Full Name
Rabbi Charles Savenor
Job Title
Executive Director
Organizational Affiliation
Civic Spirit
Speaker Bio
Rabbi Charles E. Savenor, the Executive Director of Civic Spirit, has a passion for civic education and its goals of educating, inspiring, and empowering faculty and students towards civic knowledge, responsibility, and attitudes. Before coming to Civic Spirit in 2022, he served as the Director of Congregational Education at Park Avenue Synagogue (PAS) in New York, where he oversaw lifelong learning, inclusion, Israel engagement, and travel education.
Rabbi Savenor graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A., summa cum laude, in History as well as Near Eastern and Judaic Studies in 1991. He received rabbinic ordination, a M.A., and an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He also earned a Masters of Education at Columbia University, Teachers College.
His articles on education, parenting, leadership and Judaism in the 21st century have appeared in The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Week, The New York Observer, Kveller, Hadassah Magazine, and The Boston Jewish Advocate. Rabbi Savenor blogs for The Times of Israel. He is currently writing a book called What My Father Couldn’t Tell Me.
He currently sits on the international boards of Nefesh B’Nefesh, Leket Israel (the National Food Bank of Israel), JNF’s Adult Education Committee for the World Zionist Village, and the Brandeis University’s Alumni Admissions Council. In June 2021, Rabbi Savenor was the first recipient of “The Maimonides Award for Excellence in Jewish Education” from the Community Scholars Program (CSP).
Rabbi Savenor and his wife, Julie Walpert, are the parents of two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Fans of the Boston Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots, they make their home in New York City.
Rabbi Savenor graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A., summa cum laude, in History as well as Near Eastern and Judaic Studies in 1991. He received rabbinic ordination, a M.A., and an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He also earned a Masters of Education at Columbia University, Teachers College.
His articles on education, parenting, leadership and Judaism in the 21st century have appeared in The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Week, The New York Observer, Kveller, Hadassah Magazine, and The Boston Jewish Advocate. Rabbi Savenor blogs for The Times of Israel. He is currently writing a book called What My Father Couldn’t Tell Me.
He currently sits on the international boards of Nefesh B’Nefesh, Leket Israel (the National Food Bank of Israel), JNF’s Adult Education Committee for the World Zionist Village, and the Brandeis University’s Alumni Admissions Council. In June 2021, Rabbi Savenor was the first recipient of “The Maimonides Award for Excellence in Jewish Education” from the Community Scholars Program (CSP).
Rabbi Savenor and his wife, Julie Walpert, are the parents of two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Fans of the Boston Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots, they make their home in New York City.
Speaking At
