The Board of the Sylvan Adams YM-YWHA wishes to recognize the contribution of Elyse Rosen during her term as CEO.  

We would like to acknowledge the enormous contribution that Elyse made during her time at the helm of the Y. In June 2020, she agreed to join us to take on the challenge of navigating the Y through what has been an especially difficult period in its storied history. Over the course of her tenure, she led the development of a sustainability plan for the organization, assembled a strong professional team to execute on that plan, and put in place a new organizational structure which focused the Y to be more customer oriented and has set the institution on a course to a brighter future.  

A strong leader with a compelling vision, Elyse garnered the confidence and support of the Y community and strengthened the Y’s reputation.   

Even though the Y remained closed during most of the time that she was with us, Elyse was able to make important strides toward securing the Y as a first-class Jewish Community Centre that provides our members with numerous opportunities to engage in Jewish life. This includes forming a strong partnership with Federation CJA’s PJ Library program and inaugurating the new Y/GENMtl Tween Leadership program, creating our new Ivri Anochiprogram (an experiential learning program for children who do not attend Jewish day school) and obtaining a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation to fund its launch, and offering a variety of family friendly virtual programs focused on Jewish traditions and holiday celebrations during our closure.  

Having charted a clear path forward for the organization, Elyse has stepped aside to allow the team that she built to implement the vision and the plan that she put forward. 

We are grateful to Elyse for her dedication and hard work, and we commend her for everything that she has accomplished for our organization and for our community.