Mazel Tov to the 2026 Outstanding Jewish Communal Professional Award Winner: Leora Match – Pearlstone Center
This award recognizes mid-level professionals with exceptional promise and commitment to a career in Jewish communal service with at least five years of experience. The recipient, a Jewish communal professional employed in the field of Jewish communal service at least 20 hours per week at the time of nomination and whose organization serves the greater Baltimore community, will be awarded a $1,500 grant to subsidize his/her participation in a professional development opportunity.
Leora’s colleagues appreciate her ability to balance the need to be organized and planful with the goal of being creative, playful and educationally deep.
As Adamah Adventure Camp Director, Leora has established and codified systems, recruited and trained a cohort of staff that return each year, and grown the camp. She has established deep relationships with camp families and has solidified the camp’s identity as a place of curious exploration and nature connection.
Leora has taken on the challenge most thoughtfully of helping youth develop their own identities and perspectives on major issues facing the Jewish community. She creates space for difficult conversations around Israel, religious diversity, and other important topics.
Leora sought to expand her skills by pursuing a master’s degree at Gratz College and participated in cohort programs through Na’aleh. She is always looking for opportunities to learn and grow, for herself, and her camp staff, so they too come away with skills that will serve them as future Jewish educators.
Leora’s professional style is: “If you’re going to do it, do it right and do it all the way.” Every role Leora has held in the Baltimore Jewish community she has performed with excellence, building a strong foundation for the future.