Farewell to the Weils AND Hello, Hunter
by Emily Raij
Aaron and Sharon Weil graced the cover of J Life’s Summer 2020 issue as the faces of our community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharon, the executive director of nonprofit operations for the Kinneret Council on Aging (KCOA), was determined not to let the vulnerable senior residents of downtown Orlando’s Kinneret Apartments suffer total isolation when the pandemic hit. Likewise, Aaron wanted to help the college students he served as CEO of Central Florida Hillel remain engaged while staying safe. The couple “Put Their Heads and Hearts Together,” as we said on the cover, to virtually connect the college kids with the shut-in seniors.
Community advocates like the Weils are devastating to lose. But, at least, we won’t lose them all at once.
For now, Sharon will continue to serve KCOA by working remotely as she and Aaron transition to Israel to be closer to their children.
“We saw this past year that the virtual world can work,” Sharon says. “I’m excited that I get to keep my fingers in the pot. I love working with Kinneret. I have a lot still to offer the organization.”
After eight years as executive director and CEO of Central Florida Hillel, Aaron, however, has stepped down. He was previously in the same position at Hillel Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh for 10 years. With an auspicious 18 total years of service to Hillel under his belt, Aaron is anticipating a much-needed and well-deserved sabbatical.
Central Florida Hillel is in good hands, though (see sidebar).
“If you care about something as much as I care about Hillel and the Orlando community, it’s really gratifying to know that it’s going to continue,” Aaron says. “I contributed what I was able to contribute. Now the next generation is going to be taking over, and I’m very happy to see that it’s going to be continuing to grow, get stronger, and have a bigger impact on Orlando’s Jewish future.”
As for the Weils’ future, they look forward to seeing their families, enjoying Shabbat dinners together, and hugging their three children, who all live in Israel.
Before settling close to family in Ra’anana, Israel, Aaron and Sharon will be spending time in Portugal, a country they chose for its access to both the U.S. and Israel, affordable cost of living, low crime rate, great healthcare, and relative absence of anti-Semitism.
Sharon says she’ll miss the relaxed, calm Central Florida lifestyle, and Aaron will miss Florida’s key lime pie and mahi-mahi. But both agree it’s people who will be hardest to leave behind.
“People here have been very, very welcoming and inclusive,” says Sharon. “We’re very fortunate that we sort of straddle two communities: the Israeli community and the American Jewish community. There are a lot of really special people, and we take them with us. For me, it’s the Kinneret residents that are the hardest people to say goodbye to.”
Aaron is grateful for the community he and his family found at Congregation Ohev Shalom, the mentorship of philanthropist Alan Ginsburg, and for his staff at Hillel. And both Aaron and Sharon are thankful the Orlando community took a chance on them, providing the opportunity to grow personally and professionally and even work together through their agencies. Now they embark on their next adventure together, leaving Orlando’s Jewish community stronger than ever.
AND HELLO, HUNTER
Central Florida Hillel welcomed Hunter Gold as its new executive director last month. For the University of Florida grad, whose family has been involved in the Orlando Jewish community for 30 years, the opportunity to lead the organization feels like a homecoming.
Hunter’s mother, Penny, was a teacher at the former Hebrew Day School (now Jewish Academy of Orlando) for 25 years, and his father, Barry, served on Hillel’s board of directors. As for Hunter, he was involved in Hillel at UF before attending UCF for his MBA, and his aufruf (a traditional pre-wedding ceremony) 22 years ago was held at Congregation Ohev Shalom, where his family still belongs.
“For me, it’s kind of full-circle that I’m now at Central Florida Hillel,” says Hunter.
His path back to Central Florida included 20 years working for nonprofit organizations. Hunter was the executive vice president of Capital Camps and Retreat Center, an independent JCC camp and retreat facility in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, before taking the opportunity to run Harbor Hills Day Camp in New Jersey with his wife, Fara, former camp director at the JCC of Greater Maryland.
“After a few years at Harbor Hills, we felt the pull to the Jewish side,” says Hunter.
Fara returned to working for the Jewish Federation, and Hunter became the executive director of Sutton Place Synagogue in Manhattan.
During the pandemic, Hunter and Fara felt another pull – this time to be closer to family in Florida. Besides Hunter’s parents, his in-laws and two of his three brothers live in the Orlando area. The other brother is nearby in Tampa.
“Like a lot of other people, we re-examined our life,” Hunter says. “I had been away for 21 years. Part of what we want to do is be with our family.”
Fara and Hunter decided that when the right jobs opened up, they would take them. Fara was contacted in late 2020 about the chief program officer position at The Roth Family JCC. She took the job and started March 1, flying back often while Hunter
continued working in New York City and their daughters, Marin and Riley, finished school. Marin, 18, will be attending FSU in the fall, and Riley, 14, is starting at Lake Brantley High School, close to the family’s home in Altamonte Springs.
Several months after Fara moved down, Hunter found out about the opening at Central Florida Hillel. It was the only job in Orlando he applied for.
“There are such limited positions in the Jewish community in Orlando that I would look at,” he says. “I was going to apply for a position only if I could do it exceptionally and be committed to it. It was bashert. They made the offer, and I very happily accepted.”
With the recent increase in anti-Semitism on college campuses, Hunter understands the need to provide students with the tools to get help, particularly on social media. But he also wants to focus on offering more opportunities for students to travel to Israel. He wants to work more closely with UCF’s downtown campus and the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, and he wants to encourage his students to simply “do something Jewishly every day,” he says, whether that be through social, cultural, or religious participation.
“I want Hillel to provide an environment where students can feel comfortable and be proud to be Jewish,” says Hunter. “Everything I do when I get to Hillel will be based on the foundation Aaron Weil built.”
And Aaron is confident Hunter will continue leading Hillel in the right direction.
“As I leave now, the organization is the strongest it’s ever been,” Aaron says. “It’s financially strong. It’s got great staff. Hunter Gold is a very strong leader with a terrific résumé, and he has strong Orlando roots. So I feel very comfortable knowing that all the things I was a part of are in more-than-capable hands.”