood today.
Mentorship & Capstone Project: Alumni and community mentors support participants throughout the program, which culminates in small-group capstone projects addressing real challenges faced by local organizations.
For more information on the Harry Kay Leadership Institute, including program eligibility and the Cohort 12 nominations / application timeline, please contact Dani Kopstein Fisher, Director.
HKLI Program Highlights
Harry Kay Alumni Network
Graduates of the Harry Kay Leadership Institute become part of a growing network of over 380 alumni who continue to engage in the Twin Cities Jewish community.
Alumni Opportunities include:
Learning sessions and social gatherings
Community-wide events and leadership forums
Ongoing connection and collaboration across the Twin Cities
Mentoring current HKLI cohort members, sharing experience and building relationships
Harry Kay was born in 1917 to Russian Jewish immigrants. He dropped out of school to help support his family, working in a diner. He developed a new way to process potatoes, and in 1953, he moved his family to St. Paul to build a potato processing plant. By the time of his death in 1983, he had created Processed Potatoes Inc., a successful company that employed over 1,000 people.
As Kay became more successful, his Jewish identity became increasingly important to him. He established the Harry Kay Charitable Foundation in 1983, which has since provided tens of millions of dollars of support for a variety of causes in Minnesota and Israel. Today the Foundation focuses its giving on the Twin Cities Jewish Community through the St. Paul and Minneapolis Jewish Federations. In addition to making financial contributions to the Federations’ campaigns, the Foundation sponsors the Harry Kay Center for Leadership Excellence.