Just prior to her move from Dallas to Palo Alto, Karen Stern’s children gave her and her husband, Mike, cute little daypacks with their names embroidered on the back. It was something they’d have had no use for deep in the heart of Texas.
“In the Dallas area, there’s just no place to walk,” explained Stern, who took over the Palo Alto JCC’s reins as its new executive director last week. “I want to go walk in the mountains, I’m anxious to do that. And, I’ve met a couple of other Karens I can sell it to if I decide not to use it.”
While Stern may opt out of strolls through the hills, she’s a bit more committed to the project that brought her here: Leading the Jewish community center from its Arastradero Road digs to the temporary Cubberley-Greendell site and, eventually, to a Palo Alto Jewish campus on the former site of Sun Microsystems’ headquarters.
The Palo Alto JCC’s state of flux reminds Stern of the situation she stepped into 12 years ago as executive director of the Dallas JCC. That facility was hit hard by the recession of the 1980s, and, in Stern’s words, “offered very limited programming, especially for an organization of that size” when she took over.
By the time Stern stepped down earlier this year, however, the JCC had grown to 8,000 members and opened a second facility in January meant to serve the estimated 12,000 Jews living in the suburbs north of Dallas.
“My vision has always been of a community in cooperation. Some centers tend to be very self-focused, but I’ve always looked at the broader picture,” she said. “I try to involve synagogues and feel it’s very important to have strong relations with the local federation and other Jewish communal agencies. Some of the things I did in the beginning were create strong programs and hire the right staff.”
A native Texan, Stern said her previous job experiences have never taken her farther from the Lone Star State than a stint as an Oklahoma schoolteacher. At this point, though, Stern felt the freedom to move halfway across the country because her children — she and Mike have a “blended family” with six of them — are now all grown.
Additionally, Mike, who runs his own financial planning business, plans to shut down his Dallas operation and set up shop in Palo Alto.
The search for longtime JCC Director Sandy Blovad’s successor originally included more than 30 candidates nationwide, and gradually narrowed in scope to six.
Of the finalists, Stern impressed the hiring committee with her enthusiasm and energy, but, stresses JCC President Carol Saal, not just her enthusiasm and energy.
“It isn’t just enthusiasm and loving a challenge. I think it was her strategic thinking and insight. She asked us as many questions as we asked her, and that felt good. And she asked the right questions,” said Saal.
“She asked a lot of very pointed questions about finances, for example, and organizational structure. Whether or not we had some of the basics in place. There was no assumption on her part that we had everything in place. A lot of people would have come to this job assuming a lot of things, and, in fact, we do need a lot of help. So I think she got to the heart of that by questioning us about certain things and even opening our eyes a bit.”
While Blovad had originally been slated to work at the JCC in a special capacity for several more years, he is now scheduled to leave the JCC as of Dec. 31.
Blovad chalked up his change of heart to the JCC’s shift of attention from a possible move to a leased facility on Stanford land to the decision to purchase a new home on the Sun campus. Additionally, he said he wanted to spend more time with his family and young grandchildren.
“In retrospect, looking at my career here, I opened the place in ’83 and to come six months short of closing it in January of 2002, it’s a good separation point,” said Blovad. “The end of the calendar year just makes total sense. I have every confidence that Karen will lead the JCC into its future home. The community is lucky to have her.”
Blovad joked that “spring training starts around the first of March and I’m getting my arm into shape,” when asked what he plans to do next, but he added that he hopes to continue working in social service of some sort.
Meanwhile, the JCC’s progress toward purchasing the Sun campus is moving along nicely, with fund-raising coming in at record levels, according to Saal. Instead of sealing the deal with Sun on Jan. 15, however, the date has been pushed back to March so environmental inspections and possible clean-ups on the site can be completed.
The proposed Jewish campus fits in nicely with Stern’s vision of the JCC’s place in the community.
“I wasn’t looking to necessarily move to a larger JCC; I had the opportunity to go and work in other communities. What interested me here really was the campus we want to build. It comes back to community and cooperation,” she said. “I’m envisioning people connecting and relationships being formed that never would have happened anywhere else.”
Stern’s vision of the future also includes some more easily obtained goals.
“I hope to find the ocean,” she said with a laugh. “I’m very excited to see the Pacific Ocean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.”