AJC Chicago Director Dan Elbaum was featured in the February 1, 2010 edition of Crain's Chicago Business magazine.

Source:  Crain's Chicago Business.

By: Monée Fields-White  February 01, 2010, Crain's Chicago Business

 Job: Regional director of American Jewish Committee, Chicago, since December.

Vitals: 35 years old; bachelor's degree in political science and history, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996; juris doctor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Law, 1999; assistant state's attorney, Cook County state's attorney's office, Chicago, 1999-2003; Midwest civil rights counsel and director of development, Anti-Defamation League, Chicago, 2003-09.

Strong suit: "Building consensus and getting all members of my team to advance a common goal," Mr. Elbaum says.

Résumé gap: Not familiar with the "nuances" of various religious groups locally, he says.

Track record: Helped push the Anti-Defamation League's annual fundraising campaign 20% ahead of its target as of mid-December, compared with the year-earlier period. (He wouldn't disclose the dollar amount.)

Job one: Developing the next generation of leaders at American Jewish Committee. "My job one is to build on the AJC's success."

Obstacle: "One of the challenges for him would be to create strong visibility for the AJC," says Edith Falk, president of Campbell & Co., a Chicago-based non-profit consultancy. "People need to know who you are, what you are doing and how you're making a difference."

The plan: Focus on building recruitment through programming such as its Access group, which is for young Jewish professionals interested in being diplomats and advocates to international, religious and civic leaders.

Photo source:  Crain's Chicago Business