The Jewish Vocational Service did not have to go very far to find a leader to enhance its Jewish profile.

Deborah Louria, who had spent five years working part time to direct the Kohn Summer Intern Program for JVS, was a perfect fit.

"Deborah is just an outstanding Jewish professional," said Abby Snay, executive director of JVS, which is based in San Francisco. "She brings her passion and energy to everything she does."

Louria, who lives in Oakland, took over her new post this fall as the agency's first director of Jewish programming. She'll still be running the Kohn intern program.

Louria's new role will be to help JVS expand its outreach to working Jews. She will also design new programs to capture the attention of Jews, and non-Jews, who typically would not be aware of JVS.

Already in the works is expanding the Kohn Summer Intern Program -- which pairs college-age Jews with Bay Area Jewish agencies -- to include resources for its alumni. Enhancing the job skills of young Jewish adults is also a priority.

"JVS has always had a commitment to the Jewish community," said Louria. "But there is a lot of competition for people's attention, so it's very useful for people to be more fully informed about what we have to offer."

JVS will continue its K'Shareem ("Connections") program that creates monthly workshops with other Jewish agencies and hosts speakers. The program, which focuses on issues in the workplace, began last year and this year has a separate, full-time staff person to organize it.

Louria also will direct a new advisory committee that will brainstorm new ideas for JVS lectures and workshops. In addition, the agency will offer workshops on the spiritual aspects of work life, covering ethics and conduct in the job environment.

"We believe very deeply in our mission, which speaks to the mitzvah of helping to create self-sufficiency in people," Louria said. "If we can help people take care of themselves, we feel we are helping both the Jewish world and the world at large."

Louria was raised in the East Bay in an assimilated household in which both parents were doctors.

"My parents had very deeply held Jewish values that expressed themselves in work life," she said. "They taught me the importance of healing and selfless dedication to other people."

In 1985, Louria was working in the art world and took time off to visit Israel on a trip sponsored by the United Jewish Appeal. The visit, she said, changed the direction of her life.

On a rainy winter's eve, Louria and some of her fellow UJA travelers decided to go to the Western Wall to welcome Shabbat even though they were soaked. When they arrived, it was snowing.

"Because of the rain, the ink on the little prayers was running together and creating an incredible beautiful watercolor on the wall. It was just at dusk; it was an incredibly powerful God-like moment that I will never forget."

She felt the trip transformed her "into a person who would be forever deeply dedicated to the welfare of Jewish community," she said.

Upon her return, she found a job at the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay. Later she worked for six years at the Bay Area Council for Soviet Jews.

After she took time out from working to raise her son and daughter, she came to JVS. Or, as she puts it, "the job found me."

As the director of the Kohn intern program, she has had bird's-eye view into the workings of Bay Area Jewish agencies. It has allowed her to see "what a tremendous diversity of agency life we have here," she said.

"I'm really pleased to work for an agency that shares my priorities -- making the Jewish community a welcoming, meaningful place."