Raymond Simonson

London, UK

Raymond has been the CEO of JW3, London's award-winning Jewish Community Centre – the only JCC and Jewish arts venue of its kind in the UK – since it opened in 2013. He is a professionally qualified Youth & Community Worker with a BA in Jewish History, an MA in Applied Anthropology and Community & Youth Work, and over 20 years' experience in informal Jewish education, leadership development and community building. He was the first full time Executive Director of Limmud, and played a key role in the development of Limmud International across the world. Prior to that he was the UJIA/Jewish Agency Director of Informal Jewish Education, where he spent a decade working with thousands of Jewish educators and youth leaders across the UK and in Israel.

 

In a lay capacity, he sits on the Limmud FSU International Steering Committee, and the advisory boards of Mitzvah Day and the London Jewish Forum, and mentors a number of young professional leaders within the British Jewish community. He is particularly proud to sit on the Advisory Board of Amal, a British-Muslim charity that seeks to increase understanding of British Muslims among peoples of other faiths.

 

Raymond is the author of the chapter “Limmud: A Unique Model of Transformative Jewish Learning” published in the ‘International Handbook of Jewish Education’. He is grateful that his wife, an NHS Psychiatric Nurse, and two children, are incredibly patient.