FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2010

CONTACT: Peter Cherneff,
Chairman, Bd. of Directors
413.229.8865
prc@watkinscherneff.com

Footsteps Names Lani Santo Executive Director
New Director for Organization supporting people exploring beyond Ultra-Orthodoxy

Footsteps has named Lani Santo as Executive Director beginning August 3, 2010.  Headquartered in New York City, Footsteps provides educational, vocational and social support to those seeking to enter or explore the world beyond the insular ultra-religious communities in which they were raised.

People from ultra-orthodox and Chasidic communities who choose to enter mainstream America often do so seemingly as new immigrants to the country in which they were born and raised.   Their insular upbringing and experience leaves them without the basic skills to pursue higher education, find a job or obtain decent housing.  Many cannot adequately read and write English. “Footsteps works with an often overlooked marginalized population within the Jewish community,” says Santo.  “I look forward to strengthening this vital organization so that it can continue to respond to the needs of these ‘new immigrants’ and empower these individuals to make the changes they are seeking in their lives.”

Santo has dedicated her career to social justice and human rights work from a Jewish perspective.  Prior to joining Footsteps, she served as a Senior Program Officer at American Jewish World Service (AJWS), an international development organization motivated by Judaism’s imperative to pursue justice. At AJWS, Santo founded and managed the World Partners Fellowship, a service-learning program in which young adults volunteer for a year of work with grassroots non-governmental organizations in India.

Santo holds a Master’s Degree of Public Administration in Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy from NYU's Wagner School. She has extensive experience in Jewish Service-Learning, having worked with the volunteer programs of both AJWS and AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corps.  As an AVODAH Corps Member, she served as a case manager for homeless women in Washington, D.C and is currently a member of their Board of Directors.

On accepting the position as Executive Director of Footsteps, Santo said: “Footsteps will be a wonderful venue for me to continue work that is deeply important to me:  encouraging individuals’ personal growth while assisting them by building courageous and supportive communities around them, I am excited to lead Footsteps in this effort and into its next phase of organizational growth.”

Malkie Schwartz founded Footsteps in 2003 and was its first executive director. Raised in an insular Chasidic community in New York, Schwartz commented, “I am confident that under Lani’s leadership, Footsteps will continue to grow and be a powerful resource for those who approach us. The values that guide Footsteps include choice—specifically the ability of individuals from insular ultra-orthodox communities to be able to choose a lifestyle that is consistent with their personal values, needs and beliefs. Lani’s work to further social justice with people around the world reflects this value. I am very pleased that Lani will join Footsteps’ staff in ensuring that Footsteps participants can exercise their right to make choices and build lives that are meaningful to them.”

In offering participants tools and resources to make many new and critical choices, Footsteps provides programs and services throughout the year.  Programs focus on: educational advancement, including tutoring, GED diplomas, college counseling and scholarships; social and psychological support, including group and individual counseling, social activities and crisis intervention; and life skills, including job placement, skill training and other services.  Footsteps is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that relies on individual and foundation contributions to support its many programs.

For further information, please contact Footsteps at 212.253.0890 or visit www.footstepsorg.org.