PEER LEADERSHIP FELLOWS

Program Details:

The Peer Leadership Fellows program is a fellowship that trains and empowers teens to be communal connectors! Fellows learn how to build relationships, engage their peers in meaningful, identity-based conversation, and connect their social networks to the vast menu of opportunities available to teens in the Baltimore Jewish community and beyond.

Throughout the year, fellows will meet monthly, beginning with an immersive leadership-training Shabbaton (weekend retreat) experience. Following the kickoff there will be monthly training seminars and individual check-ins. These workshops and experiences provide opportunities for real-world skill building in social network mapping, communication, community organizing, and peer-to-peer engagement following the nationally recognized Hillel campus curriculum. In addition, Fellows will receive training in teen mental health to enhance awareness and increase their ability to support their peers. Our Peer Leadership Fellows play a critical role in ensuring teens in the Baltimore feel connected to and safe in our Jewish community.

Program Dates: Approximately once a month on Sundays, September 2026-May 2027

Grades: 10th & 11th Grades

Community Service Hours: 15 Hours

Cost: $625 (monthly payment plans available)

Applications: Applications for our 2026-2027 programs open March 16, 2026

Peer Leadership Fellows Will:

Develop a proactive mindset to initiate community connections
Understand how to facilitate relationship first interactions
Attend an immersive weekend retreat with your peers to kickoff the program
Receive training in relational engagement, empathetic listening, inclusion awareness, and leadership skills during monthly workshops
Confidently engage in meaningful conversations with peers from their network
Connect with the PLF program coordinator during monthly check ins throughout the program
Reflect on their Jewish journey and current Jewish identity
Culminate the program with a Siyum, reception, to share their learnings with the community
Experience a weekend shabbat retreat together

Application & Selection Process: Peer Leadership Fellows is a competitive teen fellowship that accepts up to 24 teens from the Baltimore Jewish community. To be selected:

Applicants must submit their written application online by April 26
Applicants must complete a 45-minute, small-group interview with the PLF Program Coordinator, Isabel Lunken
Program acceptances will be announced the first week of June 2026.

Program Details:

Peer Leadership Fellows Will:

2026-2027 Signature Program Recruitment

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