Zack Bodner, President + CEO of the Oshman Family JCC, and Rabbi Daniel Septimus, CEO of Shalom Austin, join us for our latest episode.
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Zack Bodner
Author and President & CEO, Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto, CA
Zack Bodner is the author of the book “Why Do Jewish? A manifesto for 21st century Jewish Peoplehood.” An Amazon #1 new release in Jewish Life and Religion & Philosophy, “Why Do Jewish?” takes one of our oldest wisdom traditions and provides an accessible road map for anyone looking for answers to life’s most important questions.
Zack serves as the President and CEO of the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto. Under Zack’s leadership, the JCC began hosting an annual conference called Zionism 3.0 which became The Z3 Project, a global effort to reimagine Diaspora-Israel relations.
Before joining the JCC, Zack served for 14 years as the Pacific Northwest Regional Director of AIPAC. Zack holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy of Religion and Theology from Claremont Graduate University, earned his Bachelor’s degree from Yale University, studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Stanford Business School’s program for Executives in Non-Profit Leadership.
Zack is an accomplished speaker, including as a MOTH storyteller and TEDx presenter, and writes regularly for Jewish publications in the US and Israel. He is a member of YPO, participated in the Executive Leadership Seminar at the Aspen Institute, is a board member of the JCC Association of North America, and is on the Advisory Board of the Taube Center for Jewish Studies at Stanford University. Zack lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and three children.
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Rabbi Septimus
A fifth-generation Houstonian, Rabbi Septimus has been in Austin since 2014, serving as Texas Hillel Executive Director for just over two years and now as CEO of Shalom Austin since September 2016, the hub of Jewish life in Central Texas.
Shalom Austin consists of four main branches: Jewish Community Center, Jewish Federation, Jewish Family Service and the Jewish Foundation, which work together to comprehensively address the needs of Austin’s Jewish community in collaboration with area congregations, schools and community organizations.
The opportunity to shape the future of one of the fastest growing Jewish communities in the United States with an innovative model and structure was very attractive to Rabbi Septimus in choosing to take this position. Learning from the success of Hillel around engagement and creating meaningful Jewish relationships, Daniel has partnered with synagogues, organizations and lay leaders in the community to create a new model of Jewish life and learning and engagement. The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Jewish Culture and Education launched in September 2018 and is under the amazing leadership of Rachel Stern, Chief Learning and Engagement Officer.
Rabbi Septimus and the leadership of Shalom Austin completed a $40 million capital campaign to usher in a new era of connection and engagement on the Dell Jewish Community Campus. The major phase of construction, the newly expanded and renovated Dell Jewish Community Center, opened in April 2023. Substantial completion of the entire project was achieved in early 2025.
During Rabbi Septimus’ tenure at Texas Hillel, he significantly enhanced the organization’s financial stability, operational efficiency, and community outreach efforts. He has attracted national attention for his leadership—AIPAC named him 2016's Campus Partner of the Year, recognizing his and Texas Hillel’s pro-Israel education advocacy and their success fighting BDS on campus. Rabbi Septimus and his team significantly expanded social justice programming as one of the three main pillars of programming and engagement. Texas Hillel was one of a few Hillels in the movement with a full-time social justice professional.
Before coming to Austin, Rabbi Septimus served at Temple De Hirsch Sinai, the largest Jewish congregation in the Pacific Northwest for seven years as Associate Rabbi and Director of Congregation Learning where he brought a holistic approach to congregational learning. During his tenure, Rabbi Septimus instituted a dynamic young adult group attracting over 300 individuals and created an outside the walls early childhood engagement program called “KIDdish Club”, which was awarded the URJ Belin Outreach and Membership Award for attracting, at the time, over 60 families to participate in just over a year. His team also revamped youth involvement by offering several pathways to remain engaged post-B’nai Mitzvah.
Rabbi Septimus graduated from Tulane University in 2002 and was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2007. He has also been awarded the prestigious Hartman and Schusterman Fellowships.
Rabbi Septimus, his wife Amanda and their three children, Talia, Jonah and Ari, are active members of four local congregational communities.
