In 2021, the Jewish Federations of North America launched a $130 million campaign to help local federations establish community security initiatives. The next year, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia partnered with the Secure Community Network to do just that.
That same year, it hired former FBI agent Scott Kerns to serve as community security director.
Antisemitism was rising in the Philadelphia area and across the country.
Two years later, it’s rising even more in the wake of Oct. 7. In response, the Jewish Federation is hiring a deputy security director to work under Kerns.
Cortney Voorhees was announced as deputy community security director in a June 24 news release.
The release stated that Voorhees will support Kerns “in administering a security program that provides consultations, building and organizational assessments, training and drills, grant support, threat mitigation, and response coordination for critical incidents to over 190 institutions and over 350,000 Jewish residents in the Greater Philadelphia area.” Voorhees will work in the field while Kerns works out of the Jewish Federation office.
Voorhees has 25 years of experience in security and law enforcement, according to the release. She recently retired as a corporal with the Pennsylvania State Police and served as supervisor of the Eastern Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Team.
She helped establish security standards for Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ offices. She also helped secure major events such as the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
“Cortney has the ideal skillset for this role,” Federation President and CEO Michael Balaban said in the release.
She also wants it.
“I couldn’t think of a better next step for my career. I wasn’t ready to retire,” she said.
Voorhees spent the last 13 years in Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation. She also spent the last six conducting security assessments across the commonwealth. Her job was to “identify vulnerabilities and come up with mitigation strategies,” she said.
“The Secure Community Network offers that assessment piece. They also offer the intel piece,” she said.
The law enforcement veteran said that Jewish communities both need and want those assessments. Though she is not Jewish herself, she worked with Jewish institutions while on the state police force. She found that Jewish leaders were often open to suggestions from security assessments.
“They are hungry for the information we can provide them. That’s refreshing,” she said.
Since she’s worked with Jewish communities, she also understands the nature of the threats they face.
“Every single day, there’s another kind of threat,” she said. “And the people that are making these threats, they don’t care how old the members of the Jewish community are. They’re making verbal threats to babies.”
In the news release, Voorhees explained that, “Today’s volatile climate keeps us on our toes, and we must be proactive to ensure our community is alert and has access to security training and resources.”
She said the Jewish community can be proactive by making sure that staff members enforce security protocols and by requesting trainings from SCN.
“I want to see them reach out. That is what we are here for,” she said.
In today’s multidimensional world, antisemitic attacks come to synagogue properties and Shabbat Zooms. Therefore, the approach to defending against them must be layered, according to Voorhees.
“We talk about layers of physical security around buildings — from fencing to signage to target-hardening door locks. It’s the physical aspects; it’s the training aspects; it’s policies and procedures for people within the building,” she explained. “It’s constantly being aware of your surroundings and adapting and adjusting as things come at you.”
