Memphis, TN

The Memphis Division has selected Mr. Jeffrey D. Feld to receive the Director’s Community Leadership Award.

In June 1977, Mr. Feld graduated from the University of Maryland. Upon completing his Masters of Social Work, he accepted a position as youth day camp director at the Nashville Jewish Community Center (JCC) and served as the city director for B'nai B’rith Youth Organization in Nashville.

In June 1980, he accepted a position as the director of suburban services at the Pittsburgh JCC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1983, Mr. Feld became the program director at Passaic Clifton Young Men-Young Women Hebrew Association (YM-YWHA) in Passaic Clifton, New Jersey. Two years later, he was promoted to the position of executive director. In 1992, Mr. Feld became the executive director of the Jewish Educational Alliance and the Savannah Jewish Federation in Savannah, Georgia.

In 1998, he became the executive director of the Memphis Jewish Federation in Memphis. During Mr. Feld's tenure, he oversaw the implementation of a Security Check Program for local Jewish agencies, schools, and congregations as a preventive measure. Additionally, he scheduled speakers that provided briefings to the Jewish community about combating terrorism. Some of those speakers were later utilized as informational resources by the local Homeland Security Council, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI.

Mr. Feld currently works with local agencies, such as Diversity Memphis and Facing History/Ourselves, to promote better communication, tolerance, and inclusiveness. He also coordinates briefings between the executive directors of various Jewish community agencies, heads of Jewish schools and congregations, and senior rabbis and the FBI. Mr. Feld participates in a variety of forums and panels to promote communication by getting representatives from diverse groups to work together. Mr. Feld serves on the Executive Committee of the United Jewish Committee and also serves as the chairman for the Intermediate Federations Executive Directors Group.

Mr. Feld has received a variety of awards for his service to the community including: Outstanding Service to the New Jersey Deaf and Hearing Impaired; Outstanding Service to the Association of United Way; and Outstanding Service to Holocaust Survivors. Mr. Feld was recognized by the Margolin Hebrew Academy/Feinstone Yeshiva.

Mr. Feld is a graduate of the FBI Memphis Division's Citizen Academy class of 1999 and is a member of the Memphis Division's Citizen Academy Alumni Association. Additionally, he serves as a member of the FBI Memphis Division's Community Engagement Council Group.