LEADER OF THE FLOCK
JODI SPERLING, MSW
Jodi is the founder of Sparrow Consulting. With her tenacious spirit and empathic lens, Jodi is exactly who you want by your side as you work to move you or your organization forward. As a social worker, Jodi understands that we are all imperfect, and that exceptional leaders aren’t afraid to be vulnerable, honest and real.
Sperling means ‘sparrow,’ and the traits of sparrows speak to the qualities Jodi brings to her clients. Resilience. Curiosity. Teamwork. Joy. Creativity. Adaptability. To be most effective, these qualities are essential.
EXPERIENCE
Jodi is an organizational consultant and a veteran North American camp director, educator, and communal strategist. In her 12 years as a camp director and 9 years as a leader of the camping arm of JCC Association, Jodi built her reputation as a fearless and creative innovator and change maker. In her eight years as the director of Camp Wise, she was responsible for one of the most significant turn-arounds in the industry, increasing net income 353% and increasing total camper weeks by 138%, from 298 to 688 campers. While there, she also oversaw over $6 million in facility improvements, including the creation of a booming year-round retreat center. In the nine years since, as a consultant and leader of a national camping movement, Jodi has inspired, trained, and supported developing and experienced leaders and teams in and out of the camp space. She authored “The Complete Guide to JCC Day Camp,” and co-authored the 2019 study, “Smartphones, Social Media, and Overnight Summer Camp: A National Survey of 11 – 16-year-olds[1] .”
Originally from Buffalo, NY, Jodi has her BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Journalism and Jewish Studies, and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan, where she also completed the Drachler Program in Jewish Communal Service and Judaic Studies.
Jodi is a graduate of Brandeis University’s Institute of Informal Jewish Education’s IJE Fellowship, and was part of the inaugural cohorts of JCC Association’s Lechu Lachem Fellowship and the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Executive Leadership Institute (ELI). While at JCCA she directed the Merrin Fellowship for Teen Professionals, and she has served on the faculty of various professional development programs including the Foundation for Jewish Camp's Cornerstone Fellowship and M2 : The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education’s Camp Educators Cohort.
Some of our clients:
“I have had the pleasure of calling Jodi my mentor and colleague for 16 years. Jodi taught me one of the most valuable leadership and management lessons I carry with me – to make an organization successful, we must not focus just on the end user or outcome, but on the human resources that make our work come alive. In camp terms, she modeled that a successful camp starts with happy and productive staff, which leads to happy campers, and thus a thriving camp. Her approach to prioritize and elevate the staff experience is counterintuitive to the long-time culture of many non-profits, even radical to some, and it’s simply brilliant. She modeled this as a director, and she shares this philosophy with camp directors and other leaders as an expert, inspiring facilitator, and coach. I am inspired by her work steeped in ruach (spirit), strategized with seder (order), and implemented with g’milut chasidim, through a lens of loving kindness. She continues to teach me and I continue to spread her good word in my own directing, teaching, and coaching. Jodi is a gem to any leader, professional, volunteer, and organization who has the good fortune to interact with and learn from her.”