Rawl steps down at Nola JCC, Rebecca Friedman named interim CEO

New Orleans JCC Uptown. SJL file.

The New Orleans Jewish Community Center announced that CEO Michael Rawl has resigned for personal reasons. Rebecca Friedman, who became the JCC board president on Feb. 2, will become the interim CEO and has agreed to a one year commitment.

Robyn Nowak, who had been the executive vice president and now becomes the JCC president, made the announcement on behalf of the board on March 31.

Rawl arrived in New Orleans in November 2023, having been the executive director of the JCC in Buffalo. “We are grateful to Mike for his contributions to the JCC,” Nowak said, “including the introduction of innovative new offerings in the performing and culinary arts and expanded programming for adults and families across education, fitness, and more.”

A New Orleans native, Friedman graduated from Yale and worked for McKinsey and Company before returning to New Orleans, where she has been a freelance journalist. She has been on the JCC board since 2014, and has also been active with the New Orleans Museum of Art. Nowak said Friedman “is deeply invested in this community and in maintaining the standard of excellence which has always been the hallmark of the JCC.”

Friedman said she is “excited to join the dedicated team here at the New Orleans JCC and honored to contribute to our work in a new capacity. There are so many special things happening at the J, and I look forward to sharing them with our community.”