Adam Silver, Advisory Council Member
Adam is the President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, joining in July 2024. Before that, he served as Chief Executive Officer for Calgary Jewish Federation and Calgary Jewish Community Campus Corporation, in Alberta, Canada, for almost a decade. Adam’s Jewish communal experience has ranged from “babies to bubbies”; he worked in organizations that specialize in children and youth programming right up to older adults and seniors, and he’s served as an adjunct professor in Seneca College’s Community Services department, teaching community practice, casework and social policy.
Adam received his Master of Education in Adult Education and Community Development from the University of Toronto (OISE), completed graduate work in philanthropy and development at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, and earned his Doctor of Education degree from Western University, specializing in community leadership. A member of the inaugural cohort of the Mandel Nonprofit Institute’s Executive Leadership Program, Adam volunteers on the board of the Organization for the Prevention of Violence and as an advisor with JPro’s WellAdvised program for early and mid-career Jewish communal professionals. Adam is passionate about building community and supporting and mentoring others.
Adam and his wife, Deborah, have three children – Hannah, Lilah and Benji – and are excited to immerse themselves in Jewish Ottawa. Outside of work, Adam likes to cook, exercise, drink coffee and spend time with family and friends.