An Exemplar of Lifelong Learning, Annette R. Segil Endows Vital Faculty Position at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

“I’ve always been intellectually curious and an active learner,” said Annette R. Segil, an executive leadership consultant who recently made a gift to establish the Annette R. Segil Professor of Education and Jewish Learning at HUC-JIR. The endowment, which Segil structured with her financial team, will come through a combination of current and deferred gifts.

Jewish education has always been paramount to Segil, whose career in behavioral and social sciences has spanned social work, psychology, and organizational development—taking her from her birthplace in South Africa to London, New York, Buenos Aires, and Los Angeles. In each place, she has also volunteered as a mentor and an educator in the Jewish community and beyond.

“For me, Jewish learning is at the center of Judaism, no matter your level of observance,” Segil said. Her approach to adult education has always gone beyond the mastery of content, emphasizing that “critical thinking, social and individual awareness, and the management of the social learning environment are what really differentiate the good from the great.”

Segil has retired from the consulting firm she opened in 1985. But she has remained active with HUC-JIR as a teacher and mentor. She was a board member at the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management and has maintained a relationship with the School of Education. Segil made her gift to advance her values of “managing the educational environment so that adult learners are motivated to be engaged and apply what they’ve learned.”

To learn more about making a legacy gift to HUC-JIR, please contact Anat Becker, National Director of Legacy Giving, at abecker@huc.edu or call (212) 824-2228.