Limmud appoints new executive director, chair

JTA — Limmud, the international network of Jewish learning conferences, appointed a new director and a new chairman.

Shelley Marsh, currently the director of informal education for the United Kingdom’s United Jewish Israel Appeal, will become Limmud’s executive director after Sukkot, according to a Limmud news release. Marsh succeeds Raymond Simonson, who ran Limmud for six years and is the CEO designate of the London Jewish Community Center.

Limmud is an umbrella group for pluralist, multidisciplinary conferences around the world on a range of Jewish topics. During Simonson’s term, Limmud has grown to include 60 conferences in 25 countries.

Kevin Sefton, a Limmud executive board trustee for four years, will become the organization’s chairman at the end of the year. Sefton runs a management consultancy firm and has helped organize Limmud conferences on five continents.

In the news release, Marsh called Limmud “a unique organization” and said she strongly identified with its vision and values.

“I’m inspired by what they have achieved in recent years,” she said, “and I look forward to working closely with Kevin to support the volunteers as they continue to build.”