Justin Rosen Smolen is Director of Programs at Shalom Hartman Institute North America, where he stewards the design and production of Hartman's initiatives taking place in the US and Canada.  Previously, Justin served as National Director of Youth Programs at Keshet, where he built partnerships and programs to advance the participation, visibility, and leadership of LGBTQ teens throughout Jewish life.  Justin also served as Associate Director of the National Incubator for Community-Based Education Initiatives at The Jewish Education Project, where he consulted to a collaborative of funders developing new strategies and initiatives for teens, and as Director of Programs and Strategy at PresenTense, where he oversaw accelerator programs for social innovators in cities across the country.  

Justin is a graduate of the dual-degree program of Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and Jewish thought.  An alum of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, he holds a Master of Public Administration in nonprofit management and an MA in Jewish studies from New York University.  He is also a participant in the Generation Now Fellowship for senior professionals in Jewish teen education.  Justin lives in New York City with his husband, Avi, and their two young children, Aaron and Kaylee.