WJC-supported Start-Up Nation hosts 30 student leaders for training program

Thirty Jewish leaders from universities around the world gathered in New York City for a three-day training program for the newest cohort of Start-Up Nation Mentorship Campus Ambassadors. The Start-Up Nation Mentorship program seeks to pair extraordinary student leaders with Israeli executives from a wide range of industry and government positions to help ensure that the next generation of leaders has the knowledge and relationships to succeed. As campus ambassadors, Start-Up Nation Mentorship directors recruit top student leaders for the program. 

World Jewish Congress/(c) Shahar Azran

The three-day seminar, led by Chairman & Co-Founder Adam Shapiro and Chief Executive Officer Daniella Springer, equipped team members with the tools and knowledge to make an impact on their campuses. The weekend opened with a Shabbat dinner and an introduction to the Start-Up Nation Mentorship model.  

The following day, the Start-Up Nation Mentorship team gathered at the World Jewish Congress headquarters to meet program alumni Chris Pang (Wharton '22) and Tarika Vohra (Columbia ’24). The conversation demonstrated firsthand the impact that Start-Up Nation Mentorship has had on non-Jewish college students, noted Caroline Schurz, Start-Up Nation Mentorship’s campus director at Stanford University, adding that their “experiences confirmed why organizations like SUNM are necessary, and how beneficial Israel can be for both Jews and non-Jews.” 

World Jewish Congress/(c) Shahar Azran

Following the session, Yoni Hammerman, Senior Manager of World Jewish Congress NextGen, spoke about WJC’s initiatives around the world and discussed the importance of programs such as Start-Up Nation Mentorship, which educates non-Jewish student leaders about Israel and the Jewish people.  

Next, the team heard from Yuval Yarden and Zachary Roseman of Venwise and Humankind Investments, respectively, and their decision to co-found Jews in Tech, a global community of Jews who work at high-level positions in tech, innovation, and venture capitalism. 

World Jewish Congress/(c) Shahar Azran

On the final day of the seminar, on what was an intensive day, team members were briefed on Start-Up Nation Mentorship’s initiatives, expectations, successes, mentor relations, organizational structure, and its unique partnership with the World Jewish Congress. Following the in-depth dive into Start-Up Nation Mentorship, team members heard from inspirational guest speaker May Pimenta, Co-Founder & CEO of Vee, who paid particular attention in her remarks to what features make Israel the “start-up nation.”. Team members were then divided into breakout sessions to facilitate conversations about their own campus strategies.  

The three-day seminar concluded with the development of individual campus strategies and student recruitment plans by the Start-Up Nation Mentorship team members.