The Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI) was created in 2013 as a two-year fellowship for rabbis, focused on 
organizational leadership, change management, and institutional transformation. CLI’s target audience has been rabbis of all denominations who are between years 5 and 15 of their rabbinic tenure. Most have been congregational rabbis, though each cohort has included a handful of rabbinic entrepreneurs who were seeking to develop entirely new models of spiritual community. Integrating the disciplines of adaptive leadership and the work of the synagogue transformation field that has developed over the past 25 years, CLI Fellows were supported to develop innovation projects that could inspire deeper engagement on the part of both members and potential members. CLI also sponsors a monthly Spiritual Innovation Blog, distributed widely in partnership with eJewishPhilanthropy, which documents some of the most innovative work happening in spiritual communities throughout North America.
In the fall of 2023, we announced that the current, CLI Cohort 6, would be the last cohort for the Fellowship 
program. CLI-6 concluded in June 2025, so we now have some 120 CLI alumni in the field. Each alumnus was equipped with strategies and a “toolkit” related to spiritual leadership and transformational change. In 2024, we launched CLI 2.0, a two-year fellowship for CLI alumni, helping them leverage their CLI training to transform their congregations into compelling “covenantal communities”. The pilot CLI 2.0 cohort started in August 2024 and a second CLI 2.0 cohort started in August 2025. We are currently accepting applications for the third CLI 2.0 cohort, which will start in late summer 2026 and conclude in June of 2028.
The centerpiece of CLI 2.0 is personalized, executive coaching provided by CLI Director, Rabbi Sid Schwarz, to a cohort of four alumni. The program also includes a scholar in residence weekend visit by Sid, culminating in a Board retreat designed to upgrade the effectiveness of lay leadership and overall congregational governance. This is a key ingredient necessary to create vibrant, engaged congregations. Each rabbi selected for CLI 2.0 will be part of a diverse, 4-person, community of practice (COP). Like the COP experience of CLI, the monthly meetings of the COP provide opportunities to experience peer consulting from colleagues who bring to the table varied ideologies and Jewish practice. Recognizing the pressures that COVID and the Israel-Hamas War has put on rabbis, CLI 2.0 provides both peer support and high-level coaching to support participants in their rabbinate.
In the first year of CLI 2.0, all coaching and the SIR visit are charged at 50% of the market rate, subsidized by CLI.
The program cost for each participating rabbi is $3,500 for 10 coaching sessions and $3,500 for the SIR weekend, inclusive of the planning and facilitation of the Board retreat. In Y2, the program fee is $5,000. There are no additional costs associated with being part of the monthly COP nor for any consultations with Sid between monthly sessions. Each year there is one, in-person, 3-day retreat. Alumni serving smaller congregations with limited professional development budgets can request a further reduction in this fee.
If you are interested in applying to CLI 2.0, please fill out the application form linked below and return it by February 20, 2026. Sid will be in personal contact with each applicant to better understand your needs. Four alumni will be selected. The small cohort allows us to customize the coaching plan to accommodate each participant’s particular needs.
Testimonials from Current Participants
“When I did the CLI Fellowship I benefitted from rabbis with decades of experience and peers who could kvetch and kvell with me. I also acquired a lot of Torah – insights from our tradition and wisdom from social theory and leadership development. Now, participating in CLI 2.0, I am reminded that I am not alone and that I carry inside me wisdom and vision. I am grateful for this chance to learn closely with Rabbi Sid and in an intimate cohort with three other CLI alums.”
Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg, Congregation Shir Tikvah, Minneapolis, MN
“The CLI Fellowship was a great introduction to important principles and practices to be an effective spiritual leader. The new, CLI 2.0 program, is now going much deeper. In a small group, with direct coaching from Sid, I am now seeing how I can bring my community to the next level of effectiveness and engagement.”
Rabbi Jay TelRav, Temple Sinai, Stamford, CT
“CLI 2.0 builds on CLI 1.0’s focus on innovation, leadership skills, and organizational dynamics. With just four fellows, there is space for honesty, connection, and real growth. Our monthly COP meetings, along with one-on-one sessions with Sid, have generated some of the most thoughtful and supportive professional conversations I’ve had in years. Sid brings wisdom, warmth, and deep care for each of us, and the whole experience has been both grounding and energizing.”
Rabbi Sarah Freidson, Temple Beth Shalom, Mahopac, NY
“CLI 1.0 offered an intensive immersion in nonprofit leadership Torah. CLI 2.0 has given me the time and structure to integrate that learning into my rabbinate. Sid is masterfully guiding us with a thoughtful balance of leadership skill-building, intimate cohort incubation, and personal growth.”
Rabbi David Fainsilber, Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, Stowe, VT
