Marc Prine doesn’t hesitate to describe how the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia changed his life.
“I met my wife [Amanda] because of [Jewish] Federation,” he noted.
That’s certainly a life changer, and the outgoing chairman of NextGen — the Jewish Federation organization for younger adults and future leaders — plans to continue that involvement in the near future.
“I made a lot of friends through [Jewish] Federation and have really enjoyed that community feeling,” said Prine, who also is on the board of trustees and has participated in Israel360 trips. “I’m really excited for the future of NextGen and NextGen as a piece of the [Jewish] Federation future.”
A native of Manalapan, N.J., Prine, 32, was an undergraduate at Temple University starting in 2004, obtained a master’s degree in industrial organization (I/O) psychology at West Chester University and completed a Ph.D. in the same field at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
Prine put his knowledge in that niche field — I/O psychology is the science of human behavior as it relates to work, applying psychological theories and principles to organizations and individuals at work — to use in the business world as a consultant. But it’s probably fair to say he also uses it while representing the Jewish Federation.
Aside from his role with NextGen, Prine has worked in recent years as a fundraising campaign chair, his first foray into philanthropy. A lot of the job entailed explaining to fellow fledgling professionals the importance of the Jewish Federation’s role.
“I care about young people and engaging young Jews in the city,” he said, noting that philanthropy can easily mix with younger fun-oriented lifestyles and that Jewish Federation is changing with the times. “We’re making sure we don’t become ‘Oh, that’s what my grandmother did.’”
One challenge is avoiding what Prine described as philanthropic attention deficit disorder — trying to wade through all the charitable options to determine the best use of a donation.
For his work with Jewish Federation, Prine was presented last year with the Myer and Rosaline Feinstein Young Leadership Award.
Prine said the Jewish Federation has created an environment where differing values are respected and can work together despite disagreements.
Jewish Federation President and CEO “Naomi [Adler] and her team have done a great job of changing the perception of the pay-to-play model,” Prine said.
Prine has attended annual General Assembly conferences of Jewish Federations nationwide, where he’s enjoyed meeting his counterparts and relating common experiences.
“They’re facing the same problems we are,” he said.
When he’s not directly involved with Jewish Federation and its offshoots, Prine maintains a role in the Jewish community at large.
That includes a board role with Temple’s Hillel, the young professionals board of the Anti-Defamation League in Philadelphia and a fellowship with the Wexner Heritage Program. The latter is a Jewish learning and leadership development program for volunteer leaders in North America.
In his free time, Prine enjoys trying restaurants around the city and trying to improve a suspect golf game.
This article is part of an occasional series of profiles of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia supporters.
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