CultureShift Staff Training

Through CultureShift, Moving Traditions trains and equips staff members of summer camps, youth groups, and youth trip providers to pay attention to the underlying factors driving teen behavior and to engage in informal educational experiences that foster the wellbeing of Jewish youth. We provide staff with training and scripted educational activities that help them to build communication and boundary setting skills, navigate the most challenging aspects of adolescent socialization, sexuality, and power dynamics, and to be better role models for their campers.

What makes our approach unique is our focus on the underlying social and gender codes that influence behavior. We integrate Jewish values – shleimut (personal spiritual growth ), hesed (inter-personal communication and healthy relationships), and tzedek (social change) – to help all teens thrive.

Get Involved

Want access to CultureShift trainings and resources? Contact Moving Traditions to learn how we can support your organization. 

CultureShift Goals

e envision a world where every staff member working with Jewish youth can:

  • Listen to camper’s concerns with empathy and understanding
  • Model appropriate touch that is consensual, supportive, and respectful
  • Challenge the use of sexist, homophobic, and transphobic language
  • Navigate questions about dress expectations without shaming
  • Reduce social pressures around crushes, romance, and hook-ups
  • Create inclusive communities that support LGBTQI youth
  • Communicate organizational policies through the lens of Jewish values 

Training Opportunities

CultureShift Trainings are tailored to a variety of programs and staff structures. Whether you run a summer camp, travel program, or Hebrew school, learn how our trainings can help you create healthier spaces for Jewish youth and professionals. 

Training units include: 

  • Boundaries and Consent 
  • Gender and Wellbeing for Every Teen 
  • Healthy Relationships and Sexuality 
  • Taking Responsibility (for CITs and new staff)  
  • Antisemitism and Jewish Identity 

Upcoming CultureShift Events

CultureShift Video Series

The CultureShift training series includes interactive videos and discussion prompts, providing staff with real-life scenarios and Jewish wisdom to help them reflect on their role in shaping camp culture.

We also offer live training events to provide deeper learning opportunities for staff and organizational leaders.

Watch a sample video from the series:

CultureShift Initiative

Rabbi Daniel Brenner, Moving Traditions’ VP of Education, leads the CultureShift Initiative and has written extensively on issues of touch (Can We Hug Now? Returning to Touch in Jewish Spaces) and sexual assault (Teaching Teens Consent) with a particular focus on the challenges of educating teen boys and male staff. You can read more about the impact of CultureShift in the Jewish Journal, Jewish Exponent, and The Washington Post. Questions? Contact Rabbi Daniel Brenner at dbrenner@movingtraditions.org.


Funding Partners

Women of Vision of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia